D&D General Why grognards still matter

[Ruin Explorer]

Which just means someone older, not a grognard.

Sure, but let's not play-pretend, let's talk about how the term is actually used, which basically means "any older RPG player who has played previous editions/earlier RPGs".

Like, if you're 40, and you just started playing RPGs (and I know a couple of people like that), yeah, you're not a grog. But if you're 35 and you've been playing RPGs since you were ten, and have a lot of opinions, positive or negative about older editions, you're absolutely a grog.

You can say "Well it didn't used to mean that", but firstly - it kind of always did, and secondly:

 

[jasper]

Before that, can we have Gamers' cruises please?

7 days on a big ol' gin-palace cruise liner rolling dice and knocking back pina coladas sounds mighty good right now...

Gamer funk, old fart smell, and now vomit. This thread is getting worse.....

 

[TiQuinn]

Okay, WTFever.

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

So, I should use this principle when I open a bakery? You guarantee it will work?

Going off topic here, but when running any business there's no principle that can guarantee success. There are however plenty of ways to almost guarantee failure

 

[GuyBoy]

Grandmaster Grognard Guy reporting for duty:

Back then: Played Original and 1E with schoolfriends, played rugby, listened to The Clash, green hair in spikes, had no money

Now: Play 5E and Level Up face-to-face and online, watch rugby, still listen to the Clash, grey hair, economically comfortable, putting my grandkids through Steading of the Hill Giant Chief.

Both times: Love the wonderful game of D&D, don’t care how people enjoy their game as long as they enjoy it, still buy gaming books but donate copies to local high school.
D&D and Punk forever!

 

[SkidAce]

I have a sincere question.

Is there a difference between "mattering" as you define it (whatever that definition may be) and being the primary focus?

Because that seems to me what a lot of people really mean when they say their group "matters." They're actually saying, "Our group should be the primary focus of [target entity]'s efforts." It's not enough that they continue to have meaningful influence. They must have more influence than any other comparable demographic. Be it political, religious, economic, artistic, whatever--"we still matter!!" so, so, so often just comes across as a more palatable spin on "we matter the most, so therefore give us what we specifically want."

Nope, don't have to be primary, or secondary for that matter.

 

[Warpiglet-7]

The narrative I have seen a lot of places including this site is that the new generation is the only one that matter from money generation to tastes that impact the bottom line.

All that I assert is that this has not been the case either in how 5e was made nor in how “I strongly suspect” the businesses would see it.

Do I think more established people have more money? Yes

Do I think more money is correlated with more purchases per person? Yes

Do I think some of that generalizes to more gaming purchases? Yes

Can I cite clear financial date from the businesses in question to prove it? No

Can I look around at everyone I know and see one small sample that suggests this is true? Yes

If folks think that grogs don’t disproportionally impact sales per person, I am curious to know”why not?” And not in a rhetorical way—-just curious.

Now I will go back to my game room which is brimming with books, licensed minis, and wonder if I would have bought all this crap as a kid working fast food or if my folks would have bought it all for me…

 

[Bedrockgames]

I've never run into this IRL. Beside, I'm a father of two teenage son's. Being called a grognard would not hurt my feelings than being told "okay, Dad..."

In real life people are much more polite to one another. I can't recall the last time anyone has insulted me to my face or dismissed me to my face. This isn't about hurt feelings. It is about people provoking other posters anger by dismissing them in conversations. If you are trying to have a conversation about games and someone says "okay boomer" or "grognards complains about 'meh edition'" that will make someone react negatively want to say something like "you might call me a grognard but we still buy books". I don't think this is that outrageous of a position

 

[Mercurius]

Have you got even the slightest shred of proof that this is true, not a typical Boomer (in the broad sense) "I am more important economically and culturally than other people" opinion? Sorry if that sounds mean, I don't mean to be mean, but like, really? It seems like the worst kind of guesswork here.

Am I missing some hard evidence?

It seems reasonable that people over 25 buy, on average, more product than people 15-25.

But focusing on this one statement is a bit misdirecting to the underlying point I made. Again, the broader point isn't that older players matter more (again, never said that - at all), but that they still matter. In an economic sense, they still buy a lot of product, regardless of the exact ratio or proportion of sales. Not sure why several folks keep making this error of interpretation (except as a misplaced gripe towards grognards): "Oh, you say you matter? What you really mean--and I'll tell you what you mean, ignoring what you said--is that you matter more!"

 

[Parmandur]

Far fewer in number, perhaps. What we don't get to see is whether or not those older fans spend more, the same, or less per capita on the game than the younger fans; and I think what's being posited here is that it is - or has the potential to be - somewhat more.

A 5% block of a population can spend far more per capita than a 60% chunk of the population, but the lower per capita spend of the 60% can be overwhelmingly larger in absolute dollar terms. 30 million younger "casual" [hate that term] players might only spend an average $50 a year per capita on their hobby, while 1 million "hardcore" Grognards spend an average $200 per capita: that would mean the "casuals" would generate $1.5 BILLION compared to $200 MILLION.

Now, a smart company would go after both even though the lower spenders .ake up a bigger part of the business: and lo and behold, D&D is marketed to a wide audience.

In terms of Magic: the Gathering, apparently 80% of the revenue from card sales comes from impulse buys at big box stores and drug stores, from people who have never even competed in a formal game at a FLGS, or gone into a FLGS.