Hasbro Game Sales Drop Nearly A Quarter (due to MtG and Digital Games)

[Snarf Zagyg]

Back in the early 90's my buddy and I were bored enough to go to a free Bobby Brown concert once. For some reason when people ask me what concerts I've been to, I forget that one.

If it makes you feel better ... he does too.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Back in the early 90's my buddy and I were bored enough to go to a free Bobby Brown concert once. For some reason when people ask me what concerts I've been to, I forget that one.

It's your prerogative.

 

[Stormonu]

Are people feeling fatigue with D&D though? The 'pressure' to keep up doesnt really exist to me, not like it did in MTG.

Out of these, I'm cautiously waiting for 2, maybe 3 of them. Thats not going to break the bank, like MTG can do.

I'm one of those idiots who bought everything for 2E & 3E. I've bought a fair number of 5E products, but not all - and looking at the list above, the only one that interests me is Planescape. If other folks are like me that have been in D&D since at least 2014, I suspect we're filling a bit full on what's available already and being more discerning on what we add to our libraries. Especially with the foreknowledge the game is going to change in some form in 2024.

 

[Willie the Duck]

I thought they changed the word recession, so were weren't in one. I mean I still see my gas and groceries prices growing faster then my paycheck. Not to mention oil to heat my house, but I'm told to pay no attention to that and spend like it is 2019.

Of course spending money on games is going down. They need to make a damn good book for me to drop my remaining cash on something.

No. That's a bad faith argument from cable news folks.
Recessions require two quarters of declining GDP, which hasn't happened yet.
That's inflation, which is happening.

The fundamental issue here is that economic recession is a jargon word used by economists to mean a very specific thing within the economic outlook (a generally negative situation), but various people have latched on to it as a catchall term for any and all generally negative economic situations. It would be like if 'getting a flat tire' was used as a catchall term for any kind of automotive breakdown. You can have a negative economic situation without it being a recession just like you can have your car break down without it being a flat tire.

Recession in general is a poor shorthand for economic woe in general, if for no other reason than because it is inherently retrospective -- you look backwards at a timeframe and determine 'hey, that was a recession.' That said, since all of this is tied to political horseraces (in the incredibly complex algorithm of assigning blame - real or perceived - for the state of the economy), it's useful for there for there to be a relatively unchanging* guideposts for such things that are applied to all parties-to-whom-one-lauds/blames-for-the-state-of-the-economy. After all, it is nearly certain that a very similar economic situation will happen again in your lifetime when your preferred side is on the other side of the in-power/not-in-power line. Regardless, it's certainly useful to know after the fact, and more useful to know the actual indicators by which one determines like the current situation might eventually be deemed a recession. At the same time, if your family or business (or favorite game company's business) is struggling, it really doesn't matter to you if right now isn't technically a recession.
*The exact weighing of factors (personal incomes, employment, consumer spending, retail sales, industrial production, and so on) for what constitutes a contracting economy are chosen by the nonpartisan NBER (it should be pointed out that those weights have not recently changed).

I'm one of those idiots who bought everything for 2E & 3E. I've bought a fair number of 5E products, but not all - and looking at the list above, the only one that interests me is Planescape. If other folks are like me that have been in D&D since at least 2014, I suspect we're filling a bit full on what's available already and being more discerning on what we add to our libraries. Especially with the foreknowledge the game is going to change in some form in 2024.

We are as well (although I don't remember a time when any of my gaming groups tried to be completionists, except one guy who said so at the beginning of 3e and quickly realized this would be implausible).

 

[aramis erak]

@darjr you keep saying BoA gave Elon money as if its relevant to the greater picture here. All these predatory banks, running the artificial predatory system that is the stock market, within the predatory framework of capitalism, dont care, as long as there is short term profit to be had.

Which, is exactly what got MTG in this place. Short term profit > All.

Given that few game companies are organized as non-profit nor public benefit corporations (and many are in states without PBCs)... so profit seeking is required by law.

WotC, being a standard incorporation business in Washington State, is obliged to seek maximal profits within the scope specified in their corpora and bylaws as amended.

They're subject to board whims at HasBro - also a for-profit - and HasBro's in bed with WotC competitors for GI Joe, Transformers, MLP, & Power Rangers... using the "Essence 20" system.

If D&D 6 doesn't make money, D&D Tabletop might wind up on the licensing block... But, as long as it sells, there will be more... because the corporations involved are obliged to pursue profit...

 

[Art Waring]

Given that few game companies are organized as non-profit nor public benefit corporations (and many are in states without PBCs)... so profit seeking is required by law.

WotC, being a standard incorporation business in Washington State, is obliged to seek maximal profits within the scope specified in their corpora and bylaws as amended.

They're subject to board whims at HasBro - also a for-profit - and HasBro's in bed with WotC competitors for GI Joe, Transformers, MLP, & Power Rangers... using the "Essence 20" system.

If D&D 6 doesn't make money, D&D Tabletop might wind up on the licensing block... But, as long as it sells, there will be more... because the corporations involved are obliged to pursue profit...

Except there is a big difference between long-tern sustainable profits and short term pump and dumb scenarios. They have every capability to choose the sustainable option while still being profitable, but they don't. Just look at the state of MtG right now...

 

[aramis erak]

Except there is a big difference between long-tern sustainable profits and short term pump and dumb scenarios. They have every capability to choose the sustainable option while still being profitable, but they don't. Just look at the state of MtG right now...

Only if the BoD agrees it's an option. Otherwise, the quarterly profits and shareholder disbursements are the actionable baseline.

General historical trend? Companies aiming for long term sustainability over short term profit wind up with new BoD's and CEOs, because attentive shareholders tend to care more about cash in pocket now. Daytraders don't give a «bleep» about long-term, either, only the current price swing, which usually is about the next quarter's projected profits.

The system is set up to make long term sustainability outside the realm of for-profit corporations

 

[Art Waring]

Only if the BoD agrees it's an option. Otherwise, the quarterly profits and shareholder disbursements are the actionable baseline.

General historical trend? Companies aiming for long term sustainability over short term profit wind up with new BoD's and CEOs, because attentive shareholders tend to care more about cash in pocket now. Daytraders don't give a «bleep» about long-term, either, only the current price swing, which usually is about the next quarter's projected profits.

The system is set up to make long term sustainability outside the realm of for-profit corporations

Unfortunately I can't disagree.

 

[Jd Smith1]

Only if the BoD agrees it's an option. Otherwise, the quarterly profits and shareholder disbursements are the actionable baseline.

General historical trend? Companies aiming for long term sustainability over short term profit wind up with new BoD's and CEOs, because attentive shareholders tend to care more about cash in pocket now. Daytraders don't give a «bleep» about long-term, either, only the current price swing, which usually is about the next quarter's projected profits.

The system is set up to make long term sustainability outside the realm of for-profit corporations

In defense of that position, market trends and political/social swings also seriously inhibit long-term planning. For years movie theaters were a solid business model. So was renting VCR tapes of movies. Just two of countless examples.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

STOP. If you say that three times, Bobby Brown appears.

If we're lucky, it'll be Millie Bobby Brown