I hope he is mistaken. I would like to see Wizkids continue with their games. But I do see them reducing the number of releases per year. Ending some games that are barely hanging on and/or not making any profit for the company.

Where I live (Valparaiso, IN) the only games being played are Heroclix, Mechwarrior, Yu-gi-o, Confrontation, D & D minis and the old fashion way, put a character on paper.

Of the two stores where I normally go to play. One of them will not have any more wizkids games since the last 6 months he tried he was losiing money. He only actively supports Confrontation, yu-gi-o, D & D minis.

The store in town that I go to most of the time Heroclix is still strong. We run 8-16 almost every tourney. Its the best selling wizkids game at the store.

Mech runs 4-8 per tourney. But with nothing new coming out the only sales there getting are the 2 new players who joined up about a couple of months ago, and when ever we have sealed/draft tourneys when we have to buy boosters. We have two partial cases left that have a mix on domination, vanguard and anniliation. But all those boosters are now 50% off except for the remaining 2 wolf strike boosters that no one wants to buy.

Of the other wizkids games in this area Pirates and Horrorclix are completely dead. So I can see him being right on those two games dying out. I can see Mechwarrior also being canceled since their is nothing new due out until late 2007 (?). I hope its not. I really enjoy playing the game and will continue playing it, but how long that will last, I dont know. Nomatter if it survives or is canceled I will keep my faction (Jade Falcon) and some other pieces. They will sit in there box and it will collect dust like my Solonavi faction does for Mage Knight and my MK Dungeons game.

I dont know how well Wizkids has tried to get there product in the mass market stores i.e. Wal-Mart. I have seen pirates and I think nascar there, and also at Target. But I have never seen any of there figure bases games. If they have to go that route. I see the local comic stores getting hurt and most of them ending their support of the game. I.E. tourneys, demos, NGNs and any thing else. If that would happen I think that the company could end up canceling all there games, nomatter how popular some of them are.

As I said earlier I hope he is mistaken because myself and my two sons have been playing Heroclix since it started 5 years ago, and myself Mechwarrior for about 3 1/2 years. I enjoy both games. My sons enjoy Heroclix so much, that one of them is our local Judge. I would hate to see it end, because I love doing it every weekend with my boys.

There is one little oversight that he didn't count on, yet I was expecting since the beginning of last year. The growth and popularity of Rackham miniatures here in the states, and how at-43 will chew into Games Workshop sales. I believe with the pre-painted figures, it will be more so than privateer press

The possibility of WizKids throwing in the towel is not surprising to anyone who has followed WK's antics for the last few years. They fumbled on their golden Mage Knight line and destroyed the player base there. They released game, after game, after game, all of them proclaimed as being "really exciting and fun to play" and dying horrible deaths within a couple months of their releases: Creepy Freaks, Crimson Skies, Race Day, Shadow Run...

What is sad is the fact that WizKids INHERITED Mechwarrior from FASA, who made Battletech a mainstream miniatures game from it's start in the mid/late '80's and is still going strong today. We don't hear about CBT having trouble...of yeah, I forgot, FanPro has actually been LISTENING to the players and giving them what they want, not treating them like little kids who don't know any better and should just shut up and buy whatever they churn out.

30 PLUS years of CBT and they're still going strong. 5 PLUS years of Mechwarrior, and we're talking about it possibly folding. Which is a shame, but unless WizKids wakes up and smells the coffee (i.e. the discontent out here amongst the players) this extended hiatus in 2007 will only be the twilight for Mechwarrior. I mean think about it... TOPPS is calling the shots, not WizKids. If they see that WizKids isn't making the grade, do you think they'll allow WK to jump back into the Mechwarrior line in 2008? What we see NOW on the shelves was conceived nine months to a year before the release of Wolf Strike and the mass exodus of WK staff. If they don't have any information for us NOW, even just some pics of products they're working on releasing for an Action Pack or something, I seriously doubt that we've got much to look forward to.

Industry experts are experts for a reason...because they have the knowledge and experience to back up their predictions. If he's detected some hints that WizKids is on the move toward packing in games like our's, something drastic is going to have to happen to change their minds.

I, for one, hope someone at WizKids stands up for Mechwarrior and doesn't let it happen. In the meantime, I'll be at my friends' hobby store for games as long as they last.

