From Newsgroup: rec.games.frp.dnd

Source: https://www.belloflostsouls.net/2024/04/dd-recovering-as-hasbro-heads-out-of-q1.html

Dungeons & Dragons
D&D Recovering As Hasbro Heads Out of Q1
J.R. Zambrano
3 Minute Read
Apr 25 2024

2023 was a tough year for tabletop gaming. But the first couple of
months in 2024 seem to be starting on the road to recovery.

ItrCOs the end of a financial quarter, and that means itrCOs once again time to pretend that infinite growth is not only possible but sustainable and expected. In other words, itrCOs time for Hasbro to have another investor call, where they explain how things are in the state of the industry.

According to reporting from Hasbro and ICv2, tabletop gaming declined
last year, with D&D seeing a 30% decline compared to the previous year.
This is understandable, of course. After all, we were coming out of the pandemic surge of growth, and people were staying home. ItrCOs a reckoning across multiple industries.

But, in the latest earnings call from Hasbro, which covered Q1 2024, it
looks like D&D is on the rise. At least a little bit. And more, it looks
like there are new licensing agreements that may well factor into how
D&D grows over the next few years. LetrCOs take a look at what Hasbro had
to say.

D&D Up Despite HasbrorCOs Overall Decline

Per the investor call, Hasbro saw D&D start on the road back to
recovering. According to Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks, Q1 rCLsaw tangible progressrCY on HasbrorCOs turnaround. Of particular interest were several pieces of D&D news that werCOll probably see more of in the coming months. Notably, Cocks mentioned the upcoming D&D game from Gameloft, makers of Dreamlight Valley, and a Q1 licensing agreement with Resolution Games,
the makers of Demeo. This last one, in particular, should be a really interesting partnership.

Demeo is best described as a virtual reality love letter to D&D. You
play not as a D&D character but as someone gathered in a virtual
basement to play a D&D-type game. ItrCOs very fun and very tactical. And itrCOs avenues like this where werCOre more likely to see D&D keep
expanding. As Cocks said, digital gaming is where D&D will grow the most:

rCLStay tuned for more exciting innovation from our D&D team later
this year as we continue to scale D&D Beyond and expand the richness of tabletop game play to digital. We expect to connect to an even wider
audience while delighting our existing fans as D&D celebrates its 50th anniversary.rCY

And it performed well overall, with WotC once again being the overall
top grower in HasbrorCOs portfolio, up 7%, while Hasbro overall is down
24% in terms of revenue. But a lot of that is coming from digital and
licensed game sales, as opposed to rCLoverall tabletop gamingrCY which is
only up 5%.

BaldurrCOs Gate 3 continues to leave its mark, in other words.
--
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From Newsgroup: rec.games.frp.dnd

On Sat, 27 Apr 2024 23:03:23 +0200, Kyonshi <gmkeros@gmail.com> wrote:

Source: >https://www.belloflostsouls.net/2024/04/dd-recovering-as-hasbro-heads-out-of-q1.html

Dungeons & Dragons
D&D Recovering As Hasbro Heads Out of Q1
J.R. Zambrano
3 Minute Read
Apr 25 2024

2023 was a tough year for tabletop gaming. But the first couple of
months in 2024 seem to be starting on the road to recovery.

ItAs the end of a financial quarter, and that means itAs once again time
to pretend that infinite growth is not only possible but sustainable and >expected. In other words, itAs time for Hasbro to have another investor >call, where they explain how things are in the state of the industry.

According to reporting from Hasbro and ICv2, tabletop gaming declined
last year, with D&D seeing a 30% decline compared to the previous year.
This is understandable, of course. After all, we were coming out of the >pandemic surge of growth, and people were staying home. ItAs a reckoning >across multiple industries.

But, in the latest earnings call from Hasbro, which covered Q1 2024, it >looks like D&D is on the rise. At least a little bit. And more, it looks >like there are new licensing agreements that may well factor into how
D&D grows over the next few years. LetAs take a look at what Hasbro had
to say.

D&D Up Despite HasbroAs Overall Decline

Per the investor call, Hasbro saw D&D start on the road back to
recovering. According to Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks, Q1 osaw tangible
progresso on HasbroAs turnaround. Of particular interest were several
pieces of D&D news that weAll probably see more of in the coming months. >Notably, Cocks mentioned the upcoming D&D game from Gameloft, makers of >Dreamlight Valley, and a Q1 licensing agreement with Resolution Games,
the makers of Demeo. This last one, in particular, should be a really >interesting partnership.

Demeo is best described as a virtual reality love letter to D&D. You
play not as a D&D character but as someone gathered in a virtual
basement to play a D&D-type game. ItAs very fun and very tactical. And
itAs avenues like this where weAre more likely to see D&D keep
expanding. As Cocks said, digital gaming is where D&D will grow the most:

oStay tuned for more exciting innovation from our D&D team later
this year as we continue to scale D&D Beyond and expand the richness of >tabletop game play to digital. We expect to connect to an even wider >audience while delighting our existing fans as D&D celebrates its 50th >anniversary.o

And it performed well overall, with WotC once again being the overall
top grower in HasbroAs portfolio, up 7%, while Hasbro overall is down
24% in terms of revenue. But a lot of that is coming from digital and >licensed game sales, as opposed to ooverall tabletop gamingo which is
only up 5%.

BaldurAs Gate 3 continues to leave its mark, in other words.

I think there's a limit to how popular tabletop gaming will ever get,
and D&D has more or less saturated that market. Sure, there will
occassionally be surges in popularity, but I don't think these will
ever have a lasting effect.

D&D - and tabletop gaming - is fundamentally a nerdy activity. It
isn't a game for everyone... or even a significantly large percentage
of the population. It's a game which requires the players invest a lot
of time and effort into the game. It's hard to explain to outsiders.
Its subject matter - fantastical adventures in the realms of fantasy,
horror, sci-fi or comic books - are (let's be honest with ourselves)
rather sophomoric. It's the type of experience a lot of people grow
out of as they age up.

I mean, I love D&D (and tabletop) but even I have to sometimes step
back and wonder, "why the hell am I still playing these games?" In my
case, a lot of the reason may simply be inertia. For those who haven't
spent so much time playing, the lasting appeal is probably a lot less.

It takes a certain type of person to want to keep playing the game.
Sure, others may give the game a shot now and again, whether out of
curiousity (perhaps spurred on by licensed video games or movies), or
from nostalgia. But most of those won't stick with the game very long.
They won't end up with dozens of rulebooks, won't follow the game
through multiple editions, won't buy bucketloads of dice, won't visit
the cons. And there's nothing wrong with their not doing that... or - alternately - with tabletop fan's devotion either.

I just think that there's a limit to how many people will become
devoted to the game. I don't think - no matter how much Hasbro spends
on licensing games and movies and marketing - it's all that large.
Maybe only in the tens of millions world-wide.

Companies like Hasbro should probably take that into consideration
rather than expecting it to blow up into something massive. It's not
Pokemon. It never will be. And that's fine.




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