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Made in us
Dakka Veteran





I don't think of WMH as being hard or complex or difficult to pick up.
But with the constant moving goalposts you did make it harder for a new player to know the state of the game. But playing WMH with a static rules set works out pretty well.

I don't think it is a "new to wargamming" friendly game but going 8th edition will be as bad as 8th edition is.

After RTFMing and playing my first WMH game against an experienced player, I lost, but not by that much because I got the gist of the goals of the game before I put modes to table top.

Now I wasn't playing against a broken OP build so that probably helped.. but that's the same problem that GW games had in certain editions. There were plenty of curb-stomping going on by abusing rules in WHFB and basically getting a one turn win against a newbie.

If anything WMH needs to get back to its roots, stop the moving goal posts and ditch the "must have builds" with free gak. That's what broke 7th beyond repair was the GD formation bs with free this and free that and OMG buff this with this buff that.

Fundamentally the flow and game play style of WMH is superior to 8th. It's faster dice. It's faster movement. It's faster figuring out the fiddly details. It is supremely tactical. You actually need to use your head and yes.. screwing up a move should hurt.

In the adage of Online Games.. Get Gud N00b.

Oh and I LOVED Company of Iron. I wish they had expanded and supported it more. Before the new Kill Team.. it really scratched that itch.

As an addendum, one of the other issues with WMH was the growth of the must have HUGE MODEL. It was a distraction and then they got nerfed and that just pisses people off when they paid a good penny for the "superheavies" of the WMH universe. They technically belonged in an "apoc" type of sub-game for WMH.

Some of my favorite battles were with only two or so warjacks and the rest were just soldiers. This was fun on both the Hordes side (usually trollkin) and the Iron Kingdom's side, with Menoth being a personally fun to play the "just troopers" kind of battles with.

I think PP will do better to get back to roots, less changing gak all the time and trying to help newbs get into the game.

They would also do well to improve their Quality of the Starter Boxes. The starter box kits are usually awful. Missing detail, even when they have no other malformations. While their newer models are frikken bad-ass.

Expand the plastic, get away from the Poly-Resin. They've got some good sculpts now and switching slowly to plastic would better suit them going forward. Hell use China if you have to.

Consummate 8th Edition Hater.  
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut





 meatybtz wrote:
I don't think of WMH as being hard or complex or difficult to pick up.
I don't want to make this another "let's gak on Warmachine" thread, but the basic mechanics of the game are easy enough. The difficulty is in how overpowering all the combos are, such that high level play is explicitly about setting up and denying combos - to the point where you basically have to be as good at playing your opponent's army as he is.

I don't think it is a "new to wargamming" friendly game but going 8th edition will be as bad as 8th edition is.
You may not be a fan, being a consummate hater of 8th edition, but there's no doubt that 8th has left 40k in a MUCH healthier place than 7th. It has a healthy influx of new players, old players have returned, and I think 40k is probably more popular now than it has been in decades.

Now I wasn't playing against a broken OP build so that probably helped..
Ya think?

In the adage of Online Games.. Get Gud N00b.
Boom. Headshot. You just killed 99% of your potential audience for the game by insulting them and leaving them for dead. This, more than anything else WMH did - not killing press gangers or the forums or releasing a new edition or anything - this is what killed WMH. New players do not become old players when they aren't having fun. The promise of fun to come, after you've lost twenty games and spent an absurd amount of time, effort, and money building the right army, is a tough sell to someone who tried it out because thought it looked neat.
   
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Ultramarine Terminator with Assault Cannon






Mantic has a poor business model. They have to jump from Kickstarter to Kickstarter to maintain capital to stay alive. They will eventually fail.

Privateer Press, while it's been a while since I've bothered to pay attention to them (I think that's the case with a lot of people); last I knew they were destroying themselves.
Their Press-Ganger initiative was a good thought, but sadly it failed because PP didn't vet the people properly.
Hard to say what lies in store for PP, but I believe it's safe to say that if they do fold they will not be missed, not for long anyway.
I hope PP sticks around. If only to keep their player base from coming to W40K.
   
Made in gb
Battlefield Professional




Nottingham, England

Short answer is yes. Of the big companies only 3 are a safe bet ; GW, FFG and Warlord.

They can weather a downturn. FFG is most vulnerable of those 3 because outside the US they are reliant on FLGS/others to sell their product and they are totally reliant on foreign manufacturing.

