WotC Hasbro's Tabletop Is On The Up Again

After a disappointing 2023, with hobby channel sales struggling and a reported decline in Dungeons & Dragons, the latest earnings call from Hasbro, covering the first quarter of 2024, shows tabletop games starting to recover.

Total gaming sales (which includes everything from Magic: the Gathering to Monopoly) were up 6%, with Wizards of the Coast in particular showing strong growth of 7%.

• Hasbro's overall revenues: -24%
• Digital and licensed game sales: +14%
• Overall tabletop gaming: +5%
• Magic the Gathering: +4%

Overall, Hasbro showed a 24% drop in revenues, partly attributed to the sales of Hasbro's film and TV business. Tabletop sales, however, showed growth, led by Magic: the Gathering.

The report calls out the success of Baldur's Gate 3, and talks about new licensing agreements with video game studios Resolution Games and Game Loft, along with partnerships with companies like LEGO.

Magic: the Gathering is expected to be down in 2024 after a record 2024, with WotC's revenue expected to drop by 3-5%.

Also mentioned are "more exciting innovations from our D&D team later this year as we continue to scale D&D Beyond and expand the richness of tabletop gameplay to digital."

 

[Scribe]

How does Pokèmon do it? The PTCG is nearly as old as MTG, and wildly popular with collectors, but you can play the game competitively for a fraction of the cost?

Stronger IP or true chase sets?

I never, ever, have seen people playing the game in shops. If it has a competitive scene, I've never seen it.

 

[Dire Bare]

Sure.. Setting any particular dollar amount is arbitrary. I get that. We can still just acknowledge that the hobby is too darned expensive.

The main villain in the Yu-Gi-Oh Anime was a rich guy who won by buying up all the best cards to get an unfair advantage on his opponents. The real games shouldn't be like the cartoon.

How does Pokèmon do it? The PTCG is nearly as old as MTG, and wildly popular with collectors, but you can play the game competitively for a fraction of the cost?

Tournament MtG can be pay-to-win, but casual Magic much less so. And that's what most Magic players play, is casual.

What killed the enthusiasm for casual Magic with my friend group was simply being overwhelmed with cards. We weren't purchasing outrageously expensive singles on the secondary market . . . but just picking up a "bundle" or sometimes a booster case for each release. And the pace at which WotC pumps out new Magic releases has become unrelenting. At some point, without discussing it, we all just got tired of trying to keep up! Plus, our personal collections were becoming large and unwieldly . . .

 

[Meech17]

Stronger IP or true chase sets?

I never, ever, have seen people playing the game in shops. If it has a competitive scene, I've never seen it.

I don't have access to any hard number unfortunately, but my preferred LGS runs PTCG and it fires as reliably as MTG does.

I've also got some friends that play at the comp level, so I know it exists. I can't compare as I play both games casually, rather than competitively.

Tournament MtG can be pay-to-win, but casual Magic much less so. And that's what most Magic players play, is casual.

What killed the enthusiasm for casual Magic with my friend group was simply being overwhelmed with cards. We weren't purchasing outrageously expensive singles on the secondary market . . . but just picking up a "bundle" or sometimes a booster case for each release. And the pace at which WotC pumps out new Magic releases has become unrelenting. At some point, without discussing it, we all just got tired of trying to keep up! Plus, our personal collections were becoming large and unwieldly . . .

I don't know exactly what your definition of casual MTG is.. I know some people refer to EDH as casual MTG, some people refer to any of the non-60 card formats as casual.. But you very well could just be referring to kitchen table anything goes MTG, or something else.

But my old play group was very much the same. We had no interest in keeping up with any of the main 60 card formats.. No one plays standard, and none of us wanted to, or could afford to buy into Modern, or Legacy.. So we mostly played EDH and Limited. Splitting a $120 booster box 4-8 ways for some drafts or sealed is way more palatable than $400+ entry level decks. We also dabbled in some proxy Modern and Old School.

Sadly that seems to be the best way to play magic. You just need a dedicated play group. I moved away last year and tried to play at the local LGS.. But even Commander night feels like an arms race. I still play the occasional pre-release or draft.. But not much else..

 

[bedir than]

And the pace at which WotC pumps out new Magic releases has become unrelenting.

They're talking about slowing down. But yes, I'm with you. I like my silly hobbit deck on Arena. It's so old now. The LotR release was a year ago, but it feels like a decade.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

Apparently they goosed the MtG numbers by including Thunder Junction in Q1 dispite it actually coming out in Q2, using a technicality. Both Ravnica remastered and Ravnica Markov Manor did very bad, so the fact that broken OTJ did so well helps them cover up for that, but that means Q2 only has MHM2, but most expect it to do huge so that is fine.

 

[bedir than]

Apparently they goosed the MtG numbers by including Thunder Junction in Q1 dispite it actually coming out in Q2, using a technicality. Both Ravnica remastered and Ravnica Markov Manor did very bad, so the fact that broken OTJ did so well helps them cover up for that, but that means Q2 only has MHM2, but most expect it to do huge so that is fine.

I blocked this bro from nearly every feed.

The headline is a blatant lie.

 

[Zardnaar]

Sometimes it's Tabletop games (which can be Magic, Monopoly, D&D and Scrabble), sometimes it's D&D the game, sometimes it's D&D the Brand, sometimes it's WotC, sometimes its WotC + Digital Games.

They obfuscate while being truthful in a masterful way

It's called spin.

Basically downplay the negative push the positive.

 

[Zardnaar]

I blocked this bro from nearly every feed.

The headline is a blatant lie.

He's really annoying his voice. Not that I watch many MtG videos. Occasionally history type ones or that Tolarian Community guy.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

I blocked this bro from nearly every feed.

The headline is a blatant lie.

Don't hate the player, hate the game. The Algorythme pushes folks to do clickbait titles.

 

[bedir than]

Don't hate the player, hate the game. The Algorythme pushes folks to do clickbait titles.

There's no algo here.

The vlogger lied. It was shared here as if true.