Sales Information for TTRPGs

[GothmogIV]

Friends, is there any way to know how TTRPG systems are selling in the world? Like how much Dragonbane is being sold vs. D&D 5e, or Dungeon Crawl Classics vs. Shadowdark, for example? I can't find any good information. Is it just not out there?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Not really. There is partial information available for multiple sources, but at best, it leaves out a large portion of sales, and at worst, some of the data can be ambiguous, since it's not intended for the purpose for which fans are using it.

 

[Umbran]

Friends, is there any way to know how TTRPG systems are selling in the world? Like how much Dragonbane is being sold vs. D&D 5e, or Dungeon Crawl Classics vs. Shadowdark, for example? I can't find any good information. Is it just not out there?

Mostly not. Companies are by no means required to release sales data, and there are some good reasons for them to not make such information public.

 

[GothmogIV]

Drivethru RPG doesn't release any kind of sales data, or VTT companies?

 

[UngainlyTitan]

Drivethru RPG doesn't release any kind of sales data, or VTT companies?

Not for a long time and not as far as I remember sales data. Roll 20, D&DBeyond and FantasyGrounds used to release usage information occasionally but not recently as far as I know.

 

[Umbran]

Not that I'm aware of, no.

Remember - sales data is proprietary business information. Other people having that data can impact the business. For drivethru to release it would be a breach of trust that would likely make sellers abandon the platform in droves.

I think that there's one company (it might be Evil Hat) that talks directly abotu their sales (a kind of yearly review).

Not for a long time and not as far as I remember sales data. Roll 20, D&DBeyond and FantasyGrounds used to release usage information occasionally but not recently as far as I know.

And note that usage information is not sales information for the individual games in question.

 

[Morrus]

Most companies do not publish sales data (Evil Hat is a notable exception to this).

You can infer some limited information -- such as what 'metal award' bracket something is in on DTRPG, an Amazon ranking, or what it raised on Kickstarter -- but those aren't solid numbers and there's no way to know what they sell on their own websites or through distribution or at conventions. You also don't know what percentage of their sales are made through what channels. And for some channels you can access BookScan data. But these are all just bits of data, not the whole picture.

So the short answer is generally no, not really, unless they tell you.

 

[TiQuinn]

Companies aren’t required to provide that data unless they are publicly traded and even then they don’t always provide it for individual products.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Drivethru RPG doesn't release any kind of sales data, or VTT companies?

The metal ratings are displayed, and each covers a discrete band of sales numbers. Sixty percent of products never even get to copper sales (which is 51 sales).

So, yes, generally speaking, but specific sales numbers are proprietary.

 

[GothmogIV]

Huh. Thanks, fellows. And to all who celebrate, happy Thanksgiving.