FFG Done With AT Classics?

My guess is their license is limited to OT era stuff. Imperial Assault I believe takes place between A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back. So Episode VII may not mean anything to them.

scissors wrote: I partly blame the whole kickstarter stretch marks crap for that: if people are plonking down money for games that don't even exist yet and are focussed on the future and every bright and shiny new thing coming... there is no longer a need or time to look back. there is always something launching... in that light, FFG's classic euro games line too will probably not sell as well as they once might have or should.

Anticipation has always been a big driver. How many people salivated over every keystroke from someone who happened to demo a game that excited them? How long on average does FFG announce their stuff in advance? Or phrased another way how much money has CoolStuff already collected from people pre-ordering Star Wars: Armada?

The Euro Line I think will do fine because despite being a game originally designed years ago, the mind is tricked by a new release with a graphic redesign. It is something released within the past two years and therefore exists again in their eye.


My prediction...Snatch up Chaos in the Old World sooner rather than later.

Oh, and add Horus Heresy to the list of games that have disappeared from FFG's site.

VonTush wrote:
My prediction...Snatch up Chaos in the Old World sooner rather than later.

I agree. Snap that shit up along with the expansion. Who knows how much longer they'll print it.

I expect these to disappear within the next 1-3 years as well:

Fortress America
Gear World
Merchant of Venus
Nexus Ops
Planet Steam
Relic
Runewars
Sky Trader
The Hobbit
Android

I think expansion to Chaos in the Old World is out of stock at some big retailers, so it has already begun. I haven't played my copy of the base game yet, so I'm hesitant to make a big effort to get it, but...

The Horned Rat reprint is supposed to be out in Q1.

Much like video games board games seem to be going the micro transaction route. X-Wing is certainly a great example and probably one of FFG's most successful titles. I really don't see it as much different from Clash of Clans and the like. Same with the LCG's and what not. It's more risky than ever before to release ambitious games like TI:3 or Runewars... the competition from kickstarter is far to intense to think you'll get away with it. Imperial Assault is the closest thing they've had in years and it plays it about as safe as they could have considering it's a 120$ box of game. We will never see the likes of Android again, that's for sure. Too big a Risk... I don't think we'll even see something like Runewars again and I'd be surprised to see it on their catalog in just a few years. Which is too bad because that game only gets better and better the more you play it.

Any risks they take will be mild ones with small print runs and designed to be expanded because full games are too pricey to release without a name like Star Wars attached to them. Kickstarter is now the place for that.

So no I don't see them releasing much in the way of classic AT, chrome heavy AT as a genre is just too risky. People like theme and chrome more than ever it seems... but they do it through kickstarter now. I have a handful of big box games I'll never get rid of mainly because I believe those days to be gone.

FFG switched focus to serial purchases in 2013, so this isn't new. When I look at my shelf, almost every big square box game I have is ffg or dow. I don't own a dow game more recent than small world and I don't own a ffg game more recent than planet steam (which is basically a straight reprint, and has already hit the holiday sale). The x-wing/netrunner/descent model just makes them more money. All three of those games came out in 2012 and in 2012 had 25% growth.

It's pretty clear that there has been a big cultural shift in gaming where the hobby in general has gone even MORE down the consumerist tubes. Scissors made a great point up there- if people are plunking down all of this money for games that DO NOT EVEN EXIST yet, where is the profit in marketing games that are reprints of 20 year old games? Ten years ago, the demand really was in getting these classic games updated and made available. God damn, TEN YEARS ago?! That's crazy. Time flies, etc.

But now, the money is on product lines, and "everything in one $300 purchase" preorders. I was looking around at things to maybe get a review copy on and it's actually kind of disheartening how FEW traditional (not Kickstarter, not product line) "big box" releases are in the pipeline. It's really just GMT, Mayfair, Z-Man and Asmodee along with some of the European publishers that are still pursuing that strategy. Even AEG and Stronghold are moving to Kickstarter releases.

So it's not just an FFG thing...we're seeing that everywhere, and with Asmodee sweeping in to pick up these companies that are struggling against the tide of stretch goals to find something to compete, we're going to see that kind of "old fashioned" release really limited to just a couple of publishers.

You gotta do what you gotta do...FFG has found something that works for them. And I agree...buy Chaos now while you still can, its days are numbered. I would say that even Talisman, Wiz-War and Cosmic aren't likely to stay around for too much longer given the change in climate.

