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2020/10/06 23:16:44
Subject: Re:HeroQuest by Avalon Hill and Hasbro - Hasbropulse project now live see OP (US/Canada only)
Only Ragnar, Mentor and the Witch Lord are marked as "Limited Exclusives" to the campaign, so the alternate heroes will likely be available separately once it goes to retail, possibly online-only as a Pulse website exclusive once the game releases.
SamusDrake wrote: With a clearer mind after the crushing disappointment, crowd funding was not the way to go. Should have tested the waters with the core game first and done a proper international release. If it sold - which any fool knows it will - they could follow up with Return of the Witch Lord( the most popular expansion ) and then Kellars keep.
The UK would have been an easy sales victory as the game is practically synonymous with Games Workshop, where players are concerned. People can debate about the finer details of who owns the rights to the game, but to the game playing public it was simply MB Games and Games Workshop on the box. Whether GW were to be involved in the new edition or not, players would still make that connection through nostalgia alone.
It is without a doubt that Heroquest and Space Crusade boosted GW to super stardom in the games world back in the early 90s. Christ, even the girl next door had a copy and asked me "how does this s*** work?". And it didn't end at the tabletop neither - both games had home computer adaptations that rubbed shoulders with even the big name film licenses of the time. Heroquest even received the Return of the Witchlord expansion and both adaptations were well received.
I'm not going to speak for our european friends on how successful these two games were, but I do remember a trip to france( loved it ) and in the big department stores they had both games on display in glass cabinets near to those holding the all-conquering NES and top selling games of the time. It was strange seeing alternative art for Space Crusade, but do remember it well. Speaking of the NES there was a prototype of HQ made but for whatever reason was never released...
While time has moved on, Heroquest - at least - has an incredible legacy amongst players even today. Seriously, this feels like Disney finally getting the keys to LucasFilm and then crowdfunding Episode 7 for showing in America only...
Sigh...
...oh well...anyone up for a game of Hungry Hippos?
Great post, I wholeheartedly agree.
You do have to wonder just how competent some of the people are running these businesses (or just perhaps myopic) to miss such an obvious open goal as a, at the very least, an EU release.
I would be very surprised if it doesn't happen eventually but it will miss that hype/KS mania that you get with releases like these, where people go mental and pledge hundreds (and way more than they would have done when buying at retail release).
As it stands I've got Arcadia Quest for my 'lite' dungeon crawler/fun game. Dungeon Universalis looks great as a heavyweight alternative which I will probably pledge for instead, money which I think otherwise would have been spent on this release.
Well, I'm gonna disagree that HQ was a shoe-in in other countries. Trademark-squatting alone opens a potential headache for whatever suit was willing to risk his job over getting his company into a potential IP lawsuit. He'd have to convince other international departments that HQ would sell well. Sure, it's a nostalgia trip for hobby gamers, but outside of the hobby market, it's a game that hasn't been in print for 30+ years, with no proof that it will sell. Hasbro already has its WotC division pumping out D&D-themed dungeoncrawlers, and they have a track record of selling, while HQ does not. HQ has no D&D branding to carry its name, and Hasbro already has miniature-laden dungeoncrawlers that are selling.
Crowdfunding is *far* better than a retail release. Crowdfunding puts the risk on the consumer, and the publisher gets both their money up front and knows exactly how many copies will sell. With a retail release, it's entirely guesswork for a 30+ OOP game with no track record -- particularly one with a $100 price tag. AFAIK, Hasbro has *no* experience with expensive hobby games, and no desire to enter that market. They could guess based on the D&D system games, but, then, why put out another dungeoncrawler only popular with a subset of hobby gamers, when they have the D&D game systems? I doubt they're leaving money on the table, since it's picked up by their other D&D brands.
EDIT: Good to see these 3rd parties fill in the import gap to overseas countries. This relieves Hasbro of any international distribution IP headaches. When Americans wanted Gamezone's HQ25 to be imported, we speculated how Chaosium could have exercised their IP rights in customs to seize copies of the game entering the USA because they owned the trademark *and* the owner, Greg Stafford, a history of defending them. (It wasn't clear what Hasbro would or could do, and we never found out because the game was never made).
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2020/10/07 21:30:25
Hopefully it's more than UK but even if it's not I can get it delivered via Northern Ireland. Well that's one less Mega Gargant being bought at the weekend.
zanzibarthefirst wrote: Sold out already on Zaavi so you’ve missed your chance if you wanted it
According to this video that might be because the page has only just gone up and is going to be updated tomorrow. Bit strange as it does indeed say "Sold out" and would have expected "Not yet available" if that were the case...
...but do keep in mind that even the Hasbro Pulse date has yet to expire for another month, so its definitely worth checking back tomorrow.
