Tabletopocalypse Now

Had a conversation with a friend the other day, sparked by my recent comments about the negativity of tabletop gamers, the shrinking market, etc. A few thoughts crystalized out of that conversation, and I thought that I’d take the time to put them down for others to comment upon.

There’s a lot of denial among gamers that their hobby is shrinking — a combination of anecdotal evidence (“There are plenty of gamers around here.”) and One-True-Way purity (“My hobby will NEVER die!”). Mixed into this is the always-charming assertion that the industry may be shrinking, but that “the hobby doesn’t need the industry.” (Never mind asking such geniuses to ponder where new players will come from without product on store shelves drawing their attention — or when was the last time they met a player-piano enthusiast, another form of entertainment that no longer has an industry producing material for it…)

It’s not a matter of debate though. Anyone who has paid attention over the past two decades has seen the undeniable shrinking. There are far fewer dedicated speciality stores any more (current estimates place total numbers in the US at somewhere in the low-to-mid 2000s, according to ICV2, Diamond/Alliance distributors, and others). Fewer stores means fewer orders, as well as fewer social centers for the tabletop gaming community. Sales numbers are massively down from the 90s, much less the numbers seen during the ‘d20 explosion’ of the early 2000s.
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Digital Comics

This past weekend I went back home to NYC. Aside from a much-needed refill of city life, the trip was an opportunity to see family and friends, and to attend the NY Comic Con. I was attending the show as a publishing professional — using the opportunity to scout artists for Adamant’s various transmedia efforts — and had a great time. The best part of the trip, from a business standpoint, was ICV2’s Conference on Comics and Digital, held the day before the show opened, which featured a white paper presentation on the state of the comics industry presented by Milton Griepp, followed by three breakout panel discussions with industry figures representing retail, creative and publishing.
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GenCon 2010, via Context-Free Quotes

  • “God bless consumer confidence.”
  • “Drink your Weak Lemon Drink!”
  • “Send the sober one for towels.”
  • “Why can’t geek girls wear pants? Games are about acquisition of stuff. Some of that stuff could be PANTS.”
  • “We’re bypassing the middle-man “books”, and selling pretension directly to the consumer.”
  • “I know, I know — the games aren’t more fun in his room.”
  • “The laser-hair-removal booth chick looks like she lost a bet.”
  • “…and now, for today’s exciting round of “Are You Fucking Kidding Me…””
  • “I heard her describe us as her ‘booth partners’ and her ‘printers.’ I’m not entirely sure she’s quite got the jist of this relationship.”
  • “Your father head-butts people on the internet.”
  • “That’s three Ennies. Are we rock stars yet?”
  • “Let me guess — you’ve got a portrait in an attic somewhere, don’t you….”
  • “I think we’ve moved on from “is wearing my Ennies medal a bit naff” to “exactly how naff is it?”
  • “Why was he at the line meeting?” “I thought you invited him.” “….um, NO…”
  • “One drink and I’m buzzing? What the hell… Oh yeah. I forgot about the Vicodin…”
  • “I’ll talk to you. You look sane.”

….and many, many more.

Helluva show. Now back to work. Feel free to add more context-free quotes via comments!