Windjammer
Adventurer
Over the last couple of days, there's been an interesting exchange of sorts between a retailer and WotC president Greg Leeds. 'Exchange' may stretch the terms here, but in essence a retailer presented his situation and Leeds wrote a response. I'm going to quote both in full and, to round it off, I'm going to quote what a retailer related on another forum - anonymously; he's on this board, and if he wishes to put a name to the post, I leave it at his discretion, not mine.
Retailer Mike King:
----------------------------------
"From the point of view of a game store manager, it seems clear to me that 4E is not as successful as Wizards of the Coast needed it to be, and that they are pushing hard to fix it.
As a buyer for a game store, I can say the lack of Arcane Powers 2, Dungeon Masters Guide 3 and the imminent publication of The Rules Compendium seems ominous. It feels like the end of 3.5 did, only on an accellerated schedule.
As a seller of 4E books, I can tell you that sales have dropped dramatically for new books. The first 60 days of sales of Martial Powers 2 was well under half the comparable sales of Martial Powers 1, and whereas I used to bring in a dozen or more copies of each new book for opening week, I am now bringing in no more than half a dozen.
As a direct customer of Wizards of the Coast, I can say that their marketing has become increasingly and nakedly aggressive. For example, in order to receive and be able to sell the Player's Handbook 3 on the same date Barnes and Noble does, our store had to agree to host World Wide Game Day Player Handbook 3 Adventure, otherwise we'd have to wait over 10 days later to release (and no game store can afford to cross Wizards of the Coast regarding release dates, let me tell you). Host Game Day, or give Barnes and Noble (who regularly breaks release dates without consequence) ten days head start? Not actually a choice.
Or consider D&D Encounters. This is Wizards new program to promote 4E play in store. Starting at first level, an adventure a week, for twelve weeks, with the promise of additional "seasons" of play. There is an explicit in-game mechanism, called Reknown, which rewards players who have access to and use specific published materials, and which disadvantages characters in game who do not. At various Reknown totals, players gain the equivalent of encounter powers for their characters, above and beyond what they entitled to for their class, level, and magic items, and some of the highest Reknown rewards are awarded for using specific products.
That is, a player with access with to just the original Player's Handbook playing a Ranger with a photocopied character sheet will actually have one less encounter power at first level than a the player sitting next to him playing a Psion Shardmind built using the Character Builder, at least until he has caught up with the Psion's Reknown. But the Psion will almost always have more Reknown.
The D&D Encounters adventure itself is not entirely self-contained, but depends on DM knowledge of both the Forgotten Realms Player's Guide and the Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide. It is specificly tied to that setting, and the mechanics contained. In order to be able to sell new 4E books without waiting an additional ten days, either I, or the store, are going to have to eat the cost of two of the most expensive 4E books published.
Further, it is obviously that they are putting much more effort into the promotional adventures. Both the World Wide Game Day and D&D Encounter adventures have actual authors, editors, and staff credited, and are substantially less awful than previous efforts. While still lame, they require much less effort to fix, as they are more internally consistant, and have fewer contradictions, errors, and omissions. At least it's clear they have an author, and are edited.
It feels to me like Hasbro has lit a fire under Wizards of the Coast, and given them an ultimatum: Perform or Be Sold Off. There was an article recently in the Wall Street Journal about Hasbro's performance and profitability. Transformers and G.I. Joe get kudos, they discuss their Parker Brothers and Avalon Hill board game lines, but neither Magic the Gathering nor Dungeons and Dragons even rates a mention!
That is suggestive of the sad state of Wizards of the Coast."
----------------------------------
Retailer Mike King:
Greg Leeds' response:View from the Game Store--Industry Relationships
Column by Marcus King
Published: 03/16/2010 12:00am
View from the Game Store is a new weekly(-ish) column by Marcus King of Titan Games & Music in Battle Creek, Michigan. This week, King looks at how the relationship between publishers, distributors, retailers and the consumer has changed over the last decade, and what it means:
Keeping in mind these are just my opinions, based on my experiences as a retailer for 24 years in the game industry, here is what I have seen, and what I see as the future of tabletop gaming.
Years Ago:
When I started as a game store owner, consumers valued a retail store. Most stores were "destination" stores, because gamers would seek them out. Retail stores were the place to learn about new games, to trade in old games, to meet other gamers, and game.