Everyone else is a major release/failed KS, sudden downturn away from going under IMO. KS based companies in particular right now are typically over promising - the Jurassic Park one is already starting to see the metaphorical wheels come offf with the last update downgrading the core box and SG maps to card from neoprene, blaming print quality..... Paramount's public endorsement never appeared either.


   
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Master Tormentor





St. Louis

FFG is pretty safe. They're a giant in the board game industry (they're owned by Asmodee), and have enough different licenses that losing one of them wouldn't hurt them terribly much. Wizkids licenses their rulesets as well, although their adaptations of X-Wing are definitely a lot less popular in part due to the pay to win model they went with for Star Trek. And sure, they don't sell their product themselves, but they don't really need to bother when you can get a copy of X-Wing in Target or Walmart.
   
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 Laughing Man wrote:
FFG is pretty safe. They're a giant in the board game industry (they're owned by Asmodee), and have enough different licenses that losing one of them wouldn't hurt them terribly much. Wizkids licenses their rulesets as well, although their adaptations of X-Wing are definitely a lot less popular in part due to the pay to win model they went with for Star Trek. And sure, they don't sell their product themselves, but they don't really need to bother when you can get a copy of X-Wing in Target or Walmart.

You don’t think FFG, unexpectedly losing the Star Wars license, would be all that put out by it? Ask Decipher how well that went for them, or WEG. Or Sony Online Entertainment. The industry is filled with giants crippled or destroyed overnight by unexpectedly losing the Star Wars license.
   
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Fixture of Dakka






I think FFG would survive as an Asmodee brand if the Star Wars licence went away, yes. As a company itself? possibly not, but the parent company may well keep it as a brand for less family-friendly games; Twilight Imperium, the Lovecraft games, the Genesis RPG line, etc. It depends how much they've sunk the company into supporting the two main miniatures games.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also, I wonder how unexpected the loss of the Star Wars licence could be? Can Disney unilaterally cancel it, or is it locked in for a set term?

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2019/07/29 11:53:20


 
   
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United States

 AndrewGPaul wrote:

Also, I wonder how unexpected the loss of the Star Wars licence could be? Can Disney unilaterally cancel it, or is it locked in for a set term?


It's not usually Disney (or whoever the licensee is if we are talking in general) just pulling it away. But rather a company either assuming the contract will be renewed or sinking tons of resources into ensuring it will be renewed (like say, introducing clone wars stuff to the miniature games) only to have Disney say "Sorry you've had this contract long enough, the contract will not be renewed this year."

Whoops, guess all that planning we did for releases in 2020 and 2021 are getting scrapped. Time to scramble to release something new and deal with the inevitable backlash from fans that their favorite games are being shut down.
   
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Worth noting Asmodee itself changed hands to a private equity group last year.

What does that bode for them? Hard to say. But they're not really noted for an interest in carrying flagging brands.

If, and that's a blimming big if FFG lose the Star Wars license, it could be the PEG decide to ditch or wind up FFG if it hits the bottom line enough.

   
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But drop offs happen is when customers loose interest in the product or already have a full shelf of the product.

I think that's what happens most of the time with drop offs.. Like zombicide or talisman they maxed out what they could possibly do with expansions,
then had to move it to a different genre to keep sales happening. But there is a point to where people just stop buying..
GW is lucky enough that they have an amazing designers and sculptures that make beautiful models. I never planned to buy another marine figure,
but the look of the "new' Primaris marines was enough for me to continue to buy..

With FFG, I wonder the same, what is next for them.. Disney is a corporate giant that doesn't care what happens to companies that work for them, Tomorrow
they could get a better deal with someone and FFG would be hurting with only left with a few in house flag ship products.

 
   
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 AndrewGPaul wrote:
Also, I wonder how unexpected the loss of the Star Wars licence could be? Can Disney unilaterally cancel it, or is it locked in for a set term?
There's usually contracts that last for a certain amount of time and then different companies bid on the contract when it is up for renewal. West End Games and Decipher both lost the Star Wars license unexpectedly because this new upstart named Wizards of the West Coast used its Magic the Gathering Feth You money to outbid them. Neither were in the healthiest state at the time (Decipher had millions of dollars embezzled from it), so they could not outbid Wizards despite their literal futures depending on it. To my knowledge, both companies had several years of Star War products in development.

