I will be the first to admit that nothing is perfect. 2007 was a total “hope for the best” and I don’t think it was a sophomore effort at all. Not to put blame to anyone, but the success of the event really lies in the hands of the stores. If they just bought the box of giveaways and gave them out at the register…that was not the spirit of the intent of the event. If they planned events and in-store gaming, then those stores probably had more success.

I definitely want to hear more feedback as we are just getting the publishers together and would love to pass the info along to them.

Best,
Aldo

Aw, c’mon now … that really does depend on how the flgs in question stocks the game, isn’t it? Maybe it’s just the stores I shop at, granted. But you can’t sell two of something you only have a single copy of …

I will agree that both minis and ccg events have a much easier time in follow-up sales in “standard” events (need another squad / pack of cards syndrome). Absolutely.

In any event, this discussion is entirely off-base. I don’t disagree with the whole results vs. purpose concept. My sole point was that the goals that were being stated were not identical. Consumers pick up on that sort of thing eventually (with less than joyous results). I stand by my constructive criticism that there’s opportunity to improve / synchronize the stated goal moving forward.

I look forward to next year’s event. With that, I’m out.

If you’re playing at a CCG event and you’re getting trounced, it becomes clear your deck sucks and you need fresh cards, so you buy singles or packs. In miniature games, the same thing happens. You realize your army is lacking so you pick up a box of little men. In RPG’s, which are 70% D&D anyway by market share, you make a character and stick with it. Unless you’re playing a new system or your character just died, there’s not a lot of incentive to buy RPG’s right then and there. If it’s a small press game, there’s usually only one book anway, limiting follow-up sales. You may buy more books before and after an event though, it’s just less common to see good RPG sales that day.

I completely understand the challenges. However, to be clear, when you say things like “RPG’s are a funny animal … RPG events often generate sales or oddball sales … Getting people to play a new RPG is really difficult”, you’re speaking about your experiences at your store. To be fair, you’re highly constrained by your current location.

I’ve seen RPG events that have generated sales of RPGs. I’ve also had very good results in getting people to try new games.

What the goals were and what actually happened were (and often are) two different things. RPG’s are a funny animal. If I hold a Magic event, I’ll sell a ton of Magic cards and supplies. If I hold a miniatures event, I’ll sell a ton of miniatures and paint. RPG events often generate no sales or oddball sales.

Also, as a first year event, I think we mostly saw two groups of RPG people: alpha gamers and drop-bys. If you were a drop-by, you just happened to be there that day and you got stuff. The alpha gamers are on top of events and product releases and often play games in multiple genres. Only alpha gamers cross over to board games or miniature games. Most customers rarely switch game categories, and very rarely play more than two. In future events, I hope to see more of my general RPG customer base.

Getting people to play a new RPG is really difficult, especially if you have to choose between a product you can use with an existing game and something for a new game. For the next event, I plan on getting enough product so there are enough choices so a participant can get something for their current game AND a few new game items.

I do think the FreeRPG Day needs to have its mission / purpose more clearly defined. The website says, “The goal of Free RPG Day is to get gamers inspired to play a new RPG, which will in turn, create sales through local game stores.”

… whereas in the OgreCave interview, to me, the goal was to generate more sales for game stores that day, and not necessarily in rpgs … and not on “getting gamers to play a new RPG”.

Either is a fine purpose, but they ain’t the same …