Is there a future for physical gaming pieces?

[TheRooster13]

With so many people going digital, either purely online or even on a local tabletop touchscreen, is there a future for physical game pieces? Dungeons, terrain, minis, maps, etc.

 

[AngryMojo]

I certainly hope so, considering I'm building a company doing just that.

In all due seriousness though, I really doubt digital media will completely overtake the hobby. People like having something tactile in their hands. Miniatures wargaming kind of loses its charm when digitized in any form, and it's a world of difference playing online versus playing in person.

 

[TheRooster13]

I feel the same, but I wonder if age plays into it. I agree that digital won't completely take over the hobby, but will it reduce demand enough to make life difficult for those who create physical products, thus reducing variety?

 

[TheRooster13]

What I meant by age playing into it is: will younger players feel more comfortable with digital, while older players feel better with physical?

 

[Werebat]

With so many people going digital, either purely online or even on a local tabletop touchscreen, is there a future for physical game pieces? Dungeons, terrain, minis, maps, etc.

Playing online is a pain in the ass. It's like playing with a bunch of people who all have hearing aids. You can't have side conversations with your friends, which is half the fun of game night, because you can't talk without interrupting EVERYONE else. Are you a DM who likes piping in mood music that you've worked hours to rip out of your favorite video games, organize on your iPhone, and select into playlists? Well, you're only being an ass for trying, because all the "dial-ins" can't hear anything but said music and it only detracts from their experience.

So no, tactiles will always have a place, because people will always prefer playing face-to-face.

 

[TheRooster13]

I haven't played online except for one quick pickup game, so I really don't know how great or horrible it is. Presumably people/programmers will come up with ways around the problems you mention though right? Other than the tactile feedback part. That might be a ways out yet.

 

[GMMichael]

With so many people going digital, either purely online or even on a local tabletop touchscreen, is there a future for physical game pieces? Dungeons, terrain, minis, maps, etc.

As soon as Microsoft's Surface screen hits the market, physical toys are becoming a niche within a niche.

 

[Umbran]

As soon as Microsoft's Surface screen hits the market, physical toys are becoming a niche within a niche.

You mean the table-sized thing they used to call Surface? It has been rebranded as PixelSense. "Surface" is the name they're using for a current line of tablets.

I don't expect to see the PixelSense on the consumer market any time soon. The thing is just too darned expensive to market except to businesses. You can't just walk into a store to buy it - it has a "purchase process". You have to talk to Samsung to get an SUR40, then talk to a app developer to build what application to do what you want. This is not consumer-ready technology.

 

[TheRooster13]

Even with all the whiz-bang technology, there will still be people who want physical pieces. But I wonder how many. Are there any studies on this topic at all?

 

[Jan van Leyden]

I think we already hae a split between real life games and online ones. Ever so often people on these very boards either tell us that they don't have a gaming group or starting/running an online game, e.g., to remain in contact with their old gaming buddies.

Without lots of new folks entering the hobby, the online section will probably grow and the ration RL/online shrink.

So I would think that the number of customers for physical gaming pieces will shrink, but there'll always be some.

Producers could go the path model railway companies (in Europe) travelled in the 80s/90s. Their models became more and more super-detailled and expensive in order to earn money from fewer customers. Mayn of those companies went belly-up in the last dozen years.