However, there can be other circumstances that cause trouble. For instance, Disney decided to stop making video games... like, three times. Granted, this only affected Disney-owned companies, but they had been buying up companies for a few years and then, on a whim, decided to just stop. The guys who made Disney Infinity, currently halfway done with the fourth game, woke up one day and their entire studio was being shut down. So, if Disney likes the work you do, they might just offer to buy your company - DON'T TAKE THE OFFER! Disney is extremely fickle, and when they decide to leave a market, anybody in that market doing business with them gets screwed too. Sometimes, Disney, like Microsoft, decides that they want to be in a particular market. They'll start developing products themselves and not renew licenses. So, you make a cool Star Wars board game. Disney decides to create (or more likely, purchase) a board game company. Now they want to make their own board games and sucks to be you.

Then you've got the current scenario where Disney bought Star Wars, turned it to absolute gak, and has been systematically destroying what was once a strong, sure product into a risk. Ask Hasbro how many of their Last Jedi toys they sold. And Disney is working hard to kill Marvel too. Was at the store yesterday and saw shelves of Captain Marvel toys on clearance. Thus far, FFG has managed to stay ahead of Disney's buffoonery by concentrating almost exclusively on the original trilogy (occasionally dipping into the Clone Wars). I think Star Wars Legion is going to be pretty hurt when they decide to make Resistance and First Order factions (it'll go over poorly and take releases away from factions people do want).

Long story short, I would consider both Star Wars and Disney (or, I guess, just Disney now) to be a poison pill and I would stay as far away from them as possible, no matter what. FFG really needs to diversify to be able to absorb the inevitable loss of license (or quality of license), but they are doing the exact opposite of that. They are killing game lines for the explicit purposes of replacing them with Star Wars versions.
   
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Master Tormentor





St. Louis

 Sqorgar wrote:
 Laughing Man wrote:
FFG is pretty safe. They're a giant in the board game industry (they're owned by Asmodee), and have enough different licenses that losing one of them wouldn't hurt them terribly much. Wizkids licenses their rulesets as well, although their adaptations of X-Wing are definitely a lot less popular in part due to the pay to win model they went with for Star Trek. And sure, they don't sell their product themselves, but they don't really need to bother when you can get a copy of X-Wing in Target or Walmart.

You don’t think FFG, unexpectedly losing the Star Wars license, would be all that put out by it? Ask Decipher how well that went for them, or WEG. Or Sony Online Entertainment. The industry is filled with giants crippled or destroyed overnight by unexpectedly losing the Star Wars license.

Sure, it'd be painful, but outside of X-Wing and Destiny, Star Wars isn't really doing a lot for them. The LCG crashed and burned pretty hard, the RPG is middling at best, and they haven't done much in the way of board games with the property.

And honestly, we've seen how they'll do if they lose a flagship line already: They lost both the Netrunner and GW licences in the same year, and they were doing a LOT more with the latter thanks to classics like Fury of Dracula. They bounced back pretty well with the L5R license, and kept on chugging with their in house properties per usual (see: Keyforge making absolute bank). FFG is an absolute giant in the American board gaming scene, and their miniatures are a side business to that (albeit a pretty lucrative one in the case of X-Wing).
   
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Don't forget FFG has the LotR license and Lovecraft. The LotR LCG is a steady seller (and would sell more if they'd actually print adequate amounts). Not sure how the new app-based boardgame is doing, although it did stir up a lot of excitement on Boardgame Geek initially.

Similarly, they have a lot of Lovecraft inspired games, and it seems the Arkham Horror LCG is doing well. Maybe not gangbusters, but strong sales with good demand currently. As they've being doing Lovecraft mythos material for so long, they have a huge library of in-house material they can use and which has already been paid for, thus keeping art costs down.

Losing the Star Wars license would hurt, but so long as they don't put all their eggs in one basket and keep their other lines of revenue productive, they should survive.

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One wonder if FFGs stock problems as mentioned above may endanger a License renewal?

I mean, we’re talking pure business here. Where sadly, morals and that don’t really come into it.

A given game might be selling well - but if a Licensee isn’t maximising your profits because it cannot maintain stock? How would that be seen?

This is an open question. I know eff all about such things.

They at least had (when I still had interest around three or four years ago) similar issues with X-Wing. Selling out of X is one thing. But if the potential sales were the inherently higher Y? How might that be viewed by the license issuer?


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Seriously I’m not ragging on FFG here! Just using them as a relevant example, rather than making an example of them. If that makes sense?

