D&D 5E Halflings are the 7th most popular 5e race

[Parmandur]

So, where I live, Target and In-N-Out Burgers both have starting Damaris of $18.50, posted all over their stores. I see teens working at both places all the time. So a local 16 year old who works 20 hours a single week is going to get about $370. That's enough to buy the core rules gift set, the rules expansion gift set, a ton of dice and a few Adventure books on Amazon (average 16 year old isn'tgoing to be fighting for their FLGS). For half a week's work.

 

[Clint_L]

Assuming where you live has deductions anything like where I live, they are taking home a lot less than $370. And of what they are taking home, D&D paraphernalia is in competition with everything else that they could spend the money on, same as for everyone else. Are they saving for college? For a car, or gas for a car, or insurance, or repairs? Do they have to buy essentials? - sadly, that is true of more teens than we might like to think. Or maybe they are weighing it against other entertainment options, cool clothes, etc.

My point is that teens, just like the rest of us, have a lot of different demands on their wallets, and each has unique circumstances. For some, I'm sure that dropping a few hundred bucks on D&D stuff is no big deal, but that is definitely not true of most teens that I know. I work at a private school, where the kids are almost all well off, and they still play D&D using scraps of paper and random tokens for miniatures, share books (and my DDB subscription) and are generally scrimping and saving for college.

 

[Parmandur]

Assuming where you live has deductions anything like where I live, they are taking home a lot less than $370. And of what they are taking home, D&D paraphernalia is in competition with everything else that they could spend the money on, same as for everyone else. Are they saving for college? For a car, or gas for a car, or insurance, or repairs? Do they have to buy essentials? - sadly, that is true of more teens than we might like to think. Or maybe they are weighing it against other entertainment options, cool clothes, etc.

My point is that teens, just like the rest of us, have a lot of different demands on their wallets, and each has unique circumstances. For some, I'm sure that dropping a few hundred bucks on D&D stuff is no big deal, but that is definitely not true of most teens that I know. I work at a private school, where the kids are almost all well off, and they still play D&D using scraps of paper and random tokens for miniatures, share books (and my DDB subscription) and are generally scrimping and saving for college.

Sure. They could also buy one of those things a week for a few weeks. But the point is that buying a ton of D&D stuff is easily affordable on a flipping burgers or stocking shelves salary. And in fact, teens and tweens are the main audience, per WotC repeatedly o er the past 25 years.

 

[Clint_L]

Sure. They could also buy one of those things a week for a few weeks. But the point is that buying a ton of D&D stuff is easily affordable on a flipping burgers or stocking shelves salary. And in fact, teens and tweens are the main audience, per WotC repeatedly o er the past 25 years.

That's not what the figures above are showing us; in fact, per WotC they seem to be a similar fraction of the player base as those of us aged 40+. They are more worth advertising to, though, as they are more malleable and have a lifetime of consumption ahead of them, so teens and YAs will have a disproportionate amount of marketing aimed at them, as in any other industry.

In terms of disposable income...well, I just dropped almost 3k into a Dwarven Forge Kickstarter. I doubt many teens did the same. I doubt any did.

 

[Parmandur]

That's not what the figures above are showing us; in fact, per WotC they seem to be a similar fraction of the player base as those of us aged 40+. They are more worth advertising to, though, as they are more malleable and have a lifetime of consumption ahead of them, so teens and YAs will have a disproportionate amount of marketing aimed at them, as in any other industry.

In terms of disposable income...well, I just dropped almost 3k into a Dwarven Forge Kickstarter. I doubt many teens did the same. I doubt any did.

They show that a number of people across an array of demographics are playing, but the focus for WotC is on new players, who tend to do most of the buying (hence why the PHB, DMG, and MM still top sales). Older people are already set: I could stop buying RPG material right now and still have plenty to work with for the rest of my life, and I'm only 38.

Not many people of any age group are dropping on Dwarven Forge Kickstarters: how many individual backers did thst Kickstarter get, and what percentage of 40 million do they represent...? I don't even use miniatures, since I learned to play with TotM, which is cheap.

 

[Lanefan]

A 2-4 in Ontario is about 40 bucks. I’m dunno what to say.

Last I looked it was somewhat less here in BC, so good reason to stay here.

 

[Lanefan]

What on earth is a “2-4”? Do y’all mean a 24 pack?

Yes, "two four" is Canada-speak for a 24-case.

 

[Hussar]

What on earth is a “2-4”? Do y’all mean a 24 pack?

Yes. A “two four”.

 

[Hussar]

That's not what the figures above are showing us; in fact, per WotC they seem to be a similar fraction of the player base as those of us aged 40+. They are more worth advertising to, though, as they are more malleable and have a lifetime of consumption ahead of them, so teens and YAs will have a disproportionate amount of marketing aimed at them, as in any other industry.

In terms of disposable income...well, I just dropped almost 3k into a Dwarven Forge Kickstarter. I doubt many teens did the same. I doubt any did.

But their fraction only covers 5 years while our fraction covers decades. That’s the difference.

 

[Parmandur]

But their fraction only covers 5 years while our fraction covers decades. That’s the difference.

Also, let's think about what is continually selling at the top rate: the three core books. Established players aren't the ones driving those sales, new players are.