The AGE OF REPRINTS IS OVER says the "Tastemaker To The 'Trash"(TM) (R) (C). In the kindest possible way, I'd like to emphasize that you are so incredibly full of shit that I can't even come up with a proper expletive or phrase to describe it, at least based on that statement. Murphleguyver. That's as close as I can come.

They're fucking even reprinting Heroscape with different models, D&D themed, but that will be compatible and are even shipping with compatible cards. Give me a break, brother. There's way more to come. When Broadsides and Boarding Parties is reprinted, I will explode with delight and glorious pirate-themed confetti will launch from my cock (re: Jupiter). Every 5 years or so there's a new breed of gamers to clip for all their loot by selling Terrinoth-repackaged games or whatever.

No, the AGE OF THE REPRINT has just begun. They are just now realizing that they can do it and make shitloads of money.

Talisman, wiz-war, and cosmic rely on the serial purchases. Reprint or not, how are they leaving if this is the age of serial purchases?
The two expansions for wizwar cost more than the base game combined. They are definitely mining there.

Michael Barnes wrote: It's pretty clear that there has been a big cultural shift in gaming where the hobby in general has gone even MORE down the consumerist tubes. Scissors made a great point up there- if people are plunking down all of this money for games that DO NOT EVEN EXIST yet, where is the profit in marketing games that are reprints of 20 year old games? Ten years ago, the demand really was in getting these classic games updated and made available. God damn, TEN YEARS ago?! That's crazy. Time flies, etc.

But now, the money is on product lines, and "everything in one $300 purchase" preorders. I was looking around at things to maybe get a review copy on and it's actually kind of disheartening how FEW traditional (not Kickstarter, not product line) "big box" releases are in the pipeline. It's really just GMT, Mayfair, Z-Man and Asmodee along with some of the European publishers that are still pursuing that strategy. Even AEG and Stronghold are moving to Kickstarter releases.

So it's not just an FFG thing...we're seeing that everywhere, and with Asmodee sweeping in to pick up these companies that are struggling against the tide of stretch goals to find something to compete, we're going to see that kind of "old fashioned" release really limited to just a couple of publishers.

You gotta do what you gotta do...FFG has found something that works for them. And I agree...buy Chaos now while you still can, its days are numbered. I would say that even Talisman, Wiz-War and Cosmic aren't likely to stay around for too much longer given the change in climate.

theres a lot of 'sky is falling' here. Stronghold using ks is like sjg using it. If they do a $50-80 game on there let me know and I'll eat a hat of your choice. Cosmic is fine, it's actually sold out right now. Talisman should be fine too. I have no clue how wiz-war is doing though. They did a revision so it'll probably be around a bit.

Buonocore is clearly stating that this Kickstarter is a onesie. But I'll tell you what, he's a smart guy, and I don't see him ignoring the lesson that everyone else is learning right now. If he has a big game and an opportunity to use Kickstarter, he'd be a fool not to do it. He doesn't strike me as a fool.

If you want to really mess with your brain, dig out threads on the "old" top-dog games. Puerto Rico, San Juan, even Race for the Galaxy with its blues and blacks instead of browns. They talked about "elegance" and "simplicity" and "refinement" in the components of games ten years ago. Cubes weren't looked at as cheap, they were looked at as a minimalist artistic decision.

The market has done a 180 on visual presentation in the past few years. Kickstarter hasn't been the catalyst of that, but it's been a contributor because "bigger" games make for bigger returns per copy sold. In spite of prices going through the roof bigger continues to be better for revenues.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I hereby declare Ameritrash the winner. "Elegance" is dead.

S.

I'd vote for Sag for President. He said it all.

I lament the disappearance of the great one-off clean designs like Nexus Ops, Chaos Marauders, Battle Beyond Space, and stuff like that. They're still around I suspect, but I'm facing increasing difficulty finding them.

Sometimes I feel out of sync with what's going on in board gaming. I'm not particularly interested in serial purchases. I'm becoming less interested in 20lb games with 40 page rulebooks. But I love me a great thematic game.

I would love an AT Classics line featuring one-off AT games. Especially in small boxes at a small price.

FFG actually does have a new title coming out that everybody has already forgotten about (which is a not a great sign), X-COM. Since GenCon it's gotten less hype than a pimple on Taylor Swift's asscheek but I'll take it as a sign that there's still life in FFG. For now.

There was Warhammer Diskwars that came out (and small box cheap) which was really good but never seemed to get much traction unfortunately. I thought it was a great little game.