Viktyr Gehrig
First Post
I don't know-- I look at my bookshelf, and see that I've got a pile of game fiction novels blocking my access to my game books. (I really ought to fix that.) I know people who read Forgotten Realms novels that have never picked up a d20-- never played, much less DMed.
I know that I enjoy fiction from worlds I can't stand playing in-- Star Wars and Dragonlance come to mind-- and people are more likely to want their own copy of a novel than a game book.
Surely, this could be a powerful market.
If you want to look at another angle of game fiction, look at sales figures for Devil's Due Publishing's D&D comics lines. Other companies might not have such readily exploitable properties, but it's an angle worth exploring. Even Spelljammer had its own comic for awhile, but with its short run, I don't imagine it did too well. (On the other hand, it lasted longer than the first arc.)
I don't know how well miniatures sell, though obviously Wizards is making their nut on both of their minis lines. GW is still in business, and they don't even have collectible pre-painted minis. There's a half-dozen other companies in the field; whether this means it's viable or means it's too crowded for newcomers, I do not know.
One thing I suspect is that "prestige books", while viable in and of themselves, probably couldn't sustain the market-- I know I'd never drop $80 or $100 on a game book. I'll drop $30 or $40 a month on one or two new books, though, pretty easily. I prefer more of a variety, and I'm sure there are others who do as well.
I think expanding into fiction is probably a good idea for any company whose properties can support it; whether comics or novels, there's fertile ground there, and any successful game line has to have a number of talented fiction authors working on it.
Other merchandise-- T-shirts, hats, coffee mugs, and things like that-- is probably solid. With the kind of devotion some of the niche-within-a-niche products generate, you could probably make as much money off of these things as off the original lines themselves. For more established lines, this would be (I'm guessing) a small, but steady side business that requires a relatively small investment to get into; look at Cafepress and similar sites where people sell merchandise to support their websites.
Other branching opportunities I've seen, I'm rather unsure of. Not sure it'd be a good move for any of the smaller players, and the larger players... well, they can take care of themselves.
I know that I enjoy fiction from worlds I can't stand playing in-- Star Wars and Dragonlance come to mind-- and people are more likely to want their own copy of a novel than a game book.
Surely, this could be a powerful market.
If you want to look at another angle of game fiction, look at sales figures for Devil's Due Publishing's D&D comics lines. Other companies might not have such readily exploitable properties, but it's an angle worth exploring. Even Spelljammer had its own comic for awhile, but with its short run, I don't imagine it did too well. (On the other hand, it lasted longer than the first arc.)
I don't know how well miniatures sell, though obviously Wizards is making their nut on both of their minis lines. GW is still in business, and they don't even have collectible pre-painted minis. There's a half-dozen other companies in the field; whether this means it's viable or means it's too crowded for newcomers, I do not know.
One thing I suspect is that "prestige books", while viable in and of themselves, probably couldn't sustain the market-- I know I'd never drop $80 or $100 on a game book. I'll drop $30 or $40 a month on one or two new books, though, pretty easily. I prefer more of a variety, and I'm sure there are others who do as well.
I think expanding into fiction is probably a good idea for any company whose properties can support it; whether comics or novels, there's fertile ground there, and any successful game line has to have a number of talented fiction authors working on it.
Other merchandise-- T-shirts, hats, coffee mugs, and things like that-- is probably solid. With the kind of devotion some of the niche-within-a-niche products generate, you could probably make as much money off of these things as off the original lines themselves. For more established lines, this would be (I'm guessing) a small, but steady side business that requires a relatively small investment to get into; look at Cafepress and similar sites where people sell merchandise to support their websites.
Other branching opportunities I've seen, I'm rather unsure of. Not sure it'd be a good move for any of the smaller players, and the larger players... well, they can take care of themselves.
