Steve Jackson Games 2013 Report to Stakeholders

[Morrus]

I always find these reports interesting - and appreciate the transparency.
Steve Jackson Games Incorporated has a single stockholder: me. But many people have a stake in our success. Our STAKEholders are our employees, our distributors and retailers, and, of course, the people who play our games . . . as well as the freelance artists and designers we work with, the printers who create the finished product, the volunteers who demonstrate our games at conventions and retail stores, and the folks who run game conventions.

We try to stay in touch with our stakeholders. Most of our communications nowadays are via Internet: our Daily Illuminator blog, our Twitter feed, our forums, the web pages for our games, and the letters that go to the 200+ people and companies to whom we pay royalties. And, every year since 2004, I've written an annual report not unlike the "report to the stockholders" that you'd expect from a public company. This is it.

Here's the report.

Interesting that OGRE, while being a massive Kickstarte successm isn't necessarily a win - in some senses, he calls it a failure since it reduced attention to the core business.

Additionally, he summarises 2012 for the industry:

Kickstarter emerged as a driving force for game publication. In our hobby, highly supported projects included Reaper Bones, Zombicide, and FATE Core. The direct-to-consumers model lets creators reach out to supporters who don't frequent retail stores, but its effect on the stores themselves is not clear.

PAX expanded again, with the original PAX Prime going to four days, and a PAX announced for Australia.

Hobby staples like Munchkin, Catan, and Ticket to Ride are appearing on more and more mass-market shelves. This is a big win for the hobby, because it's seeding the market with new players of the core games!

WotC announced that there would be a new D&D edition, "D&D Next," and started playtest.

Pathfinder continued to grow.

A new "TSR Games" was formed, with the involvement of Ernie Gygax and some former Dragon Magazine personnel. The first issue of the new TSR's "Gygax Magazine" appeared in early 2013.

The "TableTop Effect" seems to be a thing. Many of the games featured there had a sales spike and then settled down at a higher sales level than before. We know we saw that with Zombie Dice and Chez Geek. With Munchkin sales as high as they are already, it's harder to see a blip, but we have heard from a lot of people who said they bought it because of the show, loved it, and are watching TableTop for their next game!

 

[Emirikol]

Seems they may need to rethink the value of kickstarters in relation to their resource expenditure eh?

For a small company kickstarters seem pretty great I suppose. To a company with established revenue, they need to be
prepared for temporary expansion to handle such a thing.

jh

 

[Morrus]

Yeah; it's always going to be a case-by-case thing. Plus experience as the crowdfunding methods age a little and industries learn best how to use them.

 

[Argyle King]

2013 SJ Games Stakeholder Report

As a fan of SJ Games, this is one of the things that has made me feel good about being a customer. The level of communication (and honesty -whether good or bad) between the company and fans is something that I do not often see elsewhere. The report was later than usual this year, but it is still an interesting read.

The report can be found here: http://www.sjgames.com/general/stakeholders/


For me personally, one of the most interesting things was the dimensions given for the Ogre box. "The final box will be 24" × 20" × 5.75" and will weigh 24 pounds." I'm very anxious to get my hands on the final product once it is released.

The Munchkin video game should be interesting as well. I'm not sure what exactly to expect from it, but it is a project I've been interested in following ever since I heard the whispers of it a year ago. A preview video of it can be found here: http://www.tinderboxentertainment.com/

It is also very interesting to hear about all of the successes; especially in spite of the gloom and doom predictions concerning tabletop games. As a gamer, it makes me feel good to know that a company I am a fan of is doing well.

Thoughts?

 

[Umbran]

Mod Note: Threads merged.

 

[Argyle King]

I find it pretty interesting that SJ expects to sell Ogre at a loss, but accepts that as being ok because he wants to give back to the hobby and the gaming community. I believe it says a lot about the individual behind the business.

 

[scourger]

I am anxious to see the Car Wars kickstarter.

 

[Morrus]

I am anxious to see the Car Wars kickstarter.

Me too. I loved that game!

 

[Argyle King]

Another thing I want to see is the finished product for Munchkin Pathfinder. I'm most interested to see if a success there will lead to more partnerships in the future between Paizo and SJ Games.