Fourth Consecutive Growth Year

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**reds8n**

http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/25373.html

2012 was the fourth consecutive year of substantial growth in the hobby game market, according to a recently released report in ICv2’s Internal Correspondence #81 (see "ICv2 Releases 'Internal Correspondence' #81"), with roughly 15% growth in the hobby game store channel over 2011 sales. The last year hobby game sales shrank was the crash year of 2008.

A number of retailing factors drove growth, including improved store health, a significant number of new stores, and expansion of product lines and sales in existing stores. Digital games continued to drive sales of their print cousins, especially for Magic: The Gathering. And the growth of board and card games was helped by increasing numbers of in-store game nights for the categories, and Geek and Sundry YouTube series TableTop, which helped identify and explain good games for consumers to buy.

In collectible games, the Big Three CCGs (Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokemon) all had good years, along with HeroClix, which expanded sales on Marvel and DC and grew the number of properties on which the game is based. Two new introductions, WotC’s Kaijudo and Bushiroad’s CardFight!! Vanguard, also made an impact behind strong support from their publishers.

Board game sales were also strong in 2012, with perennials driving the biggest growth.

The best news for the year was that growth was not based on a single game or category, but instead was driven by broad-based growth in the number of people playing hobby games.

click through for the chart and links..

http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/25378.html

This chart of the Top 5 Non-Collectible Miniature Lines (hobby channel) reflects sales in Fall 2012. The charts are based on interviews with retailers, distributors, and manufacturers.

1
Warhammer 40k
Games Workshop
2
Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures
Fantasy Flight Games
3
Warmachine
Privateer Press
4
Warhammer Fantasy
Games Workshop
5
Hordes
Privateer Press

**Pacific**

Good news, glad to see the growth of the industry, and the wealth being spread around can only be a good thing.

And actually 15% is pretty big step up (I believe I read somewhere that it was 20% the previous year?)

**PhantomViper**

Great news for everyone involved in the gaming hobby!

Recession, schmessession!

**Jehan-reznor**

Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures second place is the game that good?

**PhantomViper**

Jehan-reznor wrote:
Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures second place is the game that good?

Its Wings of Glory with Star Wars miniatures.

It is fun but can get a bit repetitive after a while.

**WarOne**

Jehan-reznor wrote:
Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures second place is the game that good?

Popularity of the brand certainly drives it.

The game has had predecessors before (there was a punch out game of Star Wars models similar to Pirates of the Spanish Main) and this one seems better by my estimation.

**orkybenji**

I would conjecture board games are the fastest growing. The board game industry is exploding right now, even some big box retailers like Target are starting to carry designer games.

**kronk**

Jehan-reznor wrote:
Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures second place is the game that good?

I like it, but my group isn't into it. I've seen it sold at FLGS and the Giant Book Store near me.

The brand and the minis are popular, even among people that don't necessarily buy it to play the game.

**UNCLEBADTOUCH**

So the big question is was GWs growth 15% over that period? Are they ahead or behind of the market place?

**godswildcard**

Maybe I'm out of the loop, but I'm actually surprised Warmachine is taking third above WHFB.

I wonder how close the gap between 1st and 2nd is? Doesn't seem like it would be that close tbh.

**kronk**

I've literally NEVER seen anyone play WHFB. Never. Like, not even one time at band camp. I live in a city of 2.5 million people. I've been in and out of game stores.

I know there are people that play it. All of the game stores have it. I've just never seen it on the table top. It's as elusive as finding a hot 30-to-35-year-old chick with no kids that's into RPGs.

**WarOne**

godswildcard wrote:
Maybe I'm out of the loop, but I'm actually surprised Warmachine is taking third above WHFB.

I wonder how close the gap between 1st and 2nd is? Doesn't seem like it would be that close tbh.

Not as big of a gap that once existed, but still probably significant.

**Kanluwen**

kronk wrote:
Jehan-reznor wrote:
Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures second place is the game that good?

I like it, but my group isn't into it. I've seen it sold at FLGS and the Giant Book Store near me.

The brand and the minis are popular, even among people that don't necessarily buy it to play the game.

Not just book stores have it. I know that I got the copy of the main game I gave my youngest brother as a Christmas present from Target, and they had everything there.

godswildcard wrote:Maybe I'm out of the loop, but I'm actually surprised Warmachine is taking third above WHFB.

Not that surprising. WHFB has been kind of a "dead" game since Warmahordes really started hitting its stride. Plenty of people still play WHFB, but it really does not seem to be as appealing to a wider audience like 40k is.

**Flashman**

Kanluwen wrote:

godswildcard wrote:Maybe I'm out of the loop, but I'm actually surprised Warmachine is taking third above WHFB.

Not that surprising. WHFB has been kind of a "dead" game since Warmahordes really started hitting its stride. Plenty of people still play WHFB, but it really does not seem to be as appealing to a wider audience like 40k is.

Fantasy's major issue is the big blocks of troops required. You have to be really committed to collect and paint an army where you can only actually see a small proportion of the miniatures. Not saying it should change, but it's probably a discouragement to a lot of players.

**Kroothawk**

These are US trends, right?

