I just thought I'd check, since people have been claiming that the hobby was on the verge of death 10 years ago when I first started my blog, and back in 2006 when this site was in early days, and on a pretty regular basis in the various years hence... but I haven't heard someone claiming it was about to die lately.  Something change?  Or were people just sick of being wrong?

I think the panic brigade has moved on to just calling the hobby misogynistic or something.

The hobby was never dying.

On the decline? I don't think so, judging by all of the indie publishers churning out works.

But, as usual, the hobby is being ripped apart from the inside with factional infighting. Or maybe it's the same as it always was: social media just accelerates it or makes it more easy to "see". So it may seem like it's all gonna implode.

The hobby isn't going to die.  Big companies will just give up on the hobby and move on while us small guys will still be producing books with our ideas.

I don't think it is dying.

5e is pretty popular and Pathfinder represents a diversity that protects the hobby from the missteps by WotC and as much as I might wish otherwise, a strong D&D tends to result in a stronger hobby.

nooope

I've read a couple of RPG publishers stating that the industry has picked up modestly since a low point around 2011-2012.

Coincidentally or not, that tracks with the failure of 4e and the relative but not overwhelming success of 5e.

I have noticed the change in the tenor of internet discussion, much less heated and more accepting of the enormous diversity of games and approaches to gaming.

The converse is that there may be less passion. In the 90s you had the emergence of the lifestyle WW gamer, in the 2000s there were the Forge Wars. These days there is little of that, more people are realising that RPGs are just another pastime like boardgames. Which is how it should be, really, for adults. But I miss some of the overblown absorption into both games themselves and the tribal conflicts around them.

So no, the hobby is far from dead, and more surprisingly, the industry lives on as well. But for me personally - and maybe I'm reading way too much of my own feelings into the general situation - I feel more distance and less excitement in the whole scene.

Serious correlation question... are people getting tired of MMORPGs? And deciding that face to face interaction has more of a role to play in RPGs? I could be off track especially with the advent of virtual table tops, but I would look at that relationship for the answer.

Reports of the hobby's death have been greatly exaggerated.

Also exaggerated, reports about reports of the hobby's death.

Sure not seeing death around my neck of the woods, my table is packed with players every weekend and I've turned a few away.

The hobby was never in danger of death.

The industry has been foretelling doom since the bubble burst in the early 80s.

One day the industry will probably die. The hobby will continue along just fine.

Quote from: The_Shadow;823156I've read a couple of RPG publishers stating that the industry has picked up modestly since a low point around 2011-2012.

Coincidentally or not, that tracks with the failure of 4e and the relative but not overwhelming success of 5e.

I have noticed the change in the tenor of internet discussion, much less heated and more accepting of the enormous diversity of games and approaches to gaming.

The converse is that there may be less passion. In the 90s you had the emergence of the lifestyle WW gamer, in the 2000s there were the Forge Wars. These days there is little of that, more people are realising that RPGs are just another pastime like boardgames. Which is how it should be, really, for adults. But I miss some of the overblown absorption into both games themselves and the tribal conflicts around them.

So no, the hobby is far from dead, and more surprisingly, the industry lives on as well. But for me personally - and maybe I'm reading way too much of my own feelings into the general situation - I feel more distance and less excitement in the whole scene.

That probably has less to do with the games themselves and more to do with the age of the gamers. When I was younger, people would get into all sorts of "wars" over Nintendo VS Sony, Mac VS Apple, etc. Now nobody really cares.

I suppose another way of looking at it is that the war has become SJW versus not, now.

I dropped by a local game day and they had 2/3rd the crowd of 5 years ago and nobody under 30 in attendance, most were over 40.

In the Los Angeles area, I don't see any signs of growth, only shrinkage among the aging player base. I know the Bay Area cons are thriving, but I don't know how much of that is RPG vs. boardgame in their areas of growth.

That said, I've seen lots of young people playing boardgames at the FLGS.

It seems to be doing pretty well with the expat community over here.  That may be due to having greater visibility on account of a growing FB rpg group though.  The English teacher crowd is of a more bohemian/hipster/nerd bent (and has high turnover) so its vitality may not have changed, it just has just more visibility.  

As to the the death of the industry, the OSR clearly saved D&D.  Without it, we would not have 5e being a neoclone and successful.  It would be more Forgy and cludgy and not worth a lick.  So, maybe the naysayers were right.  If the industry had remained on its track, it would have ended.  Luckily "greybeards" and underemployed lawyers (and maybe Kickstarter) saved the day!  Giving credit where it is due, PF also helped stabilize the biz.