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Message: <blockquote data-quote="IlluminatedSeraph" data-source="post: 6754184" data-attributes="member: 6803508">[MENTION=81852]Desh-Rae-Halra[/MENTION]Jester's point is that while WotC has produced a lot of books and content, those books and content primarily serve as marketing for the place they actually make their money. While his formulation is reductive, he's not wrong. (Or she.)Your typical game store is not in the business of selling RPG books. That may seem counter-intuitive to you, but go ask the person behind the counter to ask their boss at your LGS and you'll find that it's true. The bulk of virtually every game store's money is in miniatures and card games (MtG being the largest). So why bother with shelf space for RPG books and board games if they make so little on them?Two words: customer traffic. RPG players, in that hobby, are rarely lucrative. But they are usually both extremely interesting people to have around your store (which makes you look like a cool place to be to walk-ins or uncertain customers) and into other hobbies which do make you money. The latest RPG book or in-store RPG campaign brings them in the door, and then you sell them the product that actually makes you your living. WotC essentially does the same thing on a corporate and brand level - the RPG fanbase generates buzz, passion and a general sense that something cool might be going on, and then they make their bank selling computer games and books and so forth to both that fanbase and everyone who hears about their products from that fanbase.So no, WotC isn't in business - in the narrow sense of what keeps the lights on - to sell books. It's in business to sell a variety of other things for which RPGs are the value-menu item that draws customers.</blockquote>

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