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Wildcard - My impression was that the vast majority of people acknowledged that the LOTR rules were very good.

But for existing wargamers, they saw the rules get re-released with each of the first movies, and with the Hobbit buy-in being so much higher, there was no market for the rules / game... just collectors for the minis, which can't sustain things nearly as well.

This is sad news. I really like the LOTR models, especially the monopose plastics the Perrys did. I will have to pick up what I'm missing soonish.

But it's a lovely range that has a variety of uses in lots of fantasy games.

RazorEdge wrote:
The main problem is this Peter Jacksons very stupid Hobbit Design combined with this prices.

No. The main problem is that GW nearly doubled the price of all LoTR items when they switched over to Hobbit.

Yeah if the prices had stayed comparable I would have bought at least one of each kit, and GW would have made a lot of money from me. As it is, I just can't justify the cost to myself.

I'm sure I'm not alone. In fact I know I'm not because I remember participating actively on threads discussing the new models as they were released.

I've never been an LoTR player but I well remember the "discussion" about the value proposition of the The Hobbit kits when they arrived. A lot of noise was made.

I remember clearly that Tre Manor was running a his kickstarter back then for absolutely lovely metal miniatures, some of the best I've ever seen. Similar scale, appropriate style, all that, to the GW stuff, in metal, and it was way cheaper than the GW plastic kits.

I mean, if you put a RBG mini next to even a Perry Twins LOTR/Hobbit Plastic, there is just no comparison in quality. The Perry Metals stand up, but just about. I went all in on the kickstarter instead, and I am very happy with what I received in the end.

 RiTides wrote:
But for existing wargamers, they saw the rules get re-released with each of the first movies,

In all fairness, each movie had a new self contained starter set so it had to include a new rulebook. Each book was not just a revision, either, but tended to expand the rules each time (ex. the second rulebook included the rules for cavalry to go with the Riders of Rohan) which made it a worthwhile purchase for both new and old players. Plus, each starter set was a true deal, and comparing the miniatures in the starter to the separate plastic mini boxes, you were pretty much getting the rules for free.

 RiTides wrote:
with the Hobbit buy-in being so much higher, there was no market for the rules / game... just collectors for the minis, which can't sustain things nearly as well.

The previous release model obviously stopped when the Hobbit came out. The Hobbit starter box was both significantly more expensive than the previous LOTR starters but only included a "crippled" rulebook which meant you needed to buy the expensive hard cover Hobbit rulebook to really play the game. With the overall increased prices for the miniatures and with so many miniatures only available in failcast, its little wonder the game was less successful that previously.

I hope the new Specialist Games/Middle Earth keeps the game alive for the forseeable future. I've been a big fan of the game since the get go, and I've probably got playable numbers of at least 90% of the LOTR miniatures, and probably over 50% of the Hobbit ones so even if it doesn't work out I can continue to play the game for the rest of my life.

As others have mentioned, it's probably because LOTR/Hobbit will be handled by the new specialty games studio. That's my guess.

I thoroughly enjoyed War of the Rings especially. Solid rules set. Sad to see this line go, but let's face it, with the movies finished now, it was bound to happen.

 Solorg wrote:
I thoroughly enjoyed War of the Rings especially. Solid rules set. Sad to see this line go, but let's face it, with the movies finished now, it was bound to happen.

I was disappointed GW didn't adopt heavily from WoTR in making a new streamlined WFB. Both WoTR and LoTR have great rulesets.