When I started at this as a game storeowner in 1986, publishers made games, distributors stocked them--usually fairly deeply, and retailers called distributors to buy the games they sold. Distributors also made SALES calls, where they would call the retailer and pitch them on new games. Retailers stocked games and consumers went to those "fairly scarce" locations to see the games. Retailers were the center of information for consumers, distributors were the source of that information for the retailers. Publishers published. Distributors distributed. Retailers retailed. Life was simple.
Then, several things happened to change the industry: eBay, the Internet itself, Amazon and the birth of the discount game sources are what I am talking about (one could also argue that video games and home computers had a big impact too, and I believe that to be true, but in the scheme of things, not on the relationships aspect, which is what I am talking about today).
Prior to all that if you wanted a game you either called a company listed in Dragon magazine, or you went to a game store, or attended a convention. But, the Internet, eBay and other discount places changed all that.
Today:
Publishers make games. They sell them to distributors, direct to the consumer via the Internet, and at some conventions--how many conventions often depends on which publisher you are talking about. Publishers also sell direct to the retailers--and how much of this they do greatly depends on the success of their games. In this regard, the publishers now act as competition to both the distributors and retailers.
Distributors are more often now concentrating on the "order taking operations." Not information centers for the retailers. That is neither good or bad, mind you--it just is the case more often than not. Nowadays it matters MORE to me how quickly my rep at my distributor (Alliance Games, most often) returns my call, than how much information he has to relay to me. And, my distributor rep (Brian) is very capable of getting me information. But, more often than not, I get my information from other sources--such as ICv2, BoardGameGeek, RPGNet and others, to name only a few. I also get my information direct from publishers, where I am signed up for news releases from over 40 publishers.
Retailers are usually "outgunned" in the information on any given product--by the consumer! The consumer who likes Magic: The Gathering will read and learn about his one passion--while the retailer has maybe 2,500 products to keep track of, and over 200 new release titles every month to consider. So, the consumer knows MORE about their hobby than the retailer does. If you play Legends of the Five Rings--I know more about Magic than you do. But, you know more about L5R than I do. So, while I am "fairly informed" on more than a thousand products and publications--someone who is into D&D knows the release schedule maybe better than I do.
This has changed the relationships of all parties involved. Where the retail store owner used to be revered as a guy with the coolest possible job, they are now often looked at and viewed--by consumers--as some poor doofus who is hopelessly misinformed on all things gaming, and who is akin to a money grubbing greedy guy who charges "full retail price"--when, only dummy's pay full retail. The consumers know they can find the item at a discount. Distributors know that retail stores last, on average, about 18 months. Long term relationships take a back seat when you don't know if the guy will be ordering from you next year, or not.
Publishers, more and more capable of selling products direct to retailers, view the distributors as less valuable than before. Those same distributors, selling a lot of games direct to consumers also find the retailers less important to their operation. Some publishers have actually stopped selling their products wholesale.
So, what is the solution? Well, if you were hoping for a solution, I am sorry to disappoint. I don't have one. Owning two stores in Michigan, I wish I had a solution. I guess for me, the solution is to offer a good selection, take used games in trade, stock deeply in the lines we carry, have convenient hours, a well trained and professional staff, and offer gaming space for my customers to enjoy.
After all, in the age of the Internet you CAN find it cheaper elsewhere. You will find a better product knowledge elsewhere. What I can offer is a nice shopping environment you will enjoy coming to, and a good selection of merchandise to choose from you can take with you today. And, hopefully for some time to come, that will be valued by some consumers.
And, an additional perspective which antedates the above exchange but is very recent (put outside quote tags because they've for some reason killed the formatting - don't we love forum software):Greg Leeds of Wizards of the Coast on Industry Relationships
'One Additional Perspective'
Published: 03/19/2010, Last Updated: 03/23/2010 05:03am
Greg Leeds, the President of Wizards of the Coast, read Marcus King's most recent column regarding game market relationships (see "View from the Game Store--Industry Relationships") and had this to say:
After reading a great Talk Back column from Marcus King of Titan Games & Music in Battle Creek, Michigan, I want to provide one additional perspective. Like Marcus, I also sometimes yearn for the simplicity of the old days. However, at Wizards of the Coast, we believe strongly that part of the solution to keep a thriving and successful Hobby retail industry is to build great in-store organized play experiences.
