WizarDru said:
And if there's one lesson that WOTC has learned, it's that players buy more stuff than DMs.
Actually, that's simply not true. A study
conducted by them indicates just the opposite. You can read that very document
right here if you wish, but the salient parts I'll quote right here:
First, the obligatory boilerplate (you'll understand why when you read it):
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary
Version: (RPGs) V1.0
Release Date: February 07, 2000
Summary prepared by:
Ryan S. Dancey
Vice President, Wizards of the Coast
Brand Manager, Dungeons & Dragons
* * * * *
Permissions: This file is Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast. This file may be freely redistributed or quoted in whole or part, provided that this attribution remains intact.
Now, the key bit is near the end:
The following financial figures are for TRPG players in general (D&D information, where available, is provided as well)
This data seems to validate the theory that young gamers, while very active, don’t spend a lot of money. (The following data is reported by for RPG expenditures) The big dollars come from adults...
Total spending by age:
12-17: $297
18-24: $850
25-25: $2,213
And, the longer they stay in the category, the greater their total outlays...
Play <1 Year: $116
Play 1-5 Years: $562
Play >5 Years: $2,502
And if they can be induced to become a DM/GM, expenditures skyrocket.
Will DM/GM: $2,048
Will not DM/GM: $401
Some breakouts for the D&D population in particular...
Total D&D spending by age:
12-17: $164
18-24: $443
25-35: $1,642
Monthly D&D spending by age:
12-17: $10
18-24: $12
25-35: $14
Total D&D spending by time in game:
<1 Year: $123
1-5 Years: $338
>5 Years: 1,756
Monthly D&D spending by time in game:
<1 Year: $7
1-5 Years: $22
>5 Years: $16
(Interesting note: Monthly spending in the first five years after adoption of the game is higher than the spending beyond that point - though the older, longer gamer plays the game more, they spend less. This may relate to the frequency of a character/game restart.)
D&D DM willingness effect on expenditures:
Will DM: $1,444 total / $21 monthly
Will not DM: $187 total / $7 monthly
(Interesting note here: Even people who don’t DM buy a heck of a lot more than just a PHB...)
WOTC's own study shows that someone who does or will DM, buys just over
SEVEN TIMES as much as someone who does not, and will not, DM, solely within D&D. Outside D&D, the gap is narrower (down to about 5x or 6x as much), but still: DM's tend to purchase more than non-DMs.
Far more!
Furthermore, the number of GMs out there is higher than you might be assuming. From slightly earlier in the same study:
When asked how likely a person was to be the DM/GM, the responses were:
2+ Sessions as DM/GM: 47%
Don’t DM/GM: 41%
So about half of the people out there have DMed or GMed twice or more; add to that the increased spending by those who are DMs ... and we see roughly 80% to 85% of all money spent on the game, is being spent by people who are DMs.
So if EnWorld
is so GM heavy, then from a MARKETING standpoint, it'd be a
superior data source; it'd tap into the segment of their market producing around three quarters of their gross income!
But regardless, WOTC has in fact learned
the exact opposite of what you assume. It is not the players who provide the bulk of income from RPGs, it is the
Game Masters, by a very large margin!
That is, assuming of course, they paid attention to their own study ...