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2019/07/29 17:56:43


   
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Armpit of NY

As a general rule, the licensing is handled in advance. A number of units to be produced is agreed upon between the parties, and what the fees will be. This is almost always an upfront transaction as well. For example, you agree with the licensor that you're going to produce 10,000 limited edition life-size Jar Jar Binks poo statues. You agree to this and pay the fee upfront. If your statues sell out, you need another agreement; and if you can't sell 10,000 piles of Jar Jar poo, well that's too bad for you. Disney got paid already. This is pretty standard for licensing deals; licensor gets paid first, and it's up to you to move products. There are frequently other stipulations too; for example, Round2 has to abide by the style guide issued by Paramount/CBS when they make the box for a Star Trek model kit they're selling. That usually includes color schemes, fonts, etc.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2019/07/29 18:33:24


 
   
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Executing Exarch





 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
One wonder if FFGs stock problems as mentioned above may endanger a License renewal?

I mean, we’re talking pure business here. Where sadly, morals and that don’t really come into it.

A given game might be selling well - but if a Licensee isn’t maximising your profits because it cannot maintain stock? How would that be seen?

This is an open question. I know eff all about such things.

They at least had (when I still had interest around three or four years ago) similar issues with X-Wing. Selling out of X is one thing. But if the potential sales were the inherently higher Y? How might that be viewed by the license issuer?


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Seriously I’m not ragging on FFG here! Just using them as a relevant example, rather than making an example of them. If that makes sense?


Intertube scuttle at the time was that FFG paid an upfront fee based on units produced, which might explain the stock issues with early X-Wing as FFG were slightly (and understandably) cautious with production numbers, then the game exploded exacerbating the problem as I assume booking factory time etc was an issue, so as long as Lucasfilm / Disney got paid on time I suspect after that point barring actual brand damage they didnt really give a hoot

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Mississippi

Let’s not forget that Wizkids was originally disbanded in the 00’s, and one of their properties - Star Trek Attack Wing - is currently on the downhill slope.

FFG has multiple well-known licenses, I think they are a safe bet for now, as long as they retain Star Wars. The loss of that license, as others have mentioned, could put them in a crunch but I think they have a divergent enough portfolio to survive.

I think the honeymoon with Roundtree at GW is coming to an end. I suspect we’ll start seeing a leveling off of interest in 8th. I also suspect that they’ll see a slight downturn when they pull out 9th, but I think they have enough spread between systems at the moment it won’t hurt them too terribly bad (their only recourse is to continue with 8th. Considering the current dearth of material available between indexes and Codexes, anything else they drop labeled 8th is just going to have a smaller and smaller audience).

It never ends well 
   
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Decrepit Dakkanaut





They can redo the Space Marine codex. It was the first, and possibly the weakest. There's a bunch of material that can be incorporated, and lots of kits that can be dropped.
   
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Mississippi

They could, but consider how popular the CSM redux codex went over - a good portion of people who buy a re-released codex for the same edition is only going to be a percentage of the last version - likely only picked up by someone starting the army the first time around or tournament players - maybe a few who picked up the new models that weren’t in the previous and don’t just want to use the box-specific rules.

For those previous owners, it would be asking a lot to pick up a whole new book for 5 or 6 new data sheets and points value that will just change with the next Chapter Approved.

And who’d want to buy a Codex that *Drops* options?

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2019/07/29 21:04:44


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 Stormonu wrote:
They could, but consider how popular the CSM redux codex went over - a good portion of people who buy a re-released codex for the same edition is only going to be a percentage of the last version - likely only picked up by someone starting the army the first time around or tournament players - maybe a few who picked up the new models that weren’t in the previous and don’t just want to use the box-specific rules.

For those previous owners, it would be asking a lot to pick up a whole new book for 5 or 6 new data sheets and points value that will just change with the next Chapter Approved.

And who’d want to buy a Codex that *Drops* options?

Apparently Age of Sigmar Free Cities players, since that was the army book announcement: 'Hey, new book, also were dropping some as yet unspecified models from the range! Please be excited!'

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2019/07/29 22:20:33


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UK

Voss wrote:
 Stormonu wrote:
They could, but consider how popular the CSM redux codex went over - a good portion of people who buy a re-released codex for the same edition is only going to be a percentage of the last version - likely only picked up by someone starting the army the first time around or tournament players - maybe a few who picked up the new models that weren’t in the previous and don’t just want to use the box-specific rules.

For those previous owners, it would be asking a lot to pick up a whole new book for 5 or 6 new data sheets and points value that will just change with the next Chapter Approved.