Troy

indeed it looks dire, with not much attention to the game (because its gotten old? and majority go for the new things like Warmachine wich seems to be in the grow around here (rackham games i believe) majority of MK players that did also play MW switched to Warhammer Fantasy/40k after MK2.0 im the only one of that group still playing (many trying to convert me to Warhammer)

still with big words promising loads but not giving any details makes you think if they are really working on something right now or have no clue what they re up to. like LordNth on another thread im curious why we havent seen any news about the upcomming packs, all we have is some images of units designed by Dr Cuervo (kevin bonilla) as his parting gift.

there should be a few actionpacks with the players of last years championships (worlds and fellowship) nothing about it there.
If we only get 2 or 3 sets a year then i doubt profit would be as high as blind booster/case purchases will be. but guess costs to produce will be less aswell. i do like the idea but its not a nice though having to wait a year if your factionpack (if they release those) to get released while all your friends had theirs.

then again the website has had very few updates (so i believe they re still understaffed in that department)

I ll just see what happends and play games with my group every week. i just hope whatever is released this year will bring back some attention to this game. and still have MW in 2008

I'm not really sure what all of the gloomy talk is about. Re-read the article DBlizzard posted. Read it carefully.

All that guy is saying, is that the hobby game niche market is in trouble and WizKids will need to mass market to make money. Not a real brain-bender, if you ask me.

Look at the last few things to come out for Mechwarrior - Poseidon action pack. Phantom War Battleforce set, with rules on how to play a simplified version of MW. Look also at the Marvel Heroclix Danger Room set - which has complete Heroclix rules included. These items are practically screaming for sale at a major chain store.

WalMart is putting every other local business out of business. Why not hobby game stores? Those types of stores have a hard time making it anyway, since they appeal to such a narrow margin of the consumer base.

I already see Pirates card packs at my local WalMart - in a town of 4,000 population. I have seen Heroclix starter packs sold in Books-A-Million stores. It is only a matter of time before mass-appeal versions of Mechwarrior - like the fantastic Phantom War set - reach mass market too.

My final statement: remember the "big reveal" of the new Mechwarrior in 2008, hinted at in November's chat? Mechwarrior will be going styrene. Count on it.

^
The death of the local hobby shop will speed the end of WK and would likely spell the end for many game publishers. Touting large retailers as a bright spot in the analysis for 2007 shouldnt bring hope to anyone that follows the games industry.

I may be wrong, but I doubt that casual sales at Wal Mart will bring the kinds of fans and players into MW to ensure that it becomes profitable. If WK believes that sales throught Wal Mart will aid their financial recovery, they are more sorely led than others have suggested.

First of all let me just start by saying that though Mr. Dancey is an expert on the gaming industry, what he says are just predictions.

What asburygrad says is for the most part true. What Ryan Dancey is predicting is that WK is going to shift from their current model which focuses on the hobby game stores as the primary agents of distribution in order to realize the profits they have been seeking. Thus, WK would rely on something like walmart to make stuff work and get the product out to the masses. In which case, the fears of mechwarrior being killed off is somewhat unwarranted. In fact, it might lead to exact opposite situation, an influx in the player population, to occur. So people who think that and are pretty spreading that fear on the forums need to reread it before they freak out tother people for no good reason.

Now here is the problem though, if they do indeed go in such a direction, what about their approved play/tournament system? I mean you rely on the hobby game stores to hold tourneys and keep the system afloat. I doubt stores like walmart would be willing to loan players the use of their basements or warehouses for such a purpose.

Another issue with Mr. Dancey's interpertation of events. Currently WK has announced an exclusive deal with a distriobutor. Now this seems to imply that Mr Dancey's interpertation would not come true. The reason being, it seems to reaffirm WK's committment to their current model. This is because the big chains would hate to deal with the middleman. Since I have been using walmart a lot as an example, I'll just put it into that context again. Walmart would prefer to deal directly with the manufacturing company and try and get the company (WK) to give them a better deal in price for the goods involved. In turn they provide the consumers with the the low prices people come to associate them with.

So in other words, don't put too much stock into one interpertation of events.

No, I don't think WalMart would be willing to loan players a space in which to play the games they buy there. That's true.

But if hobby game stores are in trouble anyway, and they go the way of the dinosaur, then there's no tournament system either. The only way to keep a tournament system going without the hobby stores is to have an online system keeping track of home games. Basically, WizKids could continue as it does now - but with all registered events going through game clubs rather than hobby stores.

