Gears of War Officially Out Of Print

Just saw this on BGG:

So I heard rumours that FFG did not renew the license, and today I got a confirmation.

I had purchased the POD expansion, got a reply from FFG saying they were reimbursing me, because they did not renew the GOW license

I'd recommend grabbing this game while it's cheap if you have any interest, it's absolutely stellar. I think the base game won't be too hard to find for a couple years, but that print on demand mission pack 1 is going to be very expensive down the line (it's not even in stock at MM/CSI anymore). The Mission pack is pretty good too, offering new enemies and two of the best missions.

One of my FLGS still has a copy on their pegwall (or at least did as of a few days ago). So if anyone is after let me know and I'll snag it.

EDIT: Talking about the PoD expansion.

This is a shame. I never did get to play it, but I heard so many good things about it.

In hindsight it really feels like one of those FFG products that suffered for not being a serial purchaser. The POD packs were out there, but I'm not sure those were a super effective way to extend a game's lifestyle, at least not how they were used. It feels like the marketing that was there drew on a license that didn't hold a lot of weight anymore, and when that didn't work they just stayed silent on it.

I'm willing to bet, like Doom, it didn't sell quite well enough to offset the diminished margins from the license when compared to their other products. At the time Gears of War came out, Descent 2e was in development and I think they decided to focus their energy on that. Now, with Star Wars and their LCGs it's not even worth considering renewing the license.

Anyone still wanting the base game, you can get it from Miniature Market for $35 plus take an additional 10% off due to a special clearance sale they're having (enter code CVTW99 at checkout).

I'm thinking about grabbing another copy. Hmmm...

I sounds like a really fun system. I hope they re-purpose it because I can't stand Gears of War... so brown and dull to me. But I liked the sounds of it so much (even though it's co-op) I was still tempted to buy it anyway.

That's too bad because it's a good game. It didn't get enough attention. I'm glad that I own it. I have the POD expansion too so I feel fortunate to have purchased it before it went OOP. It is an oddball theme, however--it offered no real pull for the market.

I wonder whether we'll see this game design come back in another form? What do you think would make a better license or retheme?

Star Wars? Starship Troopers? Aliens? Guardians of the Galaxy? Walking Dead? ???

stoic wrote: That's too bad because it's a good game. It didn't get enough attention. I'm glad that I own it. I have the POD expansion too so I feel fortunate to have purchased it before it went OOP. It is an oddball theme, however--it offered no real pull for the market.

I wonder whether we'll see this game design will come back in another form? What do you think would make a better license or retheme?

Star Wars? Starship Troopers? Aliens? Guardians of the Galaxy? Walking Dead? ???

I'd like to see someone make up their own world for it. A totally new IP.. FFG doesn't have the best track record for that but I'd still prefer that over taking an existing one.

It would be nice if they could retheme the game like others have said... I doubt it happens though. They've had Star Craft OOP for a long time and instead of a rethemed reprint they just let it rot.

I think a re-theme would be a bit weak. The concepts in the game and how they are implemented (Cover, enemy swarming, area by area combat, and uncovering new sections of tiles, health) are all really specific to the Gears of War IP. I enjoyed the first Gears of War on Xbox but never played the rest, which may factor into my enjoyment.

If anyone wants to trade, I've got one that I don't need. It didn't work for me. I'd rather play Castle Ravenloft for a solo game.

I think a re-theme would be fine. The mechanisms in the video game were never really exclusive features if you'd played a few 3rd/1st person games. I skipped on this because I didn't want to play a game where I get to play as Generic Musclehead #1, Generic Musclehead #2, etc. A re-skin with cool, interesting characters would be great.

Miniature Market has it for 30$ less 10% this week. Same with Sons of Anarchy (25$)

Anyone want a 1st edition Command and Colors: Ancients with expansion 1 included for Gears (bonus if with print on demand scenario)?

Traded for the game... also managed to get the last copy from Miniature Market of the POD expansion, glad you guys pointed out how rare that'll probably get now that they don't have the license.

Well gee Fantasy Flight, thanks for making me desperate to get a copy of a game that wasn't even on my wishlist. Like I don't have enough unplayed games already, without this and the other games I'm inevitably going to buy to save on postage and push it over £100 for a 0.03% discount.

Won't somebody please think of the gamers?