And who’d want to buy a Codex that *Drops* options?

Apparently Age of Sigmar Free Cities players, since that was the army book announcement: 'Hey, new book, also were dropping some as yet unspecified models from the range! Please be excited! New kits? What are those?'


Yes but in that case the excitement is that multiple armies that have not had a battletome since the Old World are going to get a tome for AoS. Ergo they are basically going from being "fan flavour only" into functional armies that can stand on the table against others in the same edition of the game. Sure they are losing models, but at the same time they are gaining functional armies which should "work" and rise up to the power level of the current game. So for many its actually getting to put their models on the table, even if they lose some of the options - which I think over time many have come settled with the idea that it will happen. That doesn't mean they like it just that they accept that it might well happen and are more steeled against it; yet also excited because getting a Tome today means a chance at new models in the future - ergo a continued life for their army.


Sure no one likes losing models from the game (though personally I was quite happy to see skaven slaves vanish); esp if they own lots of them and spent time over building and painting them up; but in the end we prefer functional armies over dead ones that see no support or are removed from the game outrigt.


Also the die-hard players who still want to use their old models can still use the legendary rules set to keep their models around; even if they are not tournament legal and might not be useable against every opponent.

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But the Free Cities had army lists. Its completely a loss of units, and a gain of maybe a page of rules.

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UK

Voss wrote:
But the Free Cities had army lists. Its completely a loss of units, and a gain of maybe a page of rules.


Yes but any one of those armies could have gone the way of Bretonnia, Tome Kings or Greenskins - removed from sale.
Losing a few models is preferable to many to losing the whole army; esp since things like legacy army rules are likely to not always (if ever) get updates for future editions; get rebalancing updates in the handbooks and will fairly quickly vanish from the tournament scene. Which also has a knock on effect on the games played at many clubs.


Again no one likes losing model kits, we all hate it; but its preferable to have the army itself survive even if some parts are lost. At this stage we don't even know how many or which specific kits are being lost (further confused by any kits being reboxed being listed as "no longer for sale" on GW stores because of how their inventory system works). I'm sure if GW uses this to slash 50% of the models there'd be outcry, but otherwise most are hopeful. Plus removed models might well return in time or return in function but new designs.

Eg the bolt throwers for dark and high elves were lost; but could return to the game in the future; or the Aelves might get a "lightning laser bolt thrower" or some such where the old models can (rebased) easily stand in. Heck already a few use the old bolt throwers as "allied stormcast bolt throwers"

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 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
One wonder if FFGs stock problems as mentioned above may endanger a License renewal?

I mean, we’re talking pure business here. Where sadly, morals and that don’t really come into it.

A given game might be selling well - but if a Licensee isn’t maximising your profits because it cannot maintain stock? How would that be seen?



Honestly, selling out of stock is a good thing. That means you did not over-produce a product and are avoiding the waste of inventory, transport, over-production, etc. If you sell out and there is still demand, you are simply in a better position on the supply and demand equation.

Remember, amateurs talk about sales numbers, experts talk about profit margin. It is better to sell 1 item and make $1 of profit, than a 1,000 products and get 99 cents of profit.


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 Easy E wrote:
Honestly, selling out of stock is a good thing. That means you did not over-produce a product and are avoiding the waste of inventory, transport, over-production, etc. If you sell out and there is still demand, you are simply in a better position on the supply and demand equation.

Remember, amateurs talk about sales numbers, experts talk about profit margin. It is better to sell 1 item and make $1 of profit, than a 1,000 products and get 99 cents of profit.

Since it happens so often with the LotR LCG, I assume FFG has calculated the numbers carefully, and so do deliberately short print runs. Better to leave some customers hungry rather than sate them all and have a mountain of now unsalable product. (When I worked for the now defunct Borders bookchain, I noticed that we very often had excess stock on many, many different products that at least our store no longer had a market for as we'd sold copies to all the regulars who liked that author/series. Sure keep a copy or two to take advantage of word of mouth, but 3 dozen?!)

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 Easy E wrote:
 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
One wonder if FFGs stock problems as mentioned above may endanger a License renewal?

I mean, we’re talking pure business here. Where sadly, morals and that don’t really come into it.

A given game might be selling well - but if a Licensee isn’t maximising your profits because it cannot maintain stock? How would that be seen?



Honestly, selling out of stock is a good thing. That means you did not over-produce a product and are avoiding the waste of inventory, transport, over-production, etc. If you sell out and there is still demand, you are simply in a better position on the supply and demand equation.

