Transcending from Niche Hobbyists
One of my favorite blogs is The Quantum Retailer. It’s sporadic – dropping every couple of months - or sometimes every few days – and quixotic in a delightful rambling sort of way.
But, it’s also insightful, and full of interesting ways of approaching problems.
I was delighted to find a Valentine’s Day post in my inbox, and while the whole article is worth a read, I want to talk about a couple of aspects of it.
The author [Update: Dave Salisbury from Fanboy3 Games in Manchester] breaks consumers down into 3 categories:
The Cognoscenti (fun word I had to look up): Who are the first adopters, back multiple Kickstarters a month, and are well informed about new releases. The hurdle with the cognoscenti is in converting their purchases into time at the table (they have a lot of games to play), and bridging the gap to less niche hobbyists.
The Hobbyists: Who buy regularly – maybe a game a month – are well informed, and thoughtful about their purchasing decisions. They watch reviews, they read blogs, and they have favorite content creators who they trust.
The Casual Hobbyists: Who buy a couple of games a year. Casual hobbyists will trust what’s selling, and are more likely to purchase popular games that are already in demand. Conversely, they’re less likely to take a risk with a less-known title.
A core challenge as a publisher is bridging the gap between each consumer type.
It’s the middle tier that is difficult to capture, both as a publisher and as a retailer… If cognoscenti desire is of the head and casual desire is of the heart, then hobbyists require proof. Proof that this game is going to fill that void…
[Hobbyists] read magazines, watched reviews, weighed up decisions. If you don’t buy everything and you won’t buy nothing, choosing something is surprisingly hard work.
The author, uses Mind MGMT as an example. In some regards the game does a lot wrong.
We didn’t sell a single copy of MND Management for the first month. Not one…
MND Management doesn’t have an attractive box or a decent price point. It’s not a handselling game.
But, it’s ostensibly a great game with an impressive 8.1 rating on BGG, and critical acclaim (I haven’t played it, so don’t have first hand experience). And, after some positive media and reviews, it sold out, and is now on Kickstarter for a round 2.
Mind MGMT successfully transcended the cognoscenti – but it raises the question, how can we as publishers maximize the chances that our games will successfully waterfall from cognoscenti, to hobbyist, to casual gamer? And yes, I know that not all games are targeted all the way down the waterfall of consumer (although most designers are likely targeting evergreen status).
How to Transcend?
Full disclosure – I haven’t been through a retail release for a game. Our first game Nut Hunt is launching on Kickstarter this summer. So, these are ideas that I am brainstorming for our business, and I would love the input of more experienced (and mature in their lifecycle) publishers for their thoughts on how to transcend to a broader consumer base and make a game an evergreen success.
Make a great game: Mind MGMT is a great example, that if a game is good enough, and novel enough, and reaches a broad enough initial audience – then it can be a success despite some hurdles.
Sell to retail: Many (most) Kickstarters are end consumer focused. This is great for margins, but without retail support, gaming cafes, and people on the floor hand-selling your game, it’s less likely to experience broad success (there are some exceptions). I wrote an article talking a little about the state of retail, with some tips on making a game attractive to retailers. It’s a topic I need to spend more time on.
Encourage your backers to get your game to the table: Without people playing your game, there’ll be no-one to talk about it and no one to evangelize it. There are a lot of ways to support and engage your community during and after fulfillment – reposting gameplay pictures, holding competitions or giveaways, just being present and encouraging people to be involved.
Engage content creators: Post fulfillment is an excellent time to re-engage content creators. A preview campaign will definitionally have limited reach. There are creators who won’t cover pre-publication games, and prototypes are expensive. Sending production copies to reviewers after your game fulfills is a great opportunity to keep people talking about your project.
How do you support continued engagement and demand with your projects?