What is the reward for playing in this game club system, you ask? If WizKids is not spending money to send prize support to all these stores, and instead focuses more on bragging rights and reputation to get people to play, then they might be able to offer amazing prizes at the cons, which would be the big, supported events on WizKids' radar.

All of this is mere speculation, of course. Who knows what the future holds? :)

And Ryan will say this. In a thread on another forum he goes over the predictions he remembers making and his track record (hits and misses, probably close to 50%).

Actually, this can fit his predictions. He stated that WizKids will try to "fight the good fight" and stay committed to hobby stores, but by the end of the year give up the fight. This announcement shows they are trying to "fight the good fight" (whether it's the right way is another argument). That doesn't mean his prediction is right, but it doesn't mean it's wrong either (we'll have to wait until the end of the year for that).

As an aside, in the thread I mentioned above he was asked about the comments referring to the companies as "one-eyed men in the kingdom of the blind." He felt each company was tragically flawed. Below is his take on WizKids (note that he had comments about each of the major companies):

a cmg going styrene? i certainly hope not. i just don't see this game being played soley with cards. now maybe they introduce pilots for vtols, tanks, transports and what not to go along with what we have now, but not 100% styrene.

They make constructable pirate ships. They originally had plans for castles as well. You can make almost anything out of a bunch of thick styrene cards, with slots cut in them where appropriate.

One major problem with CMGs is the cost of hiring sculptors to make the original figure, and then casting the molds. The styrene cards take out a good bit of those costs. Of course, you still have artists making the original models, and a processing cost to set a printer to spit out the cards. But I think it would be a great deal less than most miniatures.

That's why I think we will see a pack of cards, with lots of pieces, that combine to make a single Mech or vehicle. You would then have a stat card, just like Horrorclix or Star Wars minis.

I can envision a Mechwarrior styrene game. I'm not sure it would be very popular with the "old guard" (many of which never played Mechwarrior: Dark Age). However, I do think having it in stores like Toy 'R Us might get young kids (in age or in heart) interested in the game/fiction lines. Giant Robots have been popular since I was a kid.

However, I don't think it would replace Mechwarrior: Dark Age. It would be a separate game line in the universe that wouldn't have any direct connection to any other game in the universe.

Styrene? Yeeesh!! I would play, but I thought Race Day failed, and I was
under the impression Pirates wasn't doing all that well, so going styrene
wouldn't seem like the best maneuver to me. But like I said "I would play".
And Battletech started with cardboard cutouts didn't it. So maybe it would
work.

I am curious about the whole retail angle though. I see Heroscape(?)
everywhere including the game stores, but have never seen or heard
anyone playing or talking about it. The game doesn't appeal to me, but it is
highly visible. If it's good or bad I can't say but it has been around a while
now and without tournements or Le's as far as I know.

Pirates is not doing as well as it was (at least as of Topps last stock report), but that doesn't mean it's not going well. To take another example in our hobby, even in the dark days before WotC bought D&D, D&D was still the top RPG by a large margin (such a large margin that it's generally considered that D&D is the RPG market).

As for Race Day, I heard that it was doing well. However, the licensing fees were so high that the profits weren't worthwhile. That's a typical problem with licensed products. In fact, that's why WizKids is working on revitalizing the Mechwarrior game line. They own the line and don't have to license it.

Regarding loss of fan base...
Ultimatly the biggest problem the Battletech universe has had is that it has two kinds of fans. One kind of fan hangs one no matter what. They don't quit just because something new comes along. The other kind freaks out at the smallest hint of change. When the clans came into CBT alot of guys freaked out and refused to play anything but 3025. What I am hoping is that this talk will help keep people interested and make them want to support the game and the hobby stores (not buying everything online).

Regarding Styrene...
I don't see how this could happen. CBT is awesome because it does a good job of acurately translating the way mech battles would be. MWDA is awesome because it takes what CBT had, streamlined it so that the games didn't last all day, and made it so that you didn't need to have reams of paper to keep track of stuff. If this game goes to Styrene, I don't see how it could be fun. All it would be is pirates in the shape of mechs.

Regarding distribution...
I think that selling packs like Phantom War in larger stores could help the game get out there. The whole reason I got into CBT was because of the MW2 video game. However, I do not think that the majority of MW needs to be sold in large stores. This would kill tournaments which are the whole point of MWDA, the competion. And as far as video games go... lets get the licesne away from Microsoft so that we can actually get some good games. Maybe that would help things a bit.

As far as me playing, I will always play anything related to CBT. I've been playing it as a kid and I don't plan on stopping