ZOMG! D&D drops to #4

[ExploderWizard]

You assume correctly. It's the hobby retail channel.

With so many new games being launched through kickstarter and the vast majority of customers getting their books as rewards directly rather than through a retailer, even an online one, these numbers don't paint an accurate picture at all.
[MENTION=22424]delericho[/MENTION] pretty much hit the nail on the head.

 

[Morrus]

With so many new games being launched through kickstarter and the vast majority of customers getting their books as rewards directly rather than through a retailer, even an online one, these numbers don't paint an accurate picture at all.

Yeah, we establish that anew every quarter.

(Plus they're only based on anecdotal info anyway). They're a discussion point, really, nothing more.

 

[Jester David]

Somewhat only. D&D line has been in this situation before and never dropped to 4th place as a result. There is MUCH more to the collapse than just being between edition... That's ipso facto.

But there was always product on the shelf. Even when WotC bought the company there was still product going out. Their release schedule didn't even slow down between 3e and 4e and they continued to release monthly product the entire time.

 

[darjr]

Does this include the older edition products? I think it does. Anybody have a copy of the magazine? Does it go into more detail about what was asked of retailers?

 

[Umbran]

That said, with so much of the RPG market now being swallowed by Amazon, direct subscriptions to Paizo and DDI, and Kickstarter/other direct sales, these surveys become less and less useful.

Excellent point. Consider Timewatch. Over $100K in sales, nearly 2000 customers, and if we count the various pdfs and printed items separately, multiple products to each person. I am left wondering how this compares to, say, FATE Core for the period.

 

[DaveMage]

Has D&D ever gone this long not being #1 in this report? They haven't been #1 for, what, 2 years now?

(And it will likely continue for the next 2 quarterly reports as this one is for Fall 2013.)

Of course, I expect they will vault to #1 in whatever quarter 5E releases, but it will be interesting to see if it falls off ala 4E.

 

[jodyjohnson]

The report are now 3 a year, Spring, Summer and Fall.

Without the historical data, I'd guess the only time they had a shot at not being #1 was during the bankruptcy and during the key releases from White Wolf in the 1990s.

The key indicators I didn't quote were that Magic is almost always #1 or #2 in cards with Yu-gi-Oh and Pokemon occassionally getting a bump.

D&D minis also beat Heroclix consistently when it was in production. Pathfinder Minis hasn't beat Star Trek yet, much less Marvel and DC Heroclix.

 

[Arduin's]

Of course, I expect they will vault to #1 in whatever quarter 5E releases, but it will be interesting to see if it falls off ala 4E.

Yep. And, it will fall off a la 4E. But, if they don't replicate the web/e-site debacle it'll be better.

 

[Gundark]

My store (a major Hobby chain) doesn't even have Fate Core on the shelf.

It's all Pathfinder and Star Wars plus Numenera and 13th Age.

Wonder why Numenera and 13th Age didn't make the list. They are the new shiny.

That speaks volumes about their popularity

 

[Gundark]

More importantly, you can be #4 with only a couple adventures on the shelf! Think about that for a moment.

This. I don't think they are number 4 based off of 4e sales and reprints