From: cwatters@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Coyt D Watters)
Subject: Re: Survey for Wizards of the Coast
To: mavra@cpac.washington.edu
Organization: The Ohio State University
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1992 21:38:29 GMT


>
>Gaming Industry Survey
>Wizards of the Coast and Garfield Games
>

>The first six questions are going to ask you to characterize the
>purchasing habits of the gaming public.  In these questions, a kid who
>maybe only spends $10 a year on adventure games but has parents who
>buy him or her $100 worth of adventure games as gifts would be counted
>as having spent $110 on adventure games.
>
>1.	This ultimate purpose of this question is to try and determine
>	the number of people who play adventure games.  Please answer one,
>	two, or all three of the following questions:
>
>	a.	How many people would you estimate play adventure
>		games?

	Probably aboutt 20 million.  I wish I had Micheal Stackpole's article
	from _Dragon_ which has a lot of these stats.

>	b.	What percentage of the overall population would you
>		estimate plays adventure games?

	Less than 2%.  During college I met quite a few gamers, but rarely more
	than 2 in a hundred.

>	c.	Of all the people who play adventure games, what
>		percentage of them would estimate subscribe to Dragon Magazine?

	From the last circulation I read, about 100k copies are distributed
	each month.  I'd bet subscriptions are less than 25k copies.
	_Dragon_ is priced wrong for subscriptions.  (I have subscribed for
	only the last couple of years - it was easier to come up with $3.50
	each month, rather than $30.00 at once for the subscription)

	BUT!  Each copy of _Dragon_ is read by probably 4-5 additional gamers.
	Whenever I get one, I'd pass it around to the other gamers, either in
	class (at college), or when a game was getting going.

>2.	Out of all the people who play adventure games, what
>	percentage of those people, on the average:
>
>	a.	10%
>	b.	20%
>	c.	60%
>	d.	7%
>	e.	3%
>
>	All of the above percentages should add up to 100%.
>
>	f.	How much would you estimate you spend each year on
>		adventure games?

	Well, I'm primarily a category b person.  When ADNDv2 came out, I 
	upgraded all my hardbounds, so that year I spent about $200.

>3.	Of all the people who play adventure games, what percentage of
>	those people use as their primary reason for not spending more on
>	adventure gaming:
>
>	a.	That they don't have enough money to spend more than
>		they currently are spending
	20% (lots of college students

>	b.	That they already have most of what they want
	50%
>	c.	That most of the material on the market isn't worth
>		buying
	10% (or isn't for the games they play - like James Bond)

>	d.	That someone else in their gaming circle buys most of
>		the material
	10%	

>	e.	That their interest in adventure gaming isn't strong
>		enough to warrant additional expense
	10%
>
>	f.	What's your primary reason for not spending more money
>		on adventure games?
	a#1 - I only GM now, and I only run ADND with my party (though that
	might change).  A#2 - my wife would kill me if I spent more than I
	already do!
>
>Questions 4-6 are similar to 1-3 except that they pertain to parlor
>games instead of adventure games.
>
>4.	In trying to estimte the size of the parlor gaming market,
>
>	a.	What percentage of the overall population would you
>		estimate plays parlor games?

	No clue - everyone seems to play parlor games when they have children.

>	b.	For every person who plays adventure games, how many
>		people would you estimate play parlor games?
	Gamers can be a desperate bunch if there's no GM around - probably 50%
 	of all adventure gamers.
>
>5.	Out of all the people who play parlor games, what percentage
>	of those people, on the average:
>
>	a.	Spend less than $20 a year on parlor games
>	b.	Spend $20-$49 a year on parlor games
>	c.	Spend $50-$99 a year on parlor games
>	d.	Spend $100-$199 a year on parlor games
>	e.	Spend $200 or more a year on parlor games
>
>	All of the above percentages should add up to 100%.
>
>	f.	How much would you estimate you spend each year on
>		parlor games?
	Less than $100
>
>6.	Of all the people who play parlor games, what percentage of
>	those people use as their primary reason for not spending more on
>	parlor gaming:
>
>	a.	That they don't have enough money to spend more than
>		they currently are spending
>	b.	That they already have most of what they want
>	c.	That most of the material on the market isn't worth
>		buying
>	d.	That someone else in their gaming circle buys most of
>		the material
>	e.	That their interest in parlor gaming isn't strong
>		enough to warrant additional expense
>
>	All of the above percentages should add up to 100%.
>
>	f.	What's your primary reason for not spending more money
>		on parlor games?
	Very little interest in buying a new copy of monopoly or risk.

>Questions 7-9 are similar to 1-3 except that they pertain to computer
>games instead of adventure games.
>
>7.	In trying to estimte the size of the computer gaming market,
>
>	a.	What percentage of the overall population would you
>		estimate plays computer games?
	Less than 5%

>	b.	For every person who plays adventure games, how many
>		people would you estimate play computer games?
	75% of all adventure gamers play some sort of computer games.

>8.	Out of all the people who play computer games, what percentage
>	of those people, on the average:
>
>	a.	Spend less than $20 a year on computer games
>	b.	Spend $20-$49 a year on computer games
>	c.	Spend $50-$99 a year on computer games
>	d.	Spend $100-$199 a year on computer games
	20%
>	e.	Spend $200 or more a year on computer games
	80%
	>
>	All of the above percentages should add up to 100%.
>
>	f.	How much would you estimate you spend each year on
>		computer games?
	Probably on the order of $350

>9.	Of all the people who play computer games, what percentage of
>	those people use as their primary reason for not spending more on
>	computer gaming:
>
>	a.	That they don't have enough money to spend more than
>		they currently are spending
>	b.	That they already have most of what they want
>	c.	That most of the material on the market isn't worth
>		buying
>	d.	That someone else in their gaming circle buys most of
>		the material
>	e.	That their interest in computer gaming isn't strong
>		enough to warrant additional expense
>
>	All of the above percentages should add up to 100%.
>
>	f.	What's your primary reason for not spending more money
>		on computer games?
	My wife.
>
>10.	Out of all the people who play adventure games, what
>	percentage of those people would you estimate regularly spend money in
>	the comics or trading card industry?  Do you regularly spend money on
>	comics or trading cards?

	Comics- used to in college. Trading cards - never.

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