2018 has been an interesting year for the games industry. We've seen a glut of excellent board games hit the market and more mainstream adoption of the gaming hobby by the 'mundanes' as John Coviello would say, but we've also had to deal with new issues. Online competition has never been fiercer, labour costs are on the rise across North America, and the market seems to be hitting a point of over saturation.

John Coviello joins me on this episode of the Manaverse Podcast to discuss the state of the games industry in 2018 and to discuss some possible solutions to the issues facing game store owners today.

Despite all the setbacks, obstacles, and challenges there are more ways than ever to make money in the games business. Listen in to find out more.

Topics Discussed

  • Amazon's $2 billion subsidy and online competition
  • The impact of a rising minimum wage
  • Loss of direct sales from Wizards of the Coast as of August 31, 2018
  • Counterfeits from China
  • Tariffs at the border
  • Over saturation of the board game market and Kickstarters

Links

Amazon HQ2 Will Cost Taxpayers at Least $4.6 Billion, More Than Twice What the Company Claimed, New Study Shows

New tariffs pulling a wild card on Ottawa's gamers

US & Canada: Wizards Direct Sales Ends 8/31/2018

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