Google Trends — ~4 Years Later

Back in August of 2010, I posted about a variety of gaming terms based on Google Trend data. While its not quite 4 years later (closer to 3.5), let’s see what those terms are doing today.

These are the same terms, with the addition of some new terms (noted below), which I suspected would interesting. Nothing has really changed over the course of a few years. Pretty much anything gaming related is sloping down. Of course, this is trend data based on search terms and there are many, many alternate ways people find materials today; even more than there were four years ago with the explosion of social media.

I also added a few terms based on systems that I hear about on a regular basis — Labyrinth Lord, Pathfinder, and Dungeon Crawl Classics. Virtual Table Top was a new entry as well, since it has been popular the last couple of years. (I tried LOTFP but no trend data was available). There are many others but I chose that small set. Pathfinder and Labyrinth Lord bucked the down and to the right trend. PF is gaining audience based on search popularity and LL is holding near flat. DCC appears to have the same general trend as gaming in general. VTT has a curious cliff at the end of the chart. People appear to be searching for a specific client rather the generic term — namely Roll20. The Roll20 trend line is awesomely upwards.

New Entries

Labyrinth Lord

Pathfinder

Dungeon Crawl Classics

Virtual Table Top

Roll 20

The Original Terms

Overall, the original terms are pretty much what one would expect. Almost everything gaming is down and to the right. Porn is holding strong but seems to have hit a wall of late. Farmville had its moment in the spotlight but lost its luster quickly. It will be interesting to track the downfall along with the “D&D” and “Dungeons and Dragons” terms. I suspect it will crater at some point in the future; a fate I do not foresee with the D&D brand. Cat videos are still amazingly popular. I have no idea why.

Video Games

Trivial Pursuit

Roleplaying Online

RPG

Roleplaying Games

Porn

LARP

Farmville

Hasbro Monopoly

Dungeons and Dragons

Donkey Videos

D&D

Cat Videos

Board Games

3D Online Games

Last Thoughts

I am a bit sad that the donkey videos are flat-lining. Cats are more popular than ever but donkeys just don’t get enough love. Perhaps they are too closely associated with jack asses for the modern politically correct aesthetic.