Remember, amateurs talk about sales numbers, experts talk about profit margin. It is better to sell 1 item and make $1 of profit, than a 1,000 products and get 99 cents of profit.



Indeed, but the risk here is that Disney look into the performance, and figure 'if you guys sorted out your supply train, we'd be making that $1 for each of three sales you've cost us'.

As I said, this is entirely speculative. I am not disparaging FFG, nor presenting myself as an expert


Automatically Appended Next Post:
We see the same thing with 'Must Have' toys each Christmas. The most infamous is probably actual punch ups over Cabbage Patch Kids (I've been aware of that since I can remember, but I think me remembering seeing it on TV first time around is a false memory!).

There, the company behind it were simply missing out on sales. Yes, limiting your stock can help drive demand, and greatly reduce the risk of being left with a warehouse full of unwanted fad tat a couple of months after.

But when you've got three or four people scrapping over a single item? I can see shareholders querying your overall stock control decisions.

This is also why GW are investing in a larger factory. They're literally at capacity, which is affecting availability. And much as we might not like to admit it, us Nerds can be quite flighty. If I get an idea in my head for an army, I'm one to order it there and then, funds allowing. But if I can't get bits of it? That idea (with me anyway, can't speak for anyone else) can wither and die by the time it all comes back into stock.

This is why I'm currently extending Looting to the FW Warlord Weapons for AT. In terms of the game's design, changing up weapons has a significant impact on your tactical options. Yet in the US, they've been sold out since, well, forever. That sucks for local gaming groups. And the eBay prices are predictably scalpy and silly.

In terms of X-Wing, the structure of the game means if you can't get Ship A, your preferred/number crunched/netlisty squadron is grounded. And if you can't compete against those lucky enough to have Ship A in their collection? That could put someone off the game entirely, especially if it's a common occurrence.

So short stock can be a bad thing, I'd say.

Again, I'm just speculating. I've no specialist knowledge nor experience here. As ever, very open to education and info


Automatically Appended Next Post:
And in terms of X-Wing specifically, I wouldn’t be surprised if a decent slice of the sales are down to people simply collecting some of the outright nicest and most reasonably priced Star Wars ships.

Whilst I’ve gone off the game, I still hold a genuine appreciation for the models. Because they are spanking gorgeous, and anyone who says otherwise is a liar.

For someone putting them on display, they take up relatively little room, are nicely scaled with each other (not you, Armada or Attack Wing. Sort the scale out, eh?), and very, very detailed.

To the point I’d be tempted to buy back in just to own the really, really good model representations of some of my favourite ship designs ever.

Take that license away? The X-Wing rules might well be decent (and they are in my opinion), but would a replacement product attract the same sales?

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2019/07/31 20:21:51


   
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Battlefield Tourist




MN (Currently in WY)

They could loose the license if someone is just outright willing to pay more for it..... perhaps as a competitive *denial of service* type strategy.

Think of GW maintaining the Lord of the Rings license while doing little with it for so long. They really do not want anyone else to have it though.

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Made in gb
Fixture of Dakka






Even if that’s the case, I would think they couldn’t simply be “outbid” during the lifetime of the contract. Barring any potential cancellation clauses, a licence should know how long they’ve got.

Not making plans for an inability to renew is a different matter, I accept that.
   
Made in ca
Grumpy Longbeard





Canada

Not my field. Why would we see a drop off that sees existing companies fail? Is it an external economic concern or something within the game industry?

I can see the industry getting over-saturated and companies getting left behind, closing the door on new attempts. Like in fantasy mass battle games, where games like Runewars are failing and The Other Side is not looking good (unless I missed something) and we'll see how Parabellum does. Ice and Fire seems to be doing well, but that might be the IP more than the game. Still to be seen how far it goes and if it sustains itself.

oni wrote:Mantic has a poor business model. They have to jump from Kickstarter to Kickstarter to maintain capital to stay alive. They will eventually fail.

They seem to be getting themselves more sustainable, hopefully they get there. I really like the company, how they approach game design and how they treat customers.

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Made in ca
Decrepit Dakkanaut





Mass fantasy games are kind of a trap. You're depending on a narrow but deep-pocketed market of fanatics, and a pre-existing IP (either a film license, which has its own pitfalls, or something built up out of a smaller game like Warhammer or The Other Side, the latter of which apparently showing how Malifaux doesn't scale as an army-building game).
   
 
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