Evil Hat Sales: Finishing 2009

IPR numbers are in!

Here’s the skinny.

Previous Totals

2009Q4 to date:
Penny PDF: 19
Penny Print: 12
DLYM PDF: 21
DLYM Print: 7
DRYH PDF: 41
DRYH Print: 25
SOTC PDF: 47
SOTC Print: 33
SOTC HC: 12
SOTS PDF: 30
S7S PDF: 23
S7S Print: 12

Lifetime:
Penny: 342
DLYM: 709
DRYH: 2473
SOTC: 4812
SOTS: 576
S7S: 814

Let’s see what IPR adds to that, shall we?

2009Q4 for IPR

Penny PDF: 11
Penny Print: 45 (27 to retail)
DLYM PDF: 2
DLYM Print: 41 (28 to retail)
DRYH PDF: 11
DRYH Print: 78 (56 to retail)
SOTC PDF: 9
SOTC Print: 116 (96 to retail)
SOTS PDF: 9
S7S PDF: 3
S7S 51 (33 to retail)

Final Totals for 2009

2009Q4 final:
Penny PDF: 19+11 = 30
Penny Print: 12 + 45 = 57
DLYM PDF: 21 + 2 = 23
DLYM Print: 7 + 41 = 48
DRYH PDF: 41 + 11 = 52
DRYH Print: 25 + 78 = 103
SOTC PDF: 47 + 9 = 56
SOTC Print: 33 + 116 = 148
SOTC HC: 12 + 0 = 12
SOTS PDF: 30 + 9 = 39
S7S PDF: 23 + 3 = 26
S7S Print: 12 + 51 = 63

Lifetime:
Penny: 342 + 11 + 45 = 398 (so close!)
DLYM: 709 + 2 + 41 = 752
DRYH: 2473 + 11 + 78 = 2562
SOTC: 4812 + 9 + 116 = 4937
SOTS: 576 + 9 = 585
S7S: 814 + 3 + 51 = 868

Observations

A few quick observations about this final chunk of data. (If you want to see commentary on the other parts of 2009, check out the sales numbers tag.)

IPR Slows Down In The Winter

This was the weakest quarter we’ve had with IPR in a while. I think it was a weaker quarter for IPR overall, however — there just aren’t that many new items coming into the catalog over there, and new products have been clearly indicated as a prime driver of sales at that site.   People get reluctant to buy games for themselves during the holidays, I think, so that plays in too.

IPR vs. Our Own Store

Q4 was also our first full quarter with the Evil Hat Web Store in effect, and I think it stripped off the richest topsoil of direct sales both in PDF and print.  PDF sales of our products in the fourth quarter were almost vanishingly small at IPR, as can be seen with the above numbers.  In order to maximize revenue, the Evilhat.Com website switched over to linking to the webstore as the “first link of preference”. IPR formerly occupied that position. So I suspect that has grabbed the folks who come to Evilhat.Com as the first point of entry when looking for our products. IPR is clearly still capturing a lot of sales — more than our webstore — as its own first point of entry, so I’m of course still happy we’re working with them.

IPR to Retail = Good Times

The general trend of IPR sales skewing more strongly toward retail continues. In terms of print sales, 60-80% of the print items sold in Q4 were to retail, depending on the title (SOTC’s percentage was largest, Penny’s was smallest.)

I suspect this is in part due to the “topsoil” stripping I mention above. But I also believe that the long tail effect is playing out in retail stores, as far as our “back catalog” goes.  IPR and direct sales have allowed us to “alpha strike” the marketplace to our financial benefit — we’re making the most money per unit on those earliest sales — but once that presence-via-product is out there, it starts feeding back into retail, and retailers then comes knocking to order a few copies for their stores.  It’s clear the products continue to sell in these storefronts, and that makes me happy: I certainly don’t want stores ordering copies only to see them sit on the shelves. But it also suggests that stores which don’t get right in on the ground floor with a new product are still going to have the opportunity to make something of it after the market has a chance to demonstrate that the product is worth placing some confidence in.  While that might net the retail store less cash overall, it does mean that they can make the purchases with less inherent risk. In this economy, that doesn’t suck.

IPR Works As Our Primary Outlet For Retail

This also legitimizes my feeling that I’d prefer to stick with IPR as my primary retail method in the USA. As I mentioned before, we do sell to an honest-to-god distributor (Esdevium) as well, but that distributor’s scope is outside the USA. That helps manage the whole exorbitant overseas shipping cost thing (at least for the European market) for direct and retail customers across the Atlantic.

I do think I’d be willing to sell direct to retailers (i.e., selling directly from Evil Hat to the retail store) on a case by case basis, but IPR’s continuing retail strength for us means I don’t have to feel like I must. (Tho if you’re a retailer and want to talk to Evil Hat about making a direct order, speak up.)