Gaming is declining.. I think not

Long time lurker here

Quoting the decline in number of bricks and mortar outlets as proof of the
forthcoming death of miniature gaming is no longer valid.. The world has
changed and the sales systems in the hobby too.. I have been gaming for about
50 years and in my youth had been known to travel hundreds of miles to shops
to buy and get a look at the latest

models. This was also true of Wargames exhibiton. Yes i enjoyed the exhibition
games but my real target was the trade stands to see what was new etc and to
top up the metal pile.. That is no longer necessary. All I need is that magic
On switch and a modem to satisfy that need. I view and buy all my gaming needs
from the comfort of my own home and purchase WWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYY too much
stuff with the flexible friend and the oh so easy to use PAYPAL account.. I
personally have never spent more on gaming than I do now and am gobsmacked by
the range and quality of material that is available..
> From where I sit in war gaming isolation in northern spain the hobby

them from there own homes.. How much better can it get. Then we get to plastic
figures. In the "old days" you would need to be insane to consider putting a
plastic moulded figure on the market because the costs were way to high to
justify the sales the market could generate. Even considering the way that
production costs have come

down in recent years a dying market could never support the plethora of
plastic molded items filling out web shops at the moment.

Sooooooooo lets stop bemoaning the death of our hobby and celebrate being
participants in a life long joy that has discovered the internet and
reinvented itself into a whole new world of electronic sales and the type of
service so many manufacturers now provide to make our hobby both vibrant,
alive and incredibly satisfying..