Board Game Designers Forum

I wanted to add this game journal and make it separate from my blog which is related to my cards. In this journal, I would like to bring to attention a very worrisome trend in gaming that could affect tomorrow.

It has come to my attention that certain publishers who have made big releases in the past are now threatening the gaming industry. Certain forms of entertainment are being targeted for younger audiences. This may seem like nothing new, however this trend is dangerous for the gaming industry (in itself).

Why? Marketing to younger audiences is a difficult task. Large firms are using focus groups to determine what kids like today. The problem is small indie publishers do not have the same resources as the large ones.

The other difficulty is a question of money ownership. Parents decide what they buy. By not having a broader audience and more mature games, basically we are increasing the entry barrier for new products and diminishing the overall size of the market.

Again large firms, who can invest their money in other markets, will ultimately see no difference to their bottom line. However who does this really hurt? All the would be "designers" that want to design new games for the tabletop and other entertainment industries.

Even further, the appeal of other industries could be next like music, movies and television. Do we really want people to decide that entertainment of any sort besides human interactions, physical or verbal, should be the only sources of enjoyment for a more mature crowd???