Optimistic sales for the first quarter A survey of 30 game retailers from around the country revealed that first quarter sales were up or the same compared to the same period in 1984 for 75 percent of the 24 who responded to the question. Most of these --58 percent-- said sales were up compared to last year. A few blamed sluggish sales on typical after- Christmas -blues. Said one east coast retailer, "This time of year, sales always go in the toilet. Its the after Christmas let-down and before new releases come out." "New items, new items, new items!" emphasized Chris Collet of Hobbies N'Such in New York City. "That's where the action is. The problem is that manufacturers don't back the modules up soon enough, and the customer loses interest. Timing is essential." Most of the retailers said mystery games have been very strong sellers and that trivia games are "definitely on the way out." One retailer who said first quarter sales just don't come up to last year lamented, "This year's volume is just not there. Trivia games are not what they were last year, and there doesn't seem to be anything that is hot or might get hot." Two retailers surveyed indicated that role-gamers seem to be exploring other games beside D&D Said Steve LaPrade of Game Shop in Norman, Oklahoma, "in role-playing, its more of a mixed bag than it used to be. We're selling all different types of RPGs (role-playing games) when it's not D&D or superheroes. The percentage of sales in each category (rolegames, war games, adult games, etc.) hasn't changed, but the variety of games sold within the categories has changed." Whether they agree or not about market influences, everyone seems to feel that the weather must have done something to sales. "The last three weeks in March sales were down from last year," said Karen Shutt of Kings Crown in Overland Park, Kansas . "The weather's been much nicer than last year." Back to Table of Contents -- Game News #5 To Game News List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2000 by Dana Lombardy. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com