Pathfinder 1E Pathfinder outsold D&D by 2:1 in 2013

[Morrus]

According to Purple Pawn's annual survey (PDF), Pathfinder outsold D&D by a factor of over two times in 2013. Not surprising given that D&D wasn't in production, but it's a more specific number than iCv2's quarterly rankings tend to provide. "Pathfinder products outperformed Wizards of the Coasts’ Dungeons & Dragons products by 2.5 to 1 – even more than last year – while players wait for D&D 5th edition to be released later this year. Gaming accessories, such as card sleeves, and items consumed by gamers, such as soft drinks, continue to be strong dependable sellers. RPG and miniature products from smaller publishers were included in the bestselling product lines of some retailers."

 

[Ahnehnois]

It's not surprising that D&D sales are low when they're not actively producing anything, but it is a bit surprising (on a continuing basis) that PF specifically is doing well.

 

[Neonchameleon]

There are times I wonder how many people at WotC are on Lisa Stevens payroll. All credit to Paizo - Wizards have made the worst marketing strategy for D&D I'm aware of (don't put out any product) and Paizo have capitalised magnificently.

 

[amerigoV]

It had been awhile, but I finally got to my FLGS about two weeks ago. I do not go much anymore since I am a Savage Worlds guy (they have some stuff there - its the Guardtower in Columbus Ohio - but I generally already have what they have in stock).

For as long as I can remember (over 20 years),aisle 2 on the right side has been the D&D aisle. The layout of the store when you come in just naturally herds you that direct - so its really the prime aisle in the store. The last time I had been in was a number of months after the announcement of the work on 5e. That isle would typically be D&D, then third party support. At that time, it was 4e then Pathfinder, then some other d20ish type stuff.

I walked in expecting a sliver of D&D and a bunch of Pathfinder. But D&D had lost first chair, so to speak - it was 90% Pathfinder then a sliver at the end for 4e. And it did not appear the few 5eish things (some of those adventures) were out. Plus a few of the reprints they did.

Intellectually, that made sense to me - if you are not producing physical product you are going to lose the space. But emotionally I really noticed the impact - kinda like when your long-time favorite player gets cut from a sports team. Even in the darkest days of TSR D&D had held that space. So I was saddened at the state of D&D at the moment.

I know there are other avenues with online shopping and electronic product, but I can believe that ratio based on what I saw in that FLGS*

* (as an aside, the store seemed to be doing very well given the amount of stock on the shelves, so I was glad to see that even if the store does not carry much of what I want these days)

 

[DMZ2112]

I don't see the value in this metric. I mean, I bet Wizards does more D&D business between August and December 2014 than Paizo does Pathfinder business all year, but that's equally nonsense -- D&D5 will be brand new, so of course it's going to fly off shelves.

I'd say let's wait until 2016 to take a fair measurement, but I'm not sure that will be possible in the next decade. If Wizards is really going to start producing a different classic D&D setting every 18-24 months for the life of D&D5, Paizo better batten down the hatches. That's a hell of a storm to weather when you're up to "Bestiary 4" and your next two books are the "Advanced Class Guide" and the optimizer-love-sonnet "Strategy Guide."

 

[fjw70]

So the 2.5 ratio is that PF was listed as a best seller in 20 of 76 retailers and D&D was a best seller in 8 of 76 retailers. Note: I didn't see a definition of best seller so I guess each retailer defined it themselves.

Also this statement is at the end of the report.

Note that just because a game sold well at 10 retailers, but a second game sold well at only 2, doesn’t mean that the first game sold more units or produced more profit than second one did.

 

[Lanefan]

I'm not going to read too much into this until-unless it is sustained once WotC has 5e in full roar. Right now it's a comparison between one company that's churning out product on a regular basis and another that isn't; and if Paizo wasn't ruling the roost right now I'd be very curious as to why.

Also, are the stats just comparing PF with 4e sales specifically, or do the WotC sales stats include all the older edition re-releases e.g. special-edition A-series, S-series, Basic box set, etc.?

Lan-"over the last year I'd guess my own Paizo-vs.-WotC spending is about even, at not much at all"-efan

 

[fjw70]

The stats are for all D&D products.

 

[Sunsword]

I think there needs to be another perspective to this story: even with such meager releases by WotC for D&D, Paizo could only sell 2-1/2 times as much product as WotC.

I think Paizo is a great company with lots of great material, but nothing will topple D&D...but D&D and Hasbro.

 

[ForeverSlayer]

I think there needs to be another perspective to this story: even with such meager releases by WotC for D&D, Paizo could only sell 2-1/2 times as much product as WotC.

I think Paizo is a great company with lots of great material, but nothing will topple D&D...but D&D and Hasbro.

You do know this isn't the first time Paizo has outsold D&D.