Photo from Flickr courtesy of the U.S. Army
World War II games are some of the most popular and best-selling regardless of format and venue. Simply look at the shelves of your nearest video game, computer game, and FLGS to see that this genre dominates video games, computer games and board games. Furthermore, Baby Boomers are the largest consumer group in the history of the world. They collectively represent more wealth and purchasing power than any other age group in existence. Most if not all of the Boomers lived through or were directly impacted by the war to end all wars.
These are facts and not hypothesis. With the veracity of these declarations beyond doubt we come to the issue of roleplaying games. For ages they have been dominated by fantasy settings as notably evidenced in Dungeons & Dragons. To a lesser extent other settings are commercially available with science fiction being popular. Star Wars, Scion, Legends of the Five Rings, White Wolf, and Dark Heresy are some of the many varied and popular venues.
Visibly absent is anything set during World War II. Why is that? The war canvassed the globe touching different environments and people. It is already equipped with conflict and equipment for adventurers to use on their quests. It is so large that DMs can write their own story lines without changing history…and if they changed the history who cares?
Are companies put off by the known outcome? Are they concerned that gamers would have to deal with Hitler’s genocidal programs? Or, are they worried that customers will dislike recreating historical engagements?
Yes, we all know how the war ended. We know the general facts of the war. We know the broad strokes. While Hitler is a rightly despised individual he can be used as a teaching tool. We can use the roleplaying game to put gamers in the shoes of those touched by the concentration camps, the forced breeding, and the paranoid secret police. If knowledge is power, then we can use the game to educate people and thus give them the power they need.
If companies are concerned about recreating history, then perhaps they need to have a glance at the innumerable reenactments and organizations that bring the history buffs together to replay past battles. Those individuals know who won, who lost, and how it happened but they gather year after year to recreate the events. Clearly, there is demand for this.
To all the game publishers I say that I don’t know why you are not releasing WW2 roleplaying games. But, I do know that you are missing out on a fiscally lucrative and interesting market for a game. You have me befuddled.
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