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Hobby shrinking?

Started by 1989, March 22, 2012, 02:25:17 PM

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1989

March 22, 2012, 02:25:17 PM
You know, it just occurred to me a moment ago . . .

White Wolf is gone.
GURPS is basically gone.
(HERO also is basically gone . . . smaller player).

I can remember about 10 years ago when D&D was #1, WW was #2, and GURPS was #3, I think.

What's left for big players?

Now, it seems like it's just D&D (and Pathfinder ... man I hate that name).

Hobby just seems smaller now.

DestroyYouAlot

#1
March 22, 2012, 02:28:12 PM
industry =/= hobby

Industry's dying; hobby's never been healthier.  Those facts are not unrelated.
http://mightythews.blogspot.com/

a gaming blog where I ramble like a madman and make fun of shit

ggroy

#2
March 22, 2012, 02:29:43 PM
How exactly are you defining "smaller"?


The number of rpg companies?

The revenue from selling rpg publications?

The number of players actively playing?

etc ...

Black Vulmea

#3
March 22, 2012, 02:45:21 PM
Quote from: DestroyYouAlot;523091Industry's dying; hobby's never been healthier.
Yup.
"Of course five generic Kobolds in a plain room is going to be dull. Making it potentially not dull is kinda the GM\'s job." - #Ladybird, theRPGsite

Really Bad Eggs - swashbuckling roleplaying games blog  | Promise City - Boot Hill campaign blog

ACS

Benoist

#4
March 22, 2012, 02:48:35 PM
Quote from: DestroyYouAlot;523091industry =/= hobby

Industry's dying; hobby's never been healthier.  Those facts are not unrelated.

This.

Rincewind1

#5
March 22, 2012, 03:11:14 PM
Is it Friday already?
Furthermore, I consider that  This is Why We Don\'t Like You thread should be closed

Marleycat

#6
March 22, 2012, 03:20:43 PM
Quote from: DestroyYouAlot;523091industry =/= hobby

Industry's dying; hobby's never been healthier.  Those facts are not unrelated.

I agree that the hobby has never been healthier, in fact I would go as far to say the industry itself isn't dying.  It's just changing distribution model similar to what the music industry has already done.
Don\'t mess with cats we kill wizards in one blow.;)

ggroy

#7
March 22, 2012, 03:25:17 PM
Quote from: Marleycat;523123It's just changing distribution model similar to what the music industry has already done.

No more rock stars?  :rolleyes:

Marleycat

#8
March 22, 2012, 03:35:21 PM
Quote from: ggroy;523127No more rock stars?  :rolleyes:

There are plenty with no end in sight, you just get music through different distribution channels than 10 years ago, same thing is happening in rpg's.  Also same thing but different focus is happening in the movie going experience.
Don\'t mess with cats we kill wizards in one blow.;)

two_fishes

#9
March 22, 2012, 03:41:18 PM
Quote from: DestroyYouAlot;523091industry =/= hobby

Industry's dying; hobby's never been healthier.  Those facts are not unrelated.

I think you have to put on a pair of rose-coloured glasses to come to this conclusion. If the industry were healthier, there would be more players, more creators, and more diversity and quality overall. As it is the playerbase of the hobby is shrinking and aging, and the creative community/-ies that the hobby supports is small and insular. I'm not complaining really (or very much) because there is still a greater diversity of games than I'll ever be able to play, and I'm not feeling a shortage of gaming in my life, but hey, it's not just about me.

Rincewind1

#10
March 22, 2012, 03:43:18 PM
The industry per se is also doing not that bad. There are just way, way more games, so the Big Guys are waking up to see a certain fierce competition everywhere.

Especially since you don't really need a print to publish RPG nowadays.
Furthermore, I consider that  This is Why We Don\'t Like You thread should be closed

DestroyYouAlot

#11
March 22, 2012, 04:00:09 PM
Quote from: two_fishes;523134I think you have to put on a pair of rose-coloured glasses to come to this conclusion. If the industry were healthier, there would be more players, more creators, and more diversity and quality overall. As it is the playerbase of the hobby is shrinking and aging, and the creative community/-ies that the hobby supports is small and insular. I'm not complaining really (or very much) because there is still a greater diversity of games than I'll ever be able to play, and I'm not feeling a shortage of gaming in my life, but hey, it's not just about me.

The industry doesn't create players.  WE do.  

The industry doesn't CREATE.  It feeds on creativity, strains it through the need to sell, and we get the squeezings.

Only, now, thanks to the internet, we can go straight to the source.  Pulp and all.  Leaving the "industry" casting about for a reason to exist.  (Protip: it doesn't have one, anymore.)


The only people who need to see the industry do well are those who still nurture dreams of making a living off of their creativity.  To which I say, "Learn web design, hombre."
http://mightythews.blogspot.com/

a gaming blog where I ramble like a madman and make fun of shit

Serious Paul

#12
March 22, 2012, 06:31:29 PM
My game runs just fine with little or no contact with the "Industry." So does the game I play in, and dozens of other games in our area. This site has pretty much cemented my dislike of people who spend too much time "worrying" about the "Industry."

Bedrockbrendan

#13
March 22, 2012, 06:33:41 PM
I am not sure the industry is in trouble so much as some of the large older companies have run out of steam as the market has changed.

Peregrin

#14
March 22, 2012, 06:34:10 PM
Quote from: Rincewind1;523120Is it Friday already?

Kickin' in the industry,
Chillin' in the hobby,
Gotta make my mind up.
Which one do I pick?
"In a way, the Lands of Dream are far more brutal than the worlds of most mainstream games. All of the games set there have a bittersweetness that I find much harder to take than the ridiculous adolescent posturing of so-called \'grittily realistic\' games. So maybe one reason I like them as a setting is because they are far more like the real world: colourful, crazy, full of strange creatures and people, eternal and yet changing, deeply beautiful and sometimes profoundly bitter."
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