New D&D Spinner Rack

[Glyfair]

To put this in perspective, let me quote a recent post from Erik Mona.

Believe it or not, RPGs are a shrinking part of the marketplace. Lots of new game stores don't even bother to stock them, and the preorders from distributors on most RPG product has been slipping pretty much annually over the last five years. I spoke with some fairly major-league RPG publishers at Origins, and I think the print runs some of them are down to would be absolutely shocking to your average EN World reader. So it's only a matter of time before RPGs are seen as a tiny part of the big gaming picture and are relegated completely to the side.

Earlier today, I saw this at the ICV2 website.

Wizards of the Coast is reprising its successful core hobby store D&D Rack program first launched in 2004. WotC is providing the store fixture, which it values at $350, to retailers for free as long as the retailers order a range of 19 D&D products that includes (among others) the Revised Player's Handbook, Revised Dungeon Master Guide, Revised Monster Manual, Basic Game Refresh, Complete Adventurer, Complete Arcane, Spell Compendium, Magic Item Compendium, Eberron Campaign Setting, and more -- a total of $595 worth of product at retail.

Is the WotC being active in trying to stem the tide? If new game stores aren't bothering to stock RPGs, will this make it more attractive (in a nice single order to get a line of product)?

Also, note the mention products. We have the core books, some of the "Complete" series, the "Extended Core" books (the Compendiums) and the Eberron campaign setting. I'd wager the Forgotten Realms would be included if they had a current campaign book. As it is, the Player's Guide might be part of the "and more."

Thoughts? Comments?

 

[crazy_monkey1956]

If RPG sales are indeed slumping overall, and WotC is aware of this trend (which, undoubtedly, they are) then allow me to speculate just a tad...

Scenario 1 - Gleemax and the D&D Digital Initiative: WotC, or perhaps their superiors at Hasbro, see the trend of print products slowly going the way of the Dodo and are implementing the DI in the hopes of preserving the hobby in some form, even it is one that may alienate some of the hobby's old timers.

Scenario 2 - Gleemax and the DI: WotC, seeing the trend of print products sales going down, implements the DI in an attempt to connect players and get more "screen time" for their games, all in the hopes of boosting sales.

Scenario 3 - Alarmism: If Erik Mona is right and RPGs are slowly being marginalized...what does that portend for print products overall? Will they go away entirely? Will sites like enworld and gleemax be the only way to get a gaming fix?

 

[rowport]

I have seen this spinner in the Evanston IL Barnes & Noble, so at least some large chain bookstores have them. It is a pretty nice presentation of the books IMO, although it is only about half the total, the other half on the traditional bookshelves.

Of course, since I already own nearly all the books... it has made no impact on my buying either way!

 

[bento]

I have seen this spinner in the Evanston IL Barnes & Noble, so at least some large chain bookstores have them. It is a pretty nice presentation of the books IMO, although it is only about half the total, the other half on the traditional bookshelves.

Of course, since I already own nearly all the books... it has made no impact on my buying either way!

And if the rack is like the dozen or so I've seen in various Barnes & Nobles I've visited, it's in the anime/graphic novel aisle, often an aisle or two over from RPG games. B&N has also started shelving RPG books with the PC & console game cheat books, making them more difficult to find.

 

[Moon-Lancer]

i highly doubt the price of that book fixture ($350)

 

[Catavarie]

I'm sorry to say that a "fancy" rack is not going to make me want to buy more gaming material. Good material makes me want to buy more. I'm sure the spin rack, if placed properly in the stores, will draw more people's attention to the books and may even entice a few people ont eh fence about getting into gaming to pick up a book, but for established gamers I don't see this as having any effect at all.

 

[vongarr]

There have been one of those at various bookmarks (military book stores on US posts) for a long time now.

Sadly, it'd be impossible to actually start a group with the crap they put on it. Never have I seen all core 3. But this is because of AAFES, not WOTC's programs.

 

[smetzger]

Is the WotC being active in trying to stem the tide? If new game stores aren't bothering to stock RPGs, will this make it more attractive (in a nice single order to get a line of product)?

That would be my guess.

 

[JoelF]

i highly doubt the price of that book fixture ($350)

I actually think it's pretty dead on. I work for a company which produces in store displays and mall kiosks, and it's amazing how much some of the most basic stuff costs. You have to factor in all sorts of things beyond the materials used - the labor to assemble the finished product, account services to take orders, arrange shipping, etc, actual shipping costs, a fraction of the design costs to create the initial design, overhead, and the producing company's margins.

As for the idea, I think it's a good one, but not really aimed at anyone on EN World. By looking at the basic products they're requiring, it seems pretty clear that this is an initiative to attract new gamers. Existing gamers already know where to find the books in their local stores, and have the basic ones. This is a cool, eye catching, spinning display intended to catch the interest of someone who doesn't currently play.

 

[Remathilis]

I saw one at my FLGS, but not elsewhere yet...