Updated to clarify the survey vs response rate.

Purple Pawn has conducted a survey of over 7,000 companies around the world who made money from analog, tabletop games and received 421 responses. You can download the 14 page report for free here [PDF].

Summary

Of the companies responding, those that did not close reported good results, with 85% reporting that they had done at least as well or better in 2010 than they had done in 2009.

Single-game game companies (sggc’s) make a significant portion of publishers. Sggc’s are eager to get the news out about their products, but likely to not actively build relationships, maintain an accurate website, respond to emails, and ultimately survive more than a year or two.

Top CCGs continue to provide steady income for game stores; Catan, Carcassonne, Dominion, Munchkin, Warhammer, and Warmachine lines also performed well. There is still room for new games, as demonstrated by the success of Dixit, Rory’s Story Cubes, Dominion, Small World, and Forbidden Island, all of which are games released in the last year or two. A successful new game should be followed by expansions or additional games; many new games perform well initially but drop off due to lack of continued innovation.

To participate in future surveys, send your name, company name, website address, and email address to admin@purplepawn.com .