TCG's vs RPG's in Hobby Retail Stores
There is a really great discussion in my Hobby/Analog game group of professionals that's talking about hobby sales: led by the owner of one of the biggest hobby stores in the US right now. It's a close group, and he's very generous in sharing his sales numbers (at least percentages and growth), including year-over-year. So I can't/won't be giving specifics.
Over the years, i've noticed that hobby stores tend to have enough bandwidth to focus on three things:
- Love of their games
- Love of their customers
- Love of their revenue
It's A LOT of effort to balance all three, but when you can. It makes a great store.
So whenever I go to stores, I always ask "are they doing 1, 2, 3 or none of these" and often you'll find the answer on the shelves. So if I feel pretty good saying that their store is as close to a 'unicorn model' of running a game store as it is.
So that said, TCG's are huge now. Magic has usually led the chase, but with it being over 50% of the sales in this discussion. It's a very startling data set for those of us who aren't making a TCG.
HOWEVER. I also believe that's a symptom of even a bigger consumer trend that is being supported by even more data coming in from big-box chains that were released recently. Walmart took a hit on it's stocks today after showing it's Q1 sales, yet Ross Dress 4 Less showed +20% sales growth in their Q1.
So to me, that says: in the world of Phone game microtransactions, Steam DRM, and Ross. Folks are looking to get as much value out of their $20 as they can.
So IMO, now more than ever. Stores have become a necessary but luxury, community place where folks need to come together. Not just a retail shop. They buy cards, they play games, they go home knowing they weren't home tonight just grinding online.
I have nothing to point to from this. Just observations. I love store focusing more on being '3rd places', and it will take some jiggling to find out what's going to help keep them supported. If there is one constant in the world, it's change. But for now, if you've got a sub-twenty product that brings folks together. You're very much needed in the world today.
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