Chain Stores And D&D

[Stormonu]

Back in the 80's, I got my introduction to D&D by buying the books at K&B toys and Toys'R'Us. There wasn't a hobby store around us that I remember, and for whatever reason, the books were more expensive at the local Waldenbooks we had.

Apparently, when TSR ran afoul of the "D&D is evil" stigma, such places pulled the games from their shelves.

Now, I know you can get the Starter set at Toys R Us, and I've seen D&D orderable from Walmart's web site, but I'm somewhat surprised with Hasbro's pockets that there isn't at least a small section set aside for at least the core books, some minis and dice. Heck, for the longest time, Magic has been available in stores like Walmart and Toys R Us as well. You would think WotC/Hasbro would want the ubiquity to help grow the popularity of the game.

Personally, I think WotC needs to get out of the mindset of concentrating sales to book stores (and speciality hobby stores) and experiment with getting the game into mass market stores.

With some creative carving up on the game, I bet they could sell a specialty pack ("Fighter starter pack", "Warden starter pack") - one class (+cards, perhaps up to 5th or 10th level), a couple minis, a set of dice and a digest books of the base rules (something like a Rules Compendium product) and it would do decently in stores.

What do you think?

 

[Oryan77]

I always wondered why Target, Walmart, and Toys-R-Us don't carry D&D minis or books. Don't they sell Heroscape stuff? I've seen DDM Starter sets there, so why not carry the rest?

 

[korjik]

Barnes and Noble carries a pretty full range of the WOTC line. Decent to good selection of the D&D stuff, and occasionally some SAGA.

Havent really seen the minis tho. That may be due to the packaging as much as the fact that they are minis

 

[Festivus]

I get the feeling that they are going to be testing the waters with the new red box. I was kind of scratching my head about why they were releasing this product when they already had a starter set out there, but I am thinking this might be the reason. Stick with my conjecture for a moment:

Dad taking his kids through "Toys R Us" spots the red box D&D starter set... who then recalls their youth when they played it... after all, it looks a LOT like the old red box set... perhaps that gets the dad thinking he should pick it up and teach it to his kids.

Ok, I am probably way out there, and it's probably wishful thinking but I would be really pleased to see D&D sold in such places as it would be a big driver to more folks wanting to play D&D.

 

[darjr]

The last starter box was in Toys R Us. I don't, however, think it was quite the right product. I did buy to give to toys for tots.

The older 'basic' and 'starter' boxes for 3e were in Toys R Us as well, I think, I saw at least the one basic set there, but again, I don't think they were quite the right product. To much expense and not complete. I admit I bought all three of those boxed sets. I really liked the paperback PHB in the starter, but it wasn't enough 'starter'.

None of them were quite what the original red box was. I very much hope and think that the new red box is more along the lines of what is needed. Enough to be a complete game, and with the rest of the essentials lines not a complete throw away when your ready for more.

 

[malraux]

Now, I know you can get the Starter set at Toys R Us, and I've seen D&D orderable from Walmart's web site, but I'm somewhat surprised with Hasbro's pockets that there isn't at least a small section set aside for at least the core books, some minis and dice. Heck, for the longest time, Magic has been available in stores like Walmart and Toys R Us as well. You would think WotC/Hasbro would want the ubiquity to help grow the popularity of the game.

Personally, I think WotC needs to get out of the mindset of concentrating sales to book stores (and speciality hobby stores) and experiment with getting the game into mass market stores.

With some creative carving up on the game, I bet they could sell a specialty pack ("Fighter starter pack", "Warden starter pack") - one class (+cards, perhaps up to 5th or 10th level), a couple minis, a set of dice and a digest books of the base rules (something like a Rules Compendium product) and it would do decently in stores.

What do you think?

I suspect currently the issue that WotC faces is that their current DnD product lineup is books. Those don't mesh well with any particular section of ToysRUs or Walmart. I wouldn't be surprised if a big reason for the move back to box sets is to widen the retail outlet possibilities.

 

[malraux]

Barnes and Noble carries a pretty full range of the WOTC line. Decent to good selection of the D&D stuff, and occasionally some SAGA.

Havent really seen the minis tho. That may be due to the packaging as much as the fact that they are minis

Every B&N that I've gone in recently has had not only a good to excellent selection of WotC DnD stuff (ie basically everything in hardback from the past year + the past 3 months or so worth of the softback stuff) but a not too bad selection of other stuff as well. Pathfinder, BSG RPG, etc. Sure, its not nearly as good as a dedicated RPG store, but certainly evidence that the stuff is still selling.

 

[Stormonu]

Every B&N that I've gone in recently has had not only a good to excellent selection of WotC DnD stuff (ie basically everything in hardback from the past year + the past 3 months or so worth of the softback stuff) but a not too bad selection of other stuff as well. Pathfinder, BSG RPG, etc. Sure, its not nearly as good as a dedicated RPG store, but certainly evidence that the stuff is still selling.

Yeah, the last B&N I went to in Alpharetta, GA this last month had a "roleplaying section" that consisted of about 5 books; only two were D&D. Our local BooksAMillion has an ever-moving and dwindling roleplaying section, and only recently got a boost when the PHB3 came out. It seems to really fluctuate, and I'll bet it has a lot to do with how informed the staff is about roleplaying games and such.

I think if WotC were to focus more on the toy or (board)game aspect instead of a set of books, it would do well in the chain stores.

For example, I'd bet the monster mini sets would have done better well if they'd actually been themed as encounter sets - kind of like a mini delve in a box. Four or five figures + cards, a folding 12"X12" paper battle mat (generic squares on one side, an encounter area on the other side) and a 1 page encounter write-up (with a really basic set of rules on the back side). Maybe some cardstock punch-out status counters if there were room. Maybe set up as a "base set" + "boosters" like the old DDM.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

I suspect currently the issue that WotC faces is that their current DnD product lineup is books. Those don't mesh well with any particular section of ToysRUs or Walmart. I wouldn't be surprised if a big reason for the move back to box sets is to widen the retail outlet possibilities.

This. The D&D range is pretty much exclusively books. So it would need to come up with some products that fit in with a toy and game section (i.e. Ravenloft boardgame) in order to get back in to these stores. You may even need to create basically a board game version of D&D to get people in to the game. You would then use those products as a gateway before transitioning them in to your main game line (i.e. PHB, DMG, MM, etc.).

Olaf the Stout

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Even though I've been gaming for 30+ years, the only national chain stores I've ever seen sell RPGs have been B&N and Borders. When I started off, RPGs were sold only in comic shops and bookstores near college campuses (in the communities in which I lived back then).

By the time the "Satanic Panic" had peaked, I was buying almost all of my stuff from hobby stores, and I haven't really looked back. I have bought some gaming material at B&N and Borders, but it accounts for maybe...10% (?) of my annual purchases.