The Final Two Events

As promised Monday, here are my final top 2 events in the gaming field for 2014. Have something you think tops them. Post it in comments;

Shaving of Discounts—Also as mentioned in an earlier post, manufacturers of popular products have reduced the discount they offer to distribution and retailers while holding the MSRP (manufacturer’s suggested retail price) firm. Companies such as Days of Wonder, WizKids and Games Workshop have given short discounts for years now, though GW does raise prices which partially compensates for the lower discount.  However, the announcements by FFG that its Imperial Assault game will sell through distribution at a 42-43% discount and WOTC that Magic product will start selling at a 2% slimmer discount with no increase in MSRP makes it that much harder for distribution and retailers to do their jobs.

Launch of 5^th Edition D&D—The staggered release of 5^th Edition Dungeons and Dragons after what seems like a decade of playtesting, has revitalized the RPG segment of the market or sucked all the air out of it, depending on your point of view. Stores reported selling 60 copies of the Players Handbook within 24 hours and still see steady sales of it, the Starter Set, Monster Manual and DMG months later. Much like with 3^rd and 4^th Edition D&D, people who had quite RPGs or wanted to introduce their kids to the hobby, came back into the store to snag a copy.  To someone outside the hobby game field, RPG still means Dungeons & Dragons.