Reply To: Are we the grognards?

[jamescutts 6924xp 0]

Its a really interesting topic from the OP, seems to have ventured off a bit and become quite lively!

I think the Hasbro layoffs come down more to the kind of short term capitalism thats driven by shareholders, US companies seem to be particularly brutal as of late in the same way. I wouldn’t myself directly link it to any aspect of the hobby, it a corporate doing corporatey things. Why sell a book at $30 making $20 when you can sell a pdf at $30 with minimal overhead.

From what I’ve seen over the last few years back in the hobby the physical is certainty going nowhere and seems to be going from strength to strength. There’s certainly been a growth in the digital but I think its adding on top of rather rather than replacing.

 

I can see why there’s a rise in digital particularly around books, the cost of printing is ever increasing and a big pressure on business, to get the price that deliver margins you need print runs. That has a big hit on small businesses and I can see why companies are moving to digital releases, limited print runs or print on demand. But you only need to look at a certain Nottingham based company that only releases the physical to see its around to stay.

On the topic of RPG’s they seem a very natural fit to easily translating to the digital world,  afterall PC games have done this for years, and “the event” seems to have cemented the idea that playing digitally with friends from across the world in may cases can be just as fun as in person. Also proud member of the RPG wookie minis are sacrilege brigade 😀

On a wider note I can see how real world economics might be affecting physical gaming, peoples incomes are continually squeezed and even those of us lucky to have enough disposable income for the hobby often struggle. (ill prefix this next bit as UK specific and a bit general) A lot of the aging population tend to have larger housing, and may be lucky enough to have dedicated hobby spaces for in person gaming, for those in their 20’s or 30’s chances are you live in much smaller housing, with less space that costs a significant amount more. You have less space for your hobby, less money for it and less space to store it. I think that tends to drive having smaller games, making more use of gaming stores and clubs, both of which when it comes to books favour digital, you can store and transport them easily, and instead give you the space to focus on just a few rather than needing everything physically. I came to this realisation with CD’s/DVD’s/Bluray, years ago, my collection was costly, took up a load of space i didnt really have and was a pain to move. On the flip side of that I think those that manage to hobby physically often appreciate it more, as escapism, for socialising or to just have something tangible.

@blinky465 I’ve very much in agreement on the generationally aspect, my grandparents still remain terrified of the idea of credit cards and of not having a landline, despite having mobiles. I think theres similar with only physical books for the older generation, to those of us in-between which like both and those which probably will now only go digital. On the overuse of subscriptions, I can get the likes of Spotify, I’ve enjoyed the likes of netflix in the past though its increasingly annoying when the various services looks shows and then another gains them. I’ll never get why I’d want a subscription to washing machine capsules which i saw the other day, sod that, i’ll just walk down to the shop when i need them.