Great to see Zavvi have taken that step - it's expensive with the 1:1 dollar to GBP conversion, but I guess that is covering shipping.
ced1106 wrote: Well, I'm gonna disagree that HQ was a shoe-in in other countries. Trademark-squatting alone opens a potential headache for whatever suit was willing to risk his job over getting his company into a potential IP lawsuit. He'd have to convince other international departments that HQ would sell well. Sure, it's a nostalgia trip for hobby gamers, but outside of the hobby market, it's a game that hasn't been in print for 30+ years, with no proof that it will sell. Hasbro already has its WotC division pumping out D&D-themed dungeoncrawlers, and they have a track record of selling, while HQ does not. HQ has no D&D branding to carry its name, and Hasbro already has miniature-laden dungeoncrawlers that are selling.
Crowdfunding is *far* better than a retail release. Crowdfunding puts the risk on the consumer, and the publisher gets both their money up front and knows exactly how many copies will sell. With a retail release, it's entirely guesswork for a 30+ OOP game with no track record -- particularly one with a $100 price tag. AFAIK, Hasbro has *no* experience with expensive hobby games, and no desire to enter that market. They could guess based on the D&D system games, but, then, why put out another dungeoncrawler only popular with a subset of hobby gamers, when they have the D&D game systems? I doubt they're leaving money on the table, since it's picked up by their other D&D brands.
I struggle to think of a previously released board game that would be such a safe release, in the UK at least.
It's very anecdotal but I honestly don't know any of my wargaming or boardgaming friends that didn't own Heroquest (usually Space Crusade too) or go "wow yeah Heroquest!" when you start talking about it. Even non-boardgaming friends too (I had a friend message me about the news on this release because he had read it somewhere), I think it really was that big and transcended the normal boundaries of the hobby.
I think (but am not sure) it was instrumental in GW growing in size a lot at that time and becoming the company it is today.
Legal/trademark wise, you would have to think Hasbro should have a proper team that could rationally make a decision on non-US release (who knows, this might actually be why they haven't done it?)
More so than Gamezone anyway which had the feeling of a few guys in a portacabin winging it and not really knowing what would happen, then the guy that owned the rights in the US, and as far as I can tell was basically Rumplestiltskin, hopping around angrily, and whose only purpose in life was to stop people having fun and would intercept the parcels coming into the US personally.
Hopefully it was the legal or translation issues which stopped Hasbro because if not in my view they've missed out on one of the easiest meal tickets in modern wargaming/boardgaming history.
Showing as available to pre-order on the UK site now but the German site is gone. Not ordering from the UK site until they clarify that it's UK and Europe shipping.
It lists UK and EU shipping. Payment taken 9th November. I'll order from the UK if the German site doesn't relist any Brexit issues are a problem for next year.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2020/10/08 13:04:57
2020/10/08 16:15:11
Subject: Re:HeroQuest - Hasbropulse project (US/Canada only) UK/EU delivery via Zavvi now live
Its good to have more countries involved in the Crowdfunder, at least.
I personally steer clear of CFs because I have seen far more negatives than positives. Not necessarily tabletop projects but those in general, and thankful I never jumped on board the crowfunding train in the first place. In all cases it was very tempting - I'll give them that - but usually its been too much for backers in the long run.
Given another 3-4 weeks, I might reconsider. At the moment theres other good things to lap up which I would be ignoring for something that could be delayed until 2022. GF9's ALIENS looks great and would be £90-odd including the expansions. And there is the possibility of a new GW board game in the lead up to Christmas, but nothing hinted at just yet...
Casual gaming, mostly solo-coop these days.
2020/10/08 17:10:05
Subject: HeroQuest - Hasbropulse project (US/Canada only) UK/EU delivery via Zavvi now live
I'm going to wait for the retail release, I think this raises too many questions with not enough satisfying answers at the moment. The models' material has been announced?
SamusDrake wrote: And there is the possibility of a new GW board game in the lead up to Christmas, but nothing hinted at just yet...
Blood Bowl 2nd season it will be
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2020/10/09 08:39:26
2020/10/09 08:38:24
Subject: Re:HeroQuest - Hasbropulse project (US/Canada only) UK/EU delivery via Zavvi now live
HasLab doesn’t tend (in my limited knowledge) to wind up as a stock item.
So, not only is this not going to be an outside-US release, it's also not going to retail?
Jesus wept..
U.K., EU, Australia and New Zealand now have official retailers to order it through.
As for not becoming a stock item - that’s based solely on my limited knowledge of the Khetenna (Jabba’s Sailbarge). When that completed, there weren’t many, if any, produced for stock.
Fed up of Scalpers? But still want your Exclusives? Why not join us?
