[Bell of Lost Souls] D&D Recovering As Hasbro Heads Out of Q1

[Kyonshi]

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.

It’s the end of a financial quarter, and that means it’s once again time
to pretend that infinite growth is not only possible but sustainable and
expected. In other words, it’s 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. It’s 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. Let’s take a look at what Hasbro had
to say.

D&D Up Despite Hasbro’s Overall Decline

Per the investor call, Hasbro saw D&D start on the road back to
recovering. According to Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks, Q1 “saw tangible
progress” on Hasbro’s turnaround. Of particular interest were several
pieces of D&D news that we’ll 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. It’s very fun and very tactical. And
it’s avenues like this where we’re more likely to see D&D keep
expanding. As Cocks said, digital gaming is where D&D will grow the most:

“Stay 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.”

And it performed well overall, with WotC once again being the overall
top grower in Hasbro’s 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 “overall tabletop gaming” which is
only up 5%.

Baldur’s Gate 3 continues to leave its mark, in other words.

[Spalls Hurgenson]

Post by Kyonshi
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.
It’s the end of a financial quarter, and that means it’s once again time
to pretend that infinite growth is not only possible but sustainable and
expected. In other words, it’s 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. It’s 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. Let’s take a look at what Hasbro had
to say.
D&D Up Despite Hasbro’s Overall Decline
Per the investor call, Hasbro saw D&D start on the road back to
recovering. According to Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks, Q1 “saw tangible
progress” on Hasbro’s turnaround. Of particular interest were several
pieces of D&D news that we’ll 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. It’s very fun and very tactical. And
it’s avenues like this where we’re more likely to see D&D keep
“Stay 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.”
And it performed well overall, with WotC once again being the overall
top grower in Hasbro’s 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 “overall tabletop gaming” which is
only up 5%.
Baldur’s 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.