Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="xechnao" data-source="post: 5762411" data-attributes="member: 58105">I think that in the 80s and 90s people had to go out to meet each other, to communicate and consume so they went out a lot more than they do now, where they may choose instead to conveniently put some of their free time on online communities like enworld, rpg.net and what have you.This is a reason that some retail meeting and selling points like hobby stores close doors. This is not a matter of consolidation as it may be the case of fewer distributors. It is a matter of shrinkage of a certain kind of business that faces new and solid competition: the internet.This does not mean though that this physical retail business will eclipse. It just means that it has to become smaller.The biggest publishers of tabletop games do not necessarily face fewer sales because of this matter. They may face a problem though due to a loss of their ability to retain the focus of the network effects around them since information channels nowadays are much more extensive. And if network effects grow weaker it means the value of their product shrinks. This also means that internet piracy may become a real problem, since people are much more willing to spend money on something that they perceive of greater value than something that they perceive of lesser value.OTOH, smaller publishers are viable to take a shot and succeed due to their access and reach to the modern information and production channels.So, it is kind of a totally different era than 10 years ago.</blockquote>

Verification