I consider myself a lucky individual. When I grew up, I had the benefit of playing both roleplaying video games and tabletop roleplaying games each week. My mom and dad bought me video games that I played at home during the week, then every Saturday I got to go to our local gaming shop and play tabletop roleplaying games. I grew up with the best of both worlds. But with tabletop roleplaying games sales supposedly declining over the last several years and video game sales skyrocketing (not-so-supposedly) each year, it makes me wonder… how have roleplaying video games affected tabletop roleplaying games?

Maybe I’m reading too much into this and it is less of a video game vs. tabletop game mentality and more of just a signal of changing times. Tabletop roleplaying games were created when the internet wasn’t even around and every child didn’t grow up playing video games of some sort. My parents never played either, but some from their generation did play tabletop roleplaying games. I grew up mostly with friends who played Nintendo, Sega Genesis, and computer games. Only a small group of my friends actually role played. These days you’re more likely to run into one hundred kids that have played Guitar Hero or Halo 3 than one kid who has played Dungeons & Dragons.

This whole situation led me to think about the pros and cons with video games and tabletop games. Are roleplaying video games partially responsible for a decline in interest with tabletop roleplaying games?

Video Game Pros
- The rules of the game are built-in.
- The pace of the game is quick and a combat ‘round’ can be completed in seconds.
- The games are easy to learn to play.
- All you need is a game system and possibly an internet connection.
- When you’re done with a video game, you can just log out.

Video Game Cons
- Social interaction is less than a table-top, even with microphones and the internet. Many games have solo modes which require no other players at all.
- Fewer choices on what you can do. If it isn’t programmed into the game you can’t do it.
- Once the video game is ‘won’ or interest is lost, it is typically shelved or sold never to be played again.

Tabletop Roleplaying Pros
- Social interaction is greater than with a video game.
- More choices on what you can do. If you can dream it, you can do it.
- Typically has a longer retention rate for players. For example, we all know some players who have been playing D&D for more than twenty years.

Tabletop Roleplaying Cons
- Takes longer to understand the rules of the game.
- A combat round can take several minutes (or more) to complete a few seconds of actual in-game play.
- To play you need to find some friends, agree on a time and place to play, and follow through. With today’s busy schedules that can be very difficult.

I tried to decide whether cost was a pro or a con for video games or tabletop roleplaying games. Honestly, I consider that category a wash because it totally depends on the gamer. I know gamers that spend hundreds of dollars on gaming systems, new video games each month, and monthly subscription fees. I also know gamers that spend hundreds of dollars on books, dice, miniatures, battle-maps, and a host of other tabletop accessories.

In the end, does this all really matter? I honestly don’t believe that tabletop roleplaying games will ever go away permanently. Even if sales decline, game shops close, and good gamer friends are harder to come by, tabletop roleplaying games will survive. You’ll always have your corporate giants like Wizards of the Coast. You’ll always have your independent publishers selling whatever they can through direct sales via the internet, electronic sales, or pushing their products at conventions and roleplaying events. And you’ll always have creative thinkers wanting to take the visions in their head and play them out on your living room table (using dice and bad-ass rulebooks).

What do you think about the current state of the tabletop roleplaying industry?

Do you believe that roleplaying video games are affecting the tabletop roleplaying industry?