No change in Publisher roles or Distributor roles or Internet/Video Game habits can usurp the local game shop's ability to provide the human interaction that we all crave. Gamers want and will pay for great human connection experiences as they do in many other parts of their lives.
Of course the internet can provide pricing efficiency and information but it cannot replace:
the 'third space' experience of a great coffee shop or
the thrill of a 3D full screen movie theater experience or
the camaraderie of a local pub or
the belongingness of attending a live sports event or
..the bliss of gaming with like-minded folks in a great neighborhood store.
At Wizards, we spend every waking moment thinking about great game experiences. Of course, we continue to design the best games on the face of the earth J, but we also constantly make adjustments for stores to successfully build their player base and community. For example, last year we changed our policy to broaden the thrilling Magic pre-release events to include many more hobby stores. We are constantly striving to provide great exclusive promotional incentives so stores can support more fun play. We also look at new play formats to keep gaming fresh such as Magic multiplayer events and D&D Encounters. We also do our part to educate the industry about how more in store play means more retail revenue. We share best practices from the great stores around the world--ranging from basics like snack sales, lighting and cleanliness to more complicated issues such as gamer behavior management.
In the end though, we believe that there are many great stores who know how to provide gaming entertainment worth paying for and this is why our industry will continue to thrive. Wizards is proud to play its role.
----------------------------------
"From the point of view of a game store manager, it seems clear to me that 4E is not as successful as Wizards of the Coast needed it to be, and that they are pushing hard to fix it.
As a buyer for a game store, I can say the lack of Arcane Powers 2, Dungeon Masters Guide 3 and the imminent publication of The Rules Compendium seems ominous. It feels like the end of 3.5 did, only on an accellerated schedule.
As a seller of 4E books, I can tell you that sales have dropped dramatically for new books. The first 60 days of sales of Martial Powers 2 was well under half the comparable sales of Martial Powers 1, and whereas I used to bring in a dozen or more copies of each new book for opening week, I am now bringing in no more than half a dozen.
As a direct customer of Wizards of the Coast, I can say that their marketing has become increasingly and nakedly aggressive. For example, in order to receive and be able to sell the Player's Handbook 3 on the same date Barnes and Noble does, our store had to agree to host World Wide Game Day Player Handbook 3 Adventure, otherwise we'd have to wait over 10 days later to release (and no game store can afford to cross Wizards of the Coast regarding release dates, let me tell you). Host Game Day, or give Barnes and Noble (who regularly breaks release dates without consequence) ten days head start? Not actually a choice.
Or consider D&D Encounters. This is Wizards new program to promote 4E play in store. Starting at first level, an adventure a week, for twelve weeks, with the promise of additional "seasons" of play. There is an explicit in-game mechanism, called Reknown, which rewards players who have access to and use specific published materials, and which disadvantages characters in game who do not. At various Reknown totals, players gain the equivalent of encounter powers for their characters, above and beyond what they entitled to for their class, level, and magic items, and some of the highest Reknown rewards are awarded for using specific products.
That is, a player with access with to just the original Player's Handbook playing a Ranger with a photocopied character sheet will actually have one less encounter power at first level than a the player sitting next to him playing a Psion Shardmind built using the Character Builder, at least until he has caught up with the Psion's Reknown. But the Psion will almost always have more Reknown.
The D&D Encounters adventure itself is not entirely self-contained, but depends on DM knowledge of both the Forgotten Realms Player's Guide and the Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide. It is specificly tied to that setting, and the mechanics contained. In order to be able to sell new 4E books without waiting an additional ten days, either I, or the store, are going to have to eat the cost of two of the most expensive 4E books published.
Further, it is obviously that they are putting much more effort into the promotional adventures. Both the World Wide Game Day and D&D Encounter adventures have actual authors, editors, and staff credited, and are substantially less awful than previous efforts. While still lame, they require much less effort to fix, as they are more internally consistant, and have fewer contradictions, errors, and omissions. At least it's clear they have an author, and are edited.
It feels to me like Hasbro has lit a fire under Wizards of the Coast, and given them an ultimatum: Perform or Be Sold Off. There was an article recently in the Wall Street Journal about Hasbro's performance and profitability. Transformers and G.I. Joe get kudos, they discuss their Parker Brothers and Avalon Hill board game lines, but neither Magic the Gathering nor Dungeons and Dragons even rates a mention!
That is suggestive of the sad state of Wizards of the Coast."
----------------------------------
Last edited: