The recent crash in pricing for digital comics provides a data point for the future of electronic versions of tabletop books, 3D-printed miniatures, and terrain. How long can retailers keep their price points for physical product before the dam breaks?
It's also where a lot of innovation takes place, unrestrained by production and distribution barriers that would normally prohibit a creator from launching a product. OneBookShelf's (OBS) consolidation of digital gaming products (DriveThruRPG absorbed its rival, RPGNow, back in 2006 and now manages DM's Guild) draws a parallel with the dominance Amazon's Comixology in digital comics. So far, DriveThruRPG has resisted deep discounting on the scale of Comixology, perhaps because the price point is set by the creator, not by OBS.
OBS' management of its channels provides a path forward for companies like Wizards of the Coast, who shifted from removing all of its PDFs online in 2009 to partnering with OBS to create a DM's Guild in which creators can leverage WOTC's own content to create new products. This shift was likely influenced by the decline of bookstores, a major channel for RPG distributors.
By all accounts, the digital market for comics (and books in general) has stabilized. Reference books in particular lend themselves to digital distribution. Given that tabletop gaming books are often purchased for reference during play, they can be even more useful in electronic format when indexed and searchable. The same can't be said for 3D models however.
WOTC has paid careful attention to 3D products on sites like Shapeways, a platform WOTC's parent company Hasbro has an existing agreement with. With a few exceptions, most D&D models are free to download and print. Games Workshop, on the other hand, went after a creator on Thingiverse for creating a Warhammer-style figure back in 2012.
Cool Mini or Not (CMON) has adopted a Minimum Advertised Pricing Policy (MAPP) for advertising of its games:
There are miniatures for just about every game imaginable on Thingiverse and Shapeways. Warhammer-compatible models are ubiquitous on Thingiverse (over 1,700 models). Don't like the Robotech miniatures from Palladium's recent Kickstarter? You can print them yourself. Missing a ship for X-Wing? Print it yourself. Fans who have a 3D printer can even make their own terrain with OpenLock, a rival to DwavenForge's terrain.
The hobby market will likely shift its strategy from providing printed products to providing high-quality digital files (indexed PDFs, high-quality 3D models) that can't be purchased for free online. One thing's for sure: if Thingiverse's catalog is any indication, the price of digital products in the 3D space have already been socialized well below digital comics' $0.99.
The Line is 99 Cents
Many businesses are being upended by the move to online sales, as products transform from physical to a digital format. Chris Anderson at Wired explains why Web content continues to get cheaper and cheaper:This is the challenge facing the comics industry today. Comics in digital format is not new, but as the market has matured some patterns are emerging. For one, the massive back catalog of comics are plentiful, such that anyone seeking to jump into comics no longer has to worry about the significant barrier to entry of hunting for a comic. One side effect of the availability of these digital comics -- and the desire to bring fans up to speed quickly on hot properties as they are launched in films and TV series -- was deep discounting. According to ICv2 columnist Rob Salkowitz, this has had the unintended effect of normalizing consumers' perceptions of what a comic should cost:It's now clear that practically everything Web technology touches starts down the path to gratis, at least as far as we consumers are concerned. Storage now joins bandwidth (YouTube: free) and processing power (Google: free) in the race to the bottom. Basic economics tells us that in a competitive market, price falls to the marginal cost. There's never been a more competitive market than the Internet, and every day the marginal cost of digital information comes closer to nothing.
Role-playing games have also been sold in Humble Bundles. Salkowitz points out that there are benefits to this kind of deep discounts:It’s also fulfilled the prophesy that programs like Humble Bundle, which led the way in dumping piles of digital issues on the market for ridiculous prices, would eventually erode the perception of value for non-current material, permanently lowering the ceiling for profit margins on publisher back catalog in exchange for the sugar-high of short term revenue.
The concern is that consumers will not buy new products at full price. After all, today's comic book is tomorrow's deep-discounted back issue. Will fans stop buying?It’s a huge plus for consumers to be able to catch up on storylines or track down old favorites in digital format without breaking the bank. It’s good for publishers, who can use promotional sales to generate attention for characters poised for a big moment on screen or in a featured upcoming series. It’s good for creators, who can expose new (and old) fans to their previous work without driving them to the back issue bins.
Digital and Tabletop RPGs
PDFs of tabletop role-playing game rules and adventures share a lot of similarities with comics. They have a finite lifespan but are still accessible later, and as future editions of RPGs are released, the back catalog loses its appeal at brick-and-mortar outlets, often ending up deep discounted to clear shelf space. The digital space is where a back catalog can thrive.It's also where a lot of innovation takes place, unrestrained by production and distribution barriers that would normally prohibit a creator from launching a product. OneBookShelf's (OBS) consolidation of digital gaming products (DriveThruRPG absorbed its rival, RPGNow, back in 2006 and now manages DM's Guild) draws a parallel with the dominance Amazon's Comixology in digital comics. So far, DriveThruRPG has resisted deep discounting on the scale of Comixology, perhaps because the price point is set by the creator, not by OBS.
OBS' management of its channels provides a path forward for companies like Wizards of the Coast, who shifted from removing all of its PDFs online in 2009 to partnering with OBS to create a DM's Guild in which creators can leverage WOTC's own content to create new products. This shift was likely influenced by the decline of bookstores, a major channel for RPG distributors.
By all accounts, the digital market for comics (and books in general) has stabilized. Reference books in particular lend themselves to digital distribution. Given that tabletop gaming books are often purchased for reference during play, they can be even more useful in electronic format when indexed and searchable. The same can't be said for 3D models however.
Digital and Miniatures
Miniatures have slowly fallen out of favor among companies like WOTC, who once offered pre-painted randomized miniatures, only to abandon the product after the Great Recession in 2008 made the price of production and shipping unfeasible. WizKids picked up the slack, acting as a consolidator for multiple companies' plastic miniature lines, WOTC included.WOTC has paid careful attention to 3D products on sites like Shapeways, a platform WOTC's parent company Hasbro has an existing agreement with. With a few exceptions, most D&D models are free to download and print. Games Workshop, on the other hand, went after a creator on Thingiverse for creating a Warhammer-style figure back in 2012.
Cool Mini or Not (CMON) has adopted a Minimum Advertised Pricing Policy (MAPP) for advertising of its games:
CMON's MAPP focuses primarily on advertising vs. the actual price of the product (in CMON's case, products cannot be advertised lower than 15% of the standard retail price). A MAPP's attempt to "reduce counterfeiting" may not be comprehensive enough. Six years later, any concerns about keeping counterfeit and copycat products off digital shelves are quickly dispelled by browsing Thingiverse.CMON believes that by unilaterally imposing restrictions on the minimum prices advertised by our distribution and retail partners, we can reduce counterfeiting and enhance our customer’s perceived value of the CMON brand, and that serves the best interests of our consumers, retailers, and distributors.
There are miniatures for just about every game imaginable on Thingiverse and Shapeways. Warhammer-compatible models are ubiquitous on Thingiverse (over 1,700 models). Don't like the Robotech miniatures from Palladium's recent Kickstarter? You can print them yourself. Missing a ship for X-Wing? Print it yourself. Fans who have a 3D printer can even make their own terrain with OpenLock, a rival to DwavenForge's terrain.
The hobby market will likely shift its strategy from providing printed products to providing high-quality digital files (indexed PDFs, high-quality 3D models) that can't be purchased for free online. One thing's for sure: if Thingiverse's catalog is any indication, the price of digital products in the 3D space have already been socialized well below digital comics' $0.99.
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