"LaPierre, Bob" wrote:
> question is: Why doesn't Hasbro use it's not inconsiderable strength to get
> DnD and Star Wars into K-Mart, Walmart, Target, etc? Once in sales should
> keep us there and we could be seen by, and appeal to, a larger portion of
> the market. Granted some of the "gaming" products out there probably
> wouldn't appeal to many "straits" but a lot will.
The big problem there is that those stores have the market shares that
they do due to their pricing strategy. They buy for less (will Hasbro
drastically mark down prices on the part of their business that operates
on such tight profit margins as the RPG's typically do?). They sell
cheap because they buy cheap. Every wonder why clothing from Wal-mart
doesn't last as long as clothing from Target or Kmart. Or why Kmart and
Targets clothing doesn't last as long as the same "name brand"
merchandise from a departments store? It is because the products that
they sell are cheaper in more ways than one (they cost less because they
have lower "thread densities" within the material used). You get what
you pay for (pay less and get lower quality), I for one do not want to
see the RPG industry to go down that road where the publisher that can
churn out the cheapest (and most half-assed products) is the one that
succeeds by selling the most. I personally prefer quality, and would be
more than happy paying for it. Some of the CCG's can be found in these
stores, however it is because they (the retail giants) are able to get
big price discounts from what the "comic book", "hobby", and "card"
stores can get them for.
There is also still the common mis-conception that all gamers are nerds
and geeks with no social lives (granted, many are, but not all of us).
This is probably the best place to start. Change that image, and then
others are more likely to accept RPG's the way that poker or Monopoly is
accepted as entertainment.
--
Aaron Smalley
ICQ#: 2080100
Home: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Work: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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