Why can't WotC break the mass market barrier?

[Gentlegamer]

Wachoo talkin' 'bout, Willis?

Hard pressed to find products in Barnes & Noble? I have a better selection at my local B&N than I do at my FLGS.

D&D was everywhere in the early 80s because it was a fad. Why can't it come back again? I don't know; probably for the same reason parachute pants, break-dancing and those checkerboard looking Vans shoes don't come back. Because they were fads too. That's the nature of fads; they fade away quickly.

If it had been a fad, it would have gone away altogether, like the things you mentioned.

 

[Gentlegamer]

However, what I think you are remembering were the heights of D&D's popularity in the early 80s. Now, I think that most chain stores that actually stock toys don't view D&D as popular or cheap enough to justify stocking them.

I thought role-playing games were more popular now than they ever have been?

 

[DragonLancer]

Well, saying that gaming is "geeky" is just another way of saying, "I'm not interested."

Your experiences that very different to mine then, because thats not how I've seen people react to it. If something is geeky, a lot of people I've known wouldn't touch it despite having the interest. It's a social perception issue and that is what I feel is needed for the game to expand into the mass market. Publishers could help by trying to intice non-gamers into trying it.

I don't know what you do about people who still harp about the "devil worshipping" thing, but the (IMO) very, very few people who still have that as a hang-up are more trouble than they're worth to try and convince to change their mind.

I've only known a handful of such people. I was using it more of an example of what has kept people away from gaming in the past.

 

[Gentlegamer]

If it weren't a fad, TSR woulfd still be in business

You really don't know anything about the business practices of TSR, do you?

 

[DragonLancer]

I thought role-playing games were more popular now than they ever have been?

I wouldn't have said so. Potential new players are being drawn away to WoW and its ilk. Thats another area that gaming has to fight against.

 

[Mistwell]

Ummm...it DOES sell at Toys R Us:

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2312456

As far as Sears and JC Penny...those have become primarily clothing and appliance stores. You don't generally buy toys, games, and other entertainment things at those stores as much as you did when we were kids. If your in a mall with a Sears of JC Penny, you can probably find the game at a bookstore.

 

[dmccoy1693]

Although I do think 1) a toy line, and 2) a cartoon or other inexpensive to produce TV show would both be good moves to move towards better penetration.

I'm trying to get my daughter interested so for Christmas I bought her a Plush Dragonology Dragon and a Dragon Coloring book. From Target.

Really WotC, what's so hard about competing with these? Why not put out a big floor coloring book of some of the more iconic monsters in the MM? Mix it up, throw in some connect the dots or a dungeon themed maze with treasure at the end. Why am I buying a Dragonology Plush Dragon when I could be buying a D&D Plush Dragon and a Plush Paladin and a Plush Wizard to fight the Dragon. Plastic Minis are great and all for older kids, but not good for indoctrinating young kids.

With lots of D&D gamers now with kids, making stuff for their kids isn't a bad idea.

 

[JamesM]

I thought role-playing games were more popular now than they ever have been?

"Popular" is a hard thing to measure. I think far more relevant -- and easier to quantify -- is how financially successful RPGs are as a segment of the hobby industry. I don't know this for a fact, but I'd be amazed if RPGs in aggregate make more money now than they did back in the early to mid-80s.

 

[TerraDave]

D&D was everywhere in the early 80s because it was a fad. Why can't it come back again? I don't know; probably for the same reason parachute pants, break-dancing and those checkerboard looking Vans shoes don't come back. Because they were fads too. That's the nature of fads; they fade away quickly.

Beat me to it. And, as also noted above, one reason it was so popular was the controversy. No such thing as bad publicity.

Of course, just because it sold, does not mean people actually played it. Anymore then people came close to solving all those rubik's cubes sold at about the same time. How many millions basic sets and 1st ed books are in peoples attics and closets (and landfills), having never been played, or only "played" for a few hours.

I just think you should except that you are part of an elite hobby. Its ok. Its like yachting, or fly fishing, or roller derby. Not for everyone.

Giving that, WotCs market presence is great as far as I can tell. They won't be able blame a lack of shelf-space on any problems with 4thed. I am also impressed that White Wolf also still seems to be in hanging on in the chain bookstores. Its companies like Steve Jackson and in the shrinking "middle-tier" that have a real problem as specialty stores that sell RPGs (vs just comics or board games) seems to go the way of the dodo.

 

[Umbran]

You mean the attitude of "that just isn't that interesting of an idea to me?" IME, that's the attitude most non-gamers have about gaming.

I think there's a very important point in this - most individual hobby activities have only a small number of people involved in them. Each has an appeal to their following based on the nature of the activity, individual aesthetics, and so on. And each characteristic that makes one person like it, screens others out.

I think that if we look at it, we'll find that most hobby activities are not "mass market" - not everyone finds model trains interesting, or cares to play football, or likes rpgs. An aficionado of a particular hobby often winds up a bit confused about why so many other people find their particular pursuit compelling. We have to remember that honestly, not everyone is supposed to like what we do.

Consider, instead, turning the question around - what is there about rpgs that make it look like it ought to be appealing to the mass market, such that we are surprised that it isn't bigger? I think you'll find the list is fairly short...