Too much stuff?

In general, I’m not a big fan of conspicuous consumption. There’s always more stuff to buy than anyone actually needs. Sadly, the RPG hobby has fallen prey to this trend.

Simply put, there is just too much stuff to buy. Don’t get me wrong, I love games. I have my own personal library, and gaming books account for part of it. Additionally, I expect to add to it over time.

My problem though comes with the never-ending parade of content. More frustratingly though is the even larger parade of people promoting the content. I have a feed on Twitter that I’ve curated, but on any given day it’s just an ad for buying more game stuff.

Music, coins, maps, journals, books, miniatures, and the list goes on. “I’m just gonna boost the signal here,” and another person promotes another RPG Kickstarter. Its like I’ve developed a sort of commercial fatigue to RPGs. I used to get really excited when I saw new stuff coming out, but now….not so much. Now I’m frustrated by how much stuff is coming out, and I keep thinking that the RPG industry, along with board games, basically survives on people just buying shit.

It makes me sad that such a great DIY hobby has taken on such a strong sales component, but its growing the hobby. The constant pressure to purchase more is annoying, but it also grows the hobby. It’s a tough call, but in my opinion there is maybe just too much stuff. I guess I could think of worse things.