The market dying?

[francisca]

Consider this: people will spend most on the hobbies that they spend the most time on.

Consider also if your miniatures or other accessories purchases have increased as your D&D (or d20 System) purchases have tailed off?

What are you spending your money on?

Has the proportion of time you spend role-playing changed?

Cheers!

My spending in minis has increased a bit over the last year, but not nearly enough to account for the drop in expenditures on books. I am also playing way more now (meaning last 18 months) than I ever have. I've probably gamed more in the past two years than the rest of my life combined. This has coincided with a big drop in my spending on RPGs and games in general, though I don't know if there is a relationship between the two. Don't care if there is either. I'm not spending as much, gaming/creating more, and having more fun. That's what I care about.

 

[Frozen DM]

When I see the good reception a $70 boxed set like the Wilderlands gets, or how much I enjoyed Shackled City, or how many people I know have World's Largest Dungoen, and look to the near future and see books like Ptlous and Game of Thones coming out, at their price points, I don't think a dying market could support them.

I do think that the market may be shrinking in terms of people buying everything in sight, but I think part of that was due to the amount of material put out initially and buyers are becoming smarter.

Opinions?

I'd say that's true. When the entire 3rd edition/2d0 thing started I was buying almost everything in sight. Now I focus on products from a few companies I trust, or products that have received good reviews here on EN World. I still buy quite a bit, but am much more selective.

Every edition of a game sees a rise and fall in what consumers will buy. The edition comes out and everybody jumps at the new books, and over a few years slowly reduces their consumption. However, I think the current market (especially for d20 books) is unique.

Now we have a large collection of publishers, both online and print, to cater to the market. I also think that this plethora of publishers can keep d20 viable for much longer than would have been possible had only Wizards been putting out material. Everytime a publisher comes out with a big new release (Ptolus, GoT, Wilderlands, Iron Kingdoms and even books like Mutants and Masterminds 2nd) I think the market takes another upswing in some form.

I think what we're seeing is supplement-specific swings in the market. At the begining we saw an increase in adventures (especially amongst 3rd party publishers). That dies away and we saw the rise in support material (PRC, feats, etc...). Now I think we're in a period where complete campaigns are selling big (WLD, Ptolus, Drow War, Shackled City,...). We are also seeing an upswing in higher priced, prestige books.

What i do see, however, is a splitting of the market. At the begining people were buying everything. Now I think you see more people focusing on one type of book (campaign settings, adventures, alternate rule-sets, monster books, support material). Personally I've fallen into the campaign setting and adventure group, prefering those types of books over purely mechanical material, or monster books.

I don't necessarily think splitting the market is bad, though. Instead I think publishers are specializing and focusing on the specific needs of their customers, which I, for one, am glad to see.

 

[diaglo]

Consider this: people will spend most on the hobbies that they spend the most time on.

Consider also if your miniatures or other accessories purchases have increased as your D&D (or d20 System) purchases have tailed off?

What are you spending your money on?

Has the proportion of time you spend role-playing changed?

truth be told my purchase of dice has suffered. i started buying more minis and stopped buying dice.

i don't think i've bought a single set in months.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

The market may not be dying as such, but if these kinds of price points become the norm, the market will not expand. I don't see the young kids spending their own $$$ on stuff like this, and at these prices their parents probably would not either, which means that newcomers to the hobby might slow down a lot. Its fine to have the occasional item at this level, but there needs to be low cost options if they want to attract new people.

 

[francisca]

The market may not be dying as such, but if these kinds of price points become the norm, the market will not expand. I don't see the young kids spending their own $$$ on stuff like this, and at these prices their parents probably would not either, which means that newcomers to the hobby might slow down a lot. Its fine to have the occasional item at this level, but there needs to be low cost options if they want to attract new people.

Mmm. Dunno about that. Lots of 8 and 9 years olds con mom and dad into buying whole boxes of boosters for Poke'mon, Yugi-Oh, etc... That stuff ain't cheap.

 

[KenSeg]

I know our group is not buying much anymore. We bought that core books for 3.5 and have been using those. Nothing else. I have recently purchased two of the C&C books to examine and see if we want to turn to those rules and am putting in a purchase order for the updated Judges Guild items as I always found those great reading and inspiration.

We have several hundred minis (old lead ones) that are now all painted and we haven't bought much in the last few years. Of course, that is more a function of being over 40 and not being able to focus close enough to do detailed painting and lack of time due to kids, jobs, etc.

-KenSeg
-Gaming since 1978

 

[DaveMage]

I'm happy to see the market where it is.

I like the flavor stuff that's coming out now, and less on the rules front.



And I love the fact that the higher-end products are all (so far) adventures and campaign settings.

 

[JoeBlank]

Consider this: people will spend most on the hobbies that they spend the most time on.

Consider also if your miniatures or other accessories purchases have increased as your D&D (or d20 System) purchases have tailed off?

What are you spending your money on?

Has the proportion of time you spend role-playing changed?

Cheers!

I am the opposite of this. I find that the less time I actually play D&D the more I buy, to compensate and give me my gaming "fix". When I am playing regularly I am able to resist temptation, and actually buy less.

 

[BigFreekinGoblinoid]

I do think that the market may be shrinking in terms of people buying everything in sight, but I think part of that was due to the amount of material put out initially and buyers are becoming smarter.

Opinions?

That's me. I have only bought one WoTC book so far this year ( LoM ) and certainly less third party stuff, but I am still buying ( Shackled City, Liber Mechankia, Directory of Demiplanes, Temple Quarter are recent purchases ) the stuff that grabs me.

I do think that WotC's miniatures have replaced some of my third party and WoTC book purchases in the past year though. I buy lots of pewter too- more than in 2000-2002 ( pre-3.5)

 

[BigFreekinGoblinoid]

... I've begun letting my needs dictate my buying, rather than just picking up books because they happen to be in print.

I find it works much better for me.

I wish I had the self control to do this