State of the RPG Industry

[Evil Eli]

Hello,

I am a long time rpger and have seen many games come and go. Never in my memory have I ever seen so many RPGs then I have now. However with every high there are a number of lows.

The death of FASA and Hoghead Publishing are some lowpoints that come to mind. Another downside is the fact that many companies have dumped there own in-house systems to adapt the D20 system. With such overwhealming amount of D20 material being published I can't help but worry that this is going to hurt the Industry as a whole.

There are so many games and quite frankly it is outstriping the number of people who actually play the games. To make matters worse is the drive towards multigenre systems like D20, GURPS, HERO, and Savage Worlds.

There seems to be a lack of orginal thought to some extent. There is seems to be a trend of following a set formula and pumping it for all it is worth and support seems to dry up!

Now I am not saying the entire industry is like this. I know for a fact that a number of people are coing out with the great stuff. I am just wondering when is the bubble going to burst on the RPG industry and we all see the survial of the fittest!

 

[Tarrasque Wrangler]

I am just wondering when is the bubble going to burst on the RPG industry and we all see the survial of the fittest!

I think that's been happening since Day One. You mentioned the demise of Hogshead and FASA; if that's not Darwinism in action than I don't know what is. I don't think either one collapsed because of the supposed supremacy of D20 and the OGL; I thnk they were just flawed companies.

I, for one, welcome multigenre systems to a point. As a guy who A) generally buys all the books in the group, B) teaches everyone how to play and C) usually runs the games too, I've really benefitted from the OGL. I don't have to keep 3 or 4 game systems in my head anymore.

However, I see the downside of homogenization. I know I shuddered when I saw what D20 had done to my beloved Deadlands! But this is where I think that competition will stay alive, as certain systems seem to work better than others at different tasks. I would never use D20 to run anything like a Storyteller campaign.

I think you are going to see a happy medium develop. Several D20 publishers have already fallen by the wayside and I expect the PDF market will grow as print publishers learn their limitations.

 

[DaveMage]

I can understand why some would lament the recent events, but I for one welcome what has happened regarding the consolidation to a few systems.

I've tried a few other systems (Champions, Rolemaster, Feng Shui), and for me, none of them were as enjoyable as the D&D/d20 system. In fact, they were all disappointments for me when compared to D&D.

Therefore, d20 has been wonderful since now many of the creative people who worked on other systems are now working on my favorite system.

I win! (Yes, it's all about ME ME ME!)

 

[Evil Eli]

So never of you guys feel the market is over saturated right now?

The main reason I lament the passing of FASA and Hogs Head is the fact they werer producing RPG's that were not D20.

Don't get me wrong I like the OGl and the things it has done for the Game. But how many ways can you play the same game!

 

[DanMcS]

So never of you guys feel the market is over saturated right now?

The main reason I lament the passing of FASA and Hogs Head is the fact they werer producing RPG's that were not D20.

These two comments are nonsensical, taken together. You think the market is "oversaturated", yet you wish there were more games on the market. Pick one?

Don't get me wrong I like the OGl and the things it has done for the Game. But how many ways can you play the same game!

No two game groups have done it yet, I'd wager.

 

[Varianor Abroad]

So never of you guys feel the market is over saturated right now?

For contrast, there was a story that they did on NPR today about music companies that are growing in a time when the industry is slumping. They tangentially mentioned that there are now something like 35,000 new music products entering the market annually. The mind boggles. Isn't that what's happening with gaming too? There's more product, and less time to enjoy it before everyone's on to the next thing. The consumer (me) feels like they're drowning and can't even savor what he or she likes because so many new things are pressing for attention.

I tend to agree with Chris Aylott, who made the observation that the d20 market is becoming competitive, not saturated. It's just reflective of the state of affairs everywhere.

 

[Desdichado]

The death of FASA and Hoghead Publishing are some lowpoints that come to mind. Another downside is the fact that many companies have dumped there own in-house systems to adapt the D20 system. With such overwhealming amount of D20 material being published I can't help but worry that this is going to hurt the Industry as a whole.

As were the deaths of I.C.E. and others in their day. It happens all the time.

There are so many games and quite frankly it is outstriping the number of people who actually play the games. To make matters worse is the drive towards multigenre systems like D20, GURPS, HERO, and Savage Worlds.

I'd like to see where you've got some info on the former statement there, and I'd also like to here you say why you think the latter is a bad thing. As far as I'm concerned it's a good thing. Not only that, it was already happening. GURPS and HERO have been around for a long time, the Storyteller system is used throughout the World of Darkness line, the BRP system has been used in at least three games by Chaosium that I know of. In other words, I think that statement is full of $#!+

There seems to be a lack of orginal thought to some extent. There is seems to be a trend of following a set formula and pumping it for all it is worth and support seems to dry up!

And that is different than the early 80s how exactly? Remember when there were fourteen different fantasy systems that all played more or less the same? Remember when playing MERP felt like D&D and not like Middle-earth? For that matter, have you looked around at some of the games in print right now, or some of the settings for d20 right now? Lack of original thought my @$$. Now that designers don't have to spend their time on systems if they don't want to, there's been an explosion of original thought.

Now I am not saying the entire industry is like this. I know for a fact that a number of people are coing out with the great stuff. I am just wondering when is the bubble going to burst on the RPG industry and we all see the survial of the fittest!

Twenty years ago? d20 created another "bubble", but that's already burst too, in my opinion.

 

[Piratecat]

These two comments are nonsensical, taken together. You think the market is "oversaturated", yet you wish there were more games on the market. Pick one?

No need to be snarky, Dan. I actually agree with him.

To a certain extent, diversity in rules sets encourages diversity and creativity in game design. While d20 has unified gamers and ensured that you're always going to be able to find people to game with (if you want to play D&D!), it's done so at the extent of edging out many of the non-d20 companies. I like to support good non-d20 games (Spaceship Zero! Spaceship Zero!) as a result.

Nevertheless, the d20 market is clogged with product, so an individual product nowadays will sell a fraction of what it would have two years ago. It makes it hard for the non-diversified companies to compete, and even they are having profitability problems unless they watch costs closely. I'd like to say that quality is winning out, and darwinian theory is always favoring the best products. I'm just not sure it's true.

 

[baseballfury]

I'd like to say that quality is winning out, and darwinian theory is always favoring the best products. I'm just not sure it's true.

It's clearly not true. In a darwinian system companies like Mongoose and Fast Forward would have died off already.

 

[Piratecat]

It's clearly not true. In a darwinian system companies like Mongoose and Fast Forward would have died off already.

Note that Mongoose has done something exceptionally clever: they've used cash flow from cheaper projects like the Slayers and Quintessential guides to create high-profile and high quality projects like Slaine. In addition, they have so many products out there that they maintain a high consumer profile, they command attention in the distribution channels, and they probably maintain a relatively even cash flow. Say what you want about their products, I think the company is cleverly and competently run.