Is speedcubing a hyper-niche activity?

[abunickabhi]

Is speedcubing a hyper-niche activity ?

I feel mainstream cubing has been existing for quite a few years and there has not been any big breakthrough in terms of it being wide recognized as not a magic trick and an actual skill to fine tune and compete in.

Top cubers at large still find it hard to get cash sponsorships. Organizers do not give any cash prizes or significant cash prizes. There has been a decline in growth of cubing and in no way is its reach having exponential growth in the market.

Is it just impossible to get cubing mainstream just because it will be perceived as a super niche activity with no actual benefits to the world, spectators and entertainment, gaming and sporting markets ?

Cubing does provide personal gains like improvement of pattern recognition skills, social interaction, memory and ability to fine tune hand eye coordination, but it fails to provide gains for market players to bring it to most audiences in the world.

What do you think?

 

[6 by 6]

Is speedcubing a hyper-niche activity ?

I feel mainstream cubing has been existing for quite a few years and there has not been any big breakthrough in terms of it being wide recognized as not a magic trick and an actual skill to fine tune and compete in.

Top cubers at large still find it hard to get cash sponsorships. Organizers do not give any cash prizes or significant cash prizes. There has been a decline in growth of cubing and in no way is its reach having exponential growth in the market.

Is it just impossible to get cubing mainstream just because it will be perceived as a super niche activity with no actual benefits to the world, spectators and entertainment, gaming and sporting markets ?

Cubing does provide personal gains like improvement of pattern recognition skills, social interaction, memory and ability to fine tune hand eye coordination, but it fails to provide gains for market players to bring it to most audiences in the world.

What do you think?

In my opinion, I think speedcubing is a niche, but not in a negative way.
It’s similar to chess, yo-yoing, speedrunning, or even juggling - highly skill-based, impressive to watch, but not built for mass commercial entertainment.

Cubing’s biggest strength is that it’s personal skill + community driven, not money driven.
For most people it’s about improvement, creativity, and the puzzle-solving mindset, not sponsorships or cash prizes.

Mainstream growth might always be limited, but the community is healthy, active, and still evolving.
Even if it stays niche, it’s a niche with passion - and that’s what keeps it alive.

 

[Michael Wimberly]

As someone who has only been cubing for half a year, I can tell you that before I was cubing I knew that it was pretty niche, but it's not quite invisible. I remember that there was a whole thing in the news a couple of years ago when Max Park broke the 3x3 WR. And I always recognized cubing, even though I never knew anything about it.

 

[bldcuber314]

It's niche, but not super niche. I think most people in countries like the US would have heard about cubing comps at some point.

 

[Artem Tabaliuk ( Артём )]

It's definitely less niche then before, I've noticed that at my school there is a lot more people cubing. But I would think that in China, It's very popular, especially with the kids.

 

[Michael Wimberly]

It's definitely less niche then before, I've noticed that at my school there is a lot more people cubing. But I would think that in China, It's very popular, especially with the kids.

There's actually a school somewhere in China that teaches its kids how to solve the cube. Heard about it in a world records book.

 

[bloxy5cuber]

TBH, I think it's been gaining traction recently, and it's not stopping. It still is pretty niche and like said before, it's like other hobbies that are cool to watch but not really... idk. Also think about it, the WCA IS not profit and it's not easy to get sponsorships. It seems like they only give it to the most popular youcubers (haha, that wasn't funny) like JPerm or Souptimmy, just to name a few.

 

[L4NC3_D4_AS14N]

TBH, I think it's been gaining traction recently, and it's not stopping. It still is pretty niche and like said before, it's like other hobbies that are cool to watch but not really... idk. Also think about it, the WCA IS not profit and it's not easy to get sponsorships. It seems like they only give it to the most popular youcubers (haha, that wasn't funny) like JPerm or Souptimmy, just to name a few.

recently? I feel cubing obtained popularity in the 2020's (I started cubing in 2023 so take my opinion with a grain of salt)

 

[SpeedCubingLord]

Lots of people know of the existence of speedcubing, but only a few actually pursue it.

 

[abunickabhi]

Lots of people know of the existence of speedcubing, but only a few actually pursue it.

Knowing about the Rubik's cube, and cubing is one thing.

And knowing about Speedcubing, and the scene of it is another thing which has very little awareness.

 

[Caleb Valenzuela]

We still have to keep in mind that cubing is only like 51 years old, compare to that to chess or yo-yoing (as mentioned earlier in this thread), and it suddenly seems like cubing is young compared to other sports/hobbies. Most competitions are never held in a public setting and are usually held in schools or other private venues. Another thing to mention is that I’m sure people have heard of a Rubik’s cube atleast once in their lifetime, but never tried to solve one. If all those people in the 1980s became speedcubers then cubing would be MUCH larger. Now with events like the PSL, cubing might become more popular as a head-to-head match up between two cubers is much more enticing than a group of people silently solving a cube.

 

[VortexCuber]

I think maybe in China it might be more popular.

 

[Deleted member 36445]

yes

but less niche than competitive grass growing

 

[cranberryjuice]

Is speedcubing a hyper-niche activity ?

I feel mainstream cubing has been existing for quite a few years and there has not been any big breakthrough in terms of it being wide recognized as not a magic trick and an actual skill to fine tune and compete in.

Top cubers at large still find it hard to get cash sponsorships. Organizers do not give any cash prizes or significant cash prizes. There has been a decline in growth of cubing and in no way is its reach having exponential growth in the market.

Is it just impossible to get cubing mainstream just because it will be perceived as a super niche activity with no actual benefits to the world, spectators and entertainment, gaming and sporting markets ?

Cubing does provide personal gains like improvement of pattern recognition skills, social interaction, memory and ability to fine tune hand eye coordination, but it fails to provide gains for market players to bring it to most audiences in the world.

What do you think?

I think it is, as most people I talk to or am approached by when I'm cubing in public (like restaurants usually, or the library) usually comment "nice toy" or say something about the magnets because it's "just a game". We recently finished writing argumentative essays in English 3 at my high school, and I wrote about the benefits of speedcubing. My teacher liked it so much he had me present it to the whole class.

 

[Olicube4life]

yes

but less niche than competitive grass growing

I didn't even know that was a thing