BTW in my area, noone plays Warmahordes, but many Warhammer Fantasy.

**Pacific**

UNCLEBADTOUCH wrote:So the big question is was GWs growth 15% over that period? Are they ahead or behind of the market place?

I think there profits have been fairly static over the past few years, so I'd take this to be the market growing as a whole around them.

kronk wrote:I've literally NEVER seen anyone play WHFB. Never. Like, not even one time at band camp. I live in a city of 2.5 million people. I've been in and out of game stores.

I know there are people that play it. All of the game stores have it. I've just never seen it on the table top. It's as elusive as finding a hot 30-to-35-year-old chick with no kids that's into RPGs.

Hahahaha.. very good

**ironicsilence**

Kroothawk wrote:
These are US trends, right?

BTW in my area, noone plays Warmahordes, but many Warhammer Fantasy.

regionally speaking I believe fantasy has always had a stronger showing in the EU compared to the US

**Compel**

I only saw my first X Wing models last week.

I was very much tempted to buy The Millennium Falcon, just to sit on my mantlepiece. It looked very purdy.

In saying that, I can't imagine it beating War Machine.

**Maddermax**

godswildcard wrote:
Maybe I'm out of the loop, but I'm actually surprised Warmachine is taking third above WHFB.

I wonder how close the gap between 1st and 2nd is? Doesn't seem like it would be that close tbh.

Warmachine has been beating out WHFB in the ICv2 ratings for a few years now, and had been quite happily sitting in the number 2 spot until this season, with the release of x-wing. It is only based on American figures, of course, where PP does better, and fantasy does worse. Warmahordes is definitely a contender, though, and has taken over much of my gaming group, and is catching on in Australia in a strong way, but it'll be years yet before they'll be close to GW in sales and distribution, even if trends continue.

As for X-wing, I think it really benefits from the branding and I'll bet it's being sold in many more stores that Warhammer/Warmahordes are, and that wider distribution and more iconic brand will drive a lot of sales to people who wouldn't otherwise pick up a miniatures game.

**Harriticus**

Anything that's beating a GW product is good, they need to get taught a lesson if they are to reform.

**UNCLEBADTOUCH**

Pacific wrote:
UNCLEBADTOUCH wrote:So the big question is was GWs growth 15% over that period? Are they ahead or behind of the market place?

I think there profits have been fairly static over the past few years, so I'd take this to be the market growing as a whole around them.

kronk wrote:I've literally NEVER seen anyone play WHFB. Never. Like, not even one time at band camp. I live in a city of 2.5 million people. I've been in and out of game stores.

I know there are people that play it. All of the game stores have it. I've just never seen it on the table top. It's as elusive as finding a hot 30-to-35-year-old chick with no kids that's into RPGs.

Hahahaha.. very good

So essentially GW is performing far below the market standard, so in real terms they are falling behind on the revenue they should be gathering. Well that certainly doesn't sound very good for GW.

**creeping-deth87**

Wow, I knew X-Wing would be popular, but I never would have imagined it would outsell Warmachine even under the narrow time frame of 'fall 2012.' That's really surprising.

To anyone who hasn't played it yet, X-Wing is actually a LOT of fun. It CAN get a little repetitive, but if you play it in addition to other tabletop games it's a real blast. And it's amazingly cheap to buy into.

**Fifty**

PhantomViper wrote:
schmessession!

That is not even a real word.

**jonolikespie**

Harriticus wrote:
Anything that's beating a GW product is good, they need to get taught a lesson if they are to reform.

Unfortunately I doubt they will ever learn

**rigeld2**

kronk wrote:
I've literally NEVER seen anyone play WHFB. Never. Like, not even one time at band camp. I live in a city of 2.5 million people. I've been in and out of game stores.

Fat Ogres in the Woodlands does a decent amount of Fantasy (if you want to see it played).

**silent25**

Temporary blip driven by nostalgia of Star Wars. While it sounds like a well done game, only so many ships they can pull from and then they would have to turn to Ep. 1 - 3 which are no where as popular. Plus SW is pre-painted which mean is far more accessible to those that would not normally be interested in the other lines.

All the people that have jumped into it are of the "flavor of the month" club. They jump into a game for a month or two and then move on.

Assume numbers will return to their previous positions by the next quarterly report.

**Compel**

I'm still thinking about buying that Millenium Falcon though!

It's pretty chunky too. - Bigger than a marine rhino in footprint, I think.

**Grot 6**

I miss the WOTC minis for star wars.

**nolzur**

Warmachine and Hordes are the same game, so I wonder how the chart would look if they added the two together.

**Laughing Man**

silent25 wrote:
Temporary blip driven by nostalgia of Star Wars. While it sounds like a well done game, only so many ships they can pull from and then they would have to turn to Ep. 1 - 3 which are no where as popular. Plus SW is pre-painted which mean is far more accessible to those that would not normally be interested in the other lines.

Depends, really. They've already shown a willingness to do EU stuff (Tycho Celchu and Soontir Fel are both pilots), so stuff like the Z95 or TIE Defender could very well start showing up, as well as potential for even Yuuzhan Vong ships (which are probably never going to happen and would be way down the line, but still sound cool).