Extra Credits: Tabletop Industry 'Extinction Level Event'

[CleverNickName]

To the point of the video, let's not confuse the topic: the video specifically calls out board games. And while the RPG industry might be affected similarly, it is board games that are feeling the brunt of the shipping-paper-pandemic trifecta of a business-killing event. Board games require much more production in the way of accessories, tokens, cardboard, etc. And as @Umbran pointed out, a lot of RPGs can be sold in digital formats which circumvents the need for paper & print productions.

The video specifies all kinds of tabletop games, not just board games. Yes, it mentions the extra difficulties in production that board game manufacturers and developers have faced as one of the "dominoes," but it also mentions indie RPG manufacturers and comic books, too. The consultant on the episode (Eddie Webb) is the author of Pugmire, a popular indie tabletop RPG.

To your point, I agree that board games are hardest-hit, for sure, but I think the points in the video are relevant to tabletop RPGs also. Many of the RPG Kickstarters I've backed have been hit with shipping delays of several months, not just because of paper shortages for the physical books, but also because of plastic tokens, custom dice, and other components. (Even the juggernaut D&D is played with more than just text.)

I feel like I have been waiting ages for some of the multimillion-dollar Kickstarters I backed, like The One Ring and Avatar: Legends. I have the PDFs, sure, but...meh. I didn't pledge the Kickstarter to get the PDFs. (And looking at the Kickstarter pages, I'm far from the only one.) I felt like this video was a good reminder of the issues that game developers and manufacturers are facing in the wake of Covid-19, and a reminder that I need to be a little more understanding.

 

[jayoungr]

Our group has been playing online ever since the pandemic started. So as long as we can get electronic product, supply chain issues don't affect us.

Sounds like the boardgame industry could do with a VTT type application.

There is one, but I can't remember the name before I've had my morning caffeine...

 

[Jer]

There is one, but I can't remember the name before I've had my morning caffeine...

Tabletop Simulator is the one my friends rave about.

 

[Retreater]

Sounds like the boardgame industry could do with a VTT type application.

We're enjoying Board Game Arena.

 

[Teo Twawki]

Oooo! I love discussion of Extinction Level Events. Combines two advanced degrees of study into one conversation!

The kind of declaration this video offers compels the need to have an antonym for the Cassandra Complex. Perhaps that would be Henny Penny/Chicken Little?

Kickstarter is expanding with successful rpg projects, the bigger companies are posting some of their highest earnings ever, and yet somehow this means the industry is headed for extinction? Hm.

Calls this to mind:

Our earth is degenerate in these latter days.
There are signs that the world is speedily coming to an end.
Bribery and corruption are common.
Children no longer obey their parents.
Every man wants to write a book,
and the end of the world is evidently approaching.

It's an inscription found on a tablet in Assyria, circa 2800 BCE. It isn't inaccurate. But that doesn't mean it was correct.

I'd wager through evidence and experience, that video's perception is far more of the Henny Penny sort of extinction level prediction rather than Cassandra's.

 

[aramis erak]

The TT boardgame industry hasn't been stable yet. Nor has the RPG one. (Nor, for that matter, most of the other IP based industries.)
I doubt either can be... because both thrive on essential replacement.

To succeed, a company doesn't need a singular huge hit (the time for that has passed), but a steady stream of content selling.
Anything which impedes that - loss of creativity, alienation of fans, complexity rising to unsustainable, supply chain issues, distribution issues - threatens the company.

Edition churn starts in 1976....

the Satanic Panic caused a lot of press, and for every book burned, it's been estimated that 2 more were sold. (I suspect it's more like for every 3 burned, 4 more sold, because a lot of kids replaced their books their parents took to the burning, then got caught with the replacements, which also got burned... and replaced again.)
It lasted from about 1983 to, oh,... 1999 or so. And in some communities, still exists. It was thought by many to be the probable end of D&D, but instead, it was a justification for a new edition. Or two. (AD&D1→AD&D2, and BX→ BECMI)
GDW was hit far less hard, and Palladium somewhere in between. GDW decided to edition churn, too... CT2→MT, T2K1e→T2K2e. FASA, becoming a major player due to Star Trek license, did a churn in the mid 80's, too.

the industry will survive, much as the dinosaurs and mammals did.... by some being already adapted to the new conditions and just waiting for a chance to rise to prominence.

 

[Randomthoughts]

Steam sells some popular board games; I’ve gotten a few during the pandemic. Gloomhaven is fairly new. One of my faves appeared last year IIRC and I’m eager to play: The Fury of Dracula.

I also came across GAME ON TABLE TOP • Game On Table Top but have yet to play on it.