The quarterly ICv2 market report on game sales, reported in the ICv2 Guide to Games #44, found solid growth vs. the year ago period, continuing trends that began in 2006.  Game retailers are doing better this year due not only to better sales, but also to tighter ordering, lower expenses, and reduced competition from the decline in the number of stores over the last several years.  CCGs, the biggest category in the hobby channel, have been doing especially well this year. 

 

The decline in the sales of roleplaying games, which began in 2003 and has been most recently marked by the recent cancellation of Dragon and Dungeon magazines, is the dark spot in the games industry, and it shows no sign of reversing.  Many retailers that have successfully adapted to this new environment have not only rotated their product mix away from RPGs, they are also targeting a different, broader audience that includes more families.   Not only does a strategy that focuses more on family games offer products that are growing instead of declining in sales, it can also help find customers that are less likely to be diverted to online retailers. 

 

This issue of the ICv2 Guide also includes ICv2's best-in-the-business bestseller lists in five game categories, as always.  Here are the ICv2 Top Fives (longer lists are available in the magazine):

 

ICv2 Top Five CCGs

  1. Pokemon
  2. Yu-Gi-Oh!
  3. Magic:  The Gathering
  4. World of Warcraft
  5. Naruto

ICv2 Top Five CMGs

  1. Star Wars CMG
  2. Dungeons and Dragons Miniatures
  3. HeroClix
  4. Pirates
  5. Axis and Allies

ICv2 Top Five Non-Collectible Miniature Games

  1. Warhammer 40,000
  2. WarMachine
  3. Hordes
  4. Dark Heavens Legends
  5. Battlefield Evolution

ICv2 Top Five Board, Card, and Family Games

  1. Settlers of Catan
  2. Ticket to Ride
  3. Carcassonne
  4. Munchkin
  5. Formula De

ICv2 Top Five RPGs

  1. Dungeons & Dragons
  2. Mutants & Masterminds
  3. World of Darkness
  4. Exalted
  5. Scion

For info on how to get your copy of the ICv2 Guide #41--Games, with the full market reports, an interview with pop culture renaissance man John Kovalic, bestseller lists, and reviews, see 'ICv2 Releases 'ICv2 Guide to Games' #44.'