Hobby Games Top $1.5 Billion in U.S./Canada in 2017

from the official ICV2 press release . . . . . .  Sales of hobby games in the U.S. and Canada topped $1.5 billion for the first time in 2017, reaching $1.55 billion, according to a new estimate compiled by ICv2 and reported in Internal Correspondence #94.  That's an 8% growth rate over 2016, with rates of change by category ranging from a 3% decline in collectible game sales to a 32% increase in miniature games sales.  By channel, Kickstarter grew the fastest, followed by hobby, and trailed by mass/online. This is the slowest growth, in both absolute dollars and percentage, since ICv2 started tracking sales in 2013.  But the 8% growth in 2017 still adds to a remarkable string of four big growth years, in which hobby game sales have more than doubled. "Hobby game sales have been growing for nine consecutive years," ICv2 CEO Milton Griepp noted, "a secular trend that reflects changing leisure time activities in our technologically advanced society.  Increased visibility in media, growing acceptance by the mainstream, a burst of creativity fueled in part by crowdfunding, and a new, more diverse generation of players are all contributing to this trend." Collectible Games, the largest category, shrank 3%, from $750 million in 2016 to $725 million in 2017. Hobby Board Games, the second largest category, grew 13% from $305 million in 2016 to $345 million in 2017, another big jump for a hot category. Non-Collectible Miniatures had the fastest growth rate at 32%, up from $205 million in 2016 to $270 million in 2017. Hobby Card and Dice Games grew 15%, from $130 million in 2016 to $150 million in 2017. And Roleplaying Games, the smallest category, was up 22% from $45 million in 2016 to $55 million in 2017. Methodology We define "hobby games" as those games produced for a "gamer" market, generally (although not always) sold primarily in the hobby channel of game and card specialty stores.  We define the "hobby games market" as the market for those games regardless of whether they're sold in the hobby channel or other channels. The total hobby games market estimate is derived from estimates for five individual categories:  collectible games (which include Trading/Collectible Card Games, Collectible Miniatures Games, and Collectible Dice Games), miniatures (non-collectible), board games, card and dice games, and roleplaying games. ICv2's primary means of collecting data about hobby games sales is interviews with key industry figures with good visibility to sales in various categories and channels.  ICv2 also reviews data released by publicly traded companies, and Kickstarter data and analysis, especially that released by ICO Partners.  There were no major changes in methodology for 2017. ICv2 ICv2 is the #1 industry source on the business of geek culture, including comics and graphic novels, hobby games, and showbiz on its website, www.ICv2.com, and in its magazine, Internal Correspondence.  For the people on the front lines of the geek culture business, staying ahead of the trends isn't something that can be left to chance-it's a basic necessity for being successful.  That's why ICv2 is the #1 source of news and information for the buyers, gatekeepers, and tastemakers on the front lines.  ICv2 is where trend-watching is a science.