When one walks into a games store, you would hardly expect this to be a unique experience for a gamer, especially one such as myself. Unfortunately, this is not the case, for outside of the United States and the Europe, gaming stores that actually sell Role Playing Games are rare, to say the least. In this weeks’ “Ask a Gamer,” I tackle three related questions that are not your average discussion on rule “X,” but more centered on my experiences as a gamer, living in the Land Down Under. Both questions come from fellow contributor Dain Simpkins. Dain writes:
How do you think your experience as an Australian gamer is different from those in the major RPG markets in Europe and the United States?
Great question and one that made me ponder for many hours on how to respond, only to realize that I may be the wrong person to answer this question. Given my connections with individuals and stores outside of my local area and overseas, mainly due to my involvement with the Order 66 Podcast, Gen Con and PAX, I find it fairly easy to get the product that I want. Casting my mind back to my early days of gaming, and even looking at things from the perspective of the “average” gamer, I can see that the world of gaming is very restrictive in this country.
Board games and card games are very popular in games stores across Australia, as is obviously computer gaming, but role playing games are not as readily available. The greatest challenge is accessibility caused by the fact that products such as board games and card games are accessible for major retail stores, and thus readily available to the public. Role Playing Games are a niche market and tend to be left to the realm of specialty book stores, and games stores themselves. This may be true worldwide, but it makes things even more challenging when the number of games stores is minuscule to say the least.
The biggest factor in this country is population. Australia’s population and geography mean that gamers are spread far and wide, with the majority of games coming from the larger cities. A smaller population also means that product coming into the country is also small, and therefore “bulk” deliveries are organised by distributors who then must ship those items around the country. The cost of the product is therefore greatly increased which means that not only is the product scarce, but it is expensive – another obstacle for “new blood” to become involved in the hobby. This then leaves the online retailers to reap the rewards as it is often cheaper to purchase the product online than it is to buy “in-store.” The follow-on effect of that is that it becomes harder to obtain products as retail stores go out of business, and the vicious circle continues. I try to encourage people to buy at their FLGS (Friendly Local Gaming Store), but it ends up being a cost versus loyalty argument, one that is often driven by an individual’s budget. But I digress.
The very basic response to the question is that games are harder to come by here in Australia than elsewhere in the major RPG producing countries, and the costs of the product when they can be found is expensive. This no doubt results in pirated material being used or PDF versions of the products purchased online for as cheaply as possible.
Do you think it impacts the kinds of games your players are willing to play, the themes of your games, the availability of products, that kind of thing?
Another good question. I think the answer is yes if you are talking about a game which is not available in electronic form, such as the likes of the Star Wars Role Playing Game lines. I think the rest is just dependent on how accessible the different games are, whether that be through direct publication, Kickstarter campaigns or access to a well-stocked games store. It also depends on how well suited a gaming group is to try new systems. This is more a universal trait rather than being specific to Australian gamers. Gamers are a resourceful bunch however, and even games that are out of print can be found, often with ease.
Answering the question more precisely, I would say that the type of games and themes played by Australian gamers is not affected, and with the advancement of online gaming software the likes of Roll20, D20Pro and Fantasy Grounds, roadblocks preventing access to different game systems has literally been removed. What is yet to be removed is the sheer cost. Games such as the Star Wars Role Playing Game line have this as their major hurdle, not for existing gamers but for bringing new people into the hobby. Games like Dungeons and Dragons along with Pathfinder make the chance of a new gamer “finding” the hobby easier by being more readily available either at a general bookstore or online with a purchasable PDF version of the game. These are definitely entry level games, with the more expensive and/or less accessible games falling to a secondary market or into the “Introduced by Friends” category. This is where games clubs and conventions come into their own, allowing new and old gamers to find exciting new systems to try. Unfortunately conventions, where I am from, are few and far between, with a focus more on board, card, and miniatures games. The reason for that though, is a different discussion entirely.
How do new gamers get into the hobby in Australia?
Well that was the discussion I was alluding to in the paragraph above, so that’s a great question. Primarily, new gamers are introduced to gaming by old gamers. This is not a new concept and is a somewhat universal constant across the globe in the gaming community. Gaming in Australia is a bit different due to our population, and the distances between our cities. It is therefore up to conventions, clubs, and stores to introduce new players to the hobby, or as mentioned, old time gamers who have a penchant for fresh blood.
With only a handful of conventions for the entire country though (the majority being in both Melbourne and Sydney), and an even smaller number of clubs, the lion’s share of the “recruiting” has to come from games stores and already established groups. As mentioned above, getting product is difficult and expensive, and so we end up with a catch 22. The only other way is for small game groups to recruit on their own, or for people to accidentally stumble across a game. I’m sure this is no different to the way things happens everywhere else on the planet, but I do think that due to the distances and lower number of options (we do have 1/15th the population of the United States), it’s no wonder many gamers from the Lands Down Under take great joy in visiting major conventions in the United States and in Europe.
Next week I’ll be returning to a discussion regarding NPCs and building them to create suitable challenges for your players, along with some tips on how to use Minion Groups more effectively in your Star Wars Role Playing Game.
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