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Story here.

So EA's lisense for LotR is not being renewed. Could we see a similar thing for GW in the future? The article mentions that movie studio's are more self-sufficient in the realm of computer games, and developing a complete miniature line and game is a far cry from making a few cheap and nasty movie tie-ins, but is Newline and Tolkien Enterprises looking to take back everything of theirs? Could LotR be leaving White Dwarf soon?

BYE

Honestly... I kinda hope so. It'd be nice to get either an entirely new game or some oldy-but-goodies like Inquisitor or Mordheim. Or, heaven forbid, they'd give us back our Warmaster/Epic scale toys. Those tiny little dudes on a shelf in the store would be a sight for sore eyes.

2 years ago before I moved out to Hawaii I spoke to my rep. about the LOTR thing spacificaly about when GW would be ditching it, he let me know at that time GW had renewed their LOTR agreement for another 5-6 years ( cant remember which one ) and that as far as GW was concerned LOTR was their 3rd core game and it wasnt going any where.

I dont play it but the models have gotten better and thse that do play it really seem to like it. Reguardless of its sales GW is bound under terms of the contract to release X amount of new figs and books/expensions over the corse of the agreement. S

O until the current contract is up 3 to 4 years yet, GW dont have to worrie. I am sure with as big as both players are, there is more than enough riders in the contracts to make it a bad idea for eaither side to terminate the contract early.

the two contracts have nothing to do with each other (other than involving the same IP) so i wouldn't worry. neither the story you linked or the similar one on kotaku.com actually says whether or not EA CHOSE to renew or not. their LOTR games over the past few years have not been good sellers and the latest one is a stinker (LOTR Conquest). EA has publicly stated last year that they're looking to develop more original IP instead of licenses (hence the release of dead space and mirror image) so this may actually be their choice. do i have any insider knowledge? nope. could i be completely wrong? yup.

I'm assuming with GW having a 'book' license to LotR and the new War of the Ring game means that WD is going to have LotR content until at least both Hobbit films are done.

I can tell you what EA losing the LotR account means to GW players in EA - no more cool swag. When EA first got the LotR account years ago, the LotR folks swooped in and gave employees boxes of free GW stuff. One of my WHFB-playing buddies got a copy-paper sized box of free stuff - and as this was just after the LotR folks contracted with GW, the LotR line hadn't been made yet, so it was full of WHFB and 40K stuff. As my friend didn't play 40K, he kept all the WHFB stuff for himself, but gave me the 40K models which included a 3E box set (still fairly new at the time) and the new-at-the-time 3E hybrid SM Devastators.

EA drained the Tolkien cash cow, their last game which involved the franchise was basically a crappy Battlefield game with the LotR background.

Yeah, GW's contract is very solid with New Line. I wouldn't worry about that. I think that either EA or New Line decided that the partnership wasn't profitable (due to crappy games being produced). It was time.

I believe the movie IP is now in Warner Brothers' hands as all that is left of New Line is the logo and their film library.

Whichever it's been a while since I checked the IP

I thought somewhere I have read GW also has licences from the publishers of the books for many of the LotR related books. This could be a safeguard of GW if the movie licence is pulled.

I think it's good news. It shouldn't have any bearing on GW's LotR game, and now we won't be bombarded with crappy LotR video games.

Blackadder wrote:I thought somewhere I have read GW also has licences from the publishers of the books for many of the LotR related books. This could be a safeguard of GW if the movie licence is pulled.

Even if they did, it wouldn't matter. The publishers have no control over or ownership of the LotR licenses(and therefore no right to hand them out), only the Tolkien Society does. What you probably heard(which WOULD be correct) is that they have the licenses to do material FROM the books as well as from the movies. The New Line license simply allows them to replicate the imagery, costumes, and actor's likenesses seen in the New Line films, hence why the Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin from the Scouring of the Shire expansion don't look like the actors.

< Taken by the void dragon. >

I actually know where this license has gone in the video game realm, and it shouldn't have any effect on GW's grip on the franchise. They are two very different types of game (minature vs video), but the license is purely through the movie studio, not the video game publisher. I would assume that with the hobbit in the works, GW wants to hold the license until then (that's like the one aspect of the LOTR mythos GW hasn't touched, with the exception of the five armies game), and then start a whole new line from that film.


I still don't know how they did the licensing where both GW and some other company produced minature games. The other company did more of a CMG like Heroclix, but they seem to be done and over with now, while GW continues to trickle out stuff (while in the process slowing down the releases of my 40k and fantasy armies ).

skullking wrote:I still don't know how they did the licensing where both GW and some other company produced minature games. The other company did more of a CMG like Heroclix, but they seem to be done and over with now, while GW continues to trickle out stuff (while in the process slowing down the releases of my 40k and fantasy armies ).

That "other company" was Sabretooth Games, a subsidiary company of GW's. If you notice, the CMG models were exactly the same models as the main GW LotR at the time. Same license, different market.

I, for one, am reasonably sure that tears won't stream down my face if they lose it (GW). That said, I doubt if they will!

I hope they don't loose it. If they did it would mean they would have to redo the core of almost all armies as well as most of the giant armies. And you know, if the miniature designers ever got their hands on the book stuff without the movie guidelines Boromir would be freaking covered in skull armour with a skull sword and a skull steed. Hell, the entire place would just turn into one big army of the dead cluster bang.

Lose LOTR? I pray for the day. Watching a third of an already dire WD dedicated to a suffocating franchise is depressing, and exactly one third of why I don't buy that excuse for a magazine any more. I appreciate that many people have enjoyed LOTR since its release. It's just those people tend to be about table height.