Official Wizards Feedback Thread - Take 2

[Jim]

Originally Posted by Johngee

Does anyone know what the original designers are up to these days?

Still designing for Hasbro.

[Wind Lane]

You know, I wonder if Hasbro would ever run a Kickstarter themselves.

Anyone pitching the idea is going to get a lot more back-up when the Penny Arcade Kickstarter is over.

Penny Arcade is pretty much the biggest comic on the net and one of the biggest comics period. They're running a Kickstarter to make their site completely ad-free which they estimate will cost them $1,000,000.00. They're a quarter of the way there after two days.

That's pretty darn good ammo for someone to present in a Hasbro meeting if anyone in the company tried to get the idea going. It shows proof positive that a company's size doesn't hurt its ability to do a large Kickstarter.

[DarkJawa]

a kickstarter might not be a terrible idea, IF Hasbro/Wizards is open to the idea. I also play Warmachine made by Privateer Press. They recently started a kickstarter to fund their video game version of Warmachine and raised half a million dollars in under two days.

[wriggz]

The issue is not cost, but profit.

I'm sure even in the ending days of heroscape there was money to be made, just not enough. When you are as big as Hasbro, you don't want to represent every little band out there, you only want the headliners.

Kickstarter is great for small companies, but when you are the hasbro level a game needs to make millions of dollars, not thousands or even hundreds or thousands.

[SuperflyTNT]

Dungeon Forge and Reaper both made millions of pledges, and with the advertising power Hasbro has, it could most assuredly make millions just on the terrain alone.

[The Godz]

Amen! My friends and I were saying the same thing last week. Hasbro/Wizards wouldn't have to spend any money to market the game. As long as they didn't trash the molds, why not kick out a few thousand of each character once or twice a year and keep a bunch of terrain on hand? Orders would steadily pour in. No new updates/expansions...No new characters that could trash the game...just existing products available for factory direct orders. They make the money instead of the eBay scalpers and everyone plays for less!

[Johngee]

I.M.H.O. ( - And I do hope that a Hasbro / WotC Marketing Rep or Exec is reading this, they can PM me for additional advice, and for a nominal fee, I will make myself available as a consultant - )

First of all, NEW Characters need to keep coming out on a regular basis (maybe only bi-annually) in order to keep the game interesting, challenging, and viable. Just look at what the Fan Base here at HeroScapeRs has done with Custom Creations since the game went Out Of Print: WAVES #14, 15, 16, & 17, with 42 units by my count. Hasbro could have included a stat card, a few tiles, and a die with every other appropriately sized toy figure that they manufacture to draw more players into the game out of curiosity. And they should have produced at least three times as many Common Squads as Unique ones. Heck, I've got ten each of the 4th Mass and 10th Foot and I can field one hundred Romans to promote Marcus Decimus Gallus from a Contubernalis to a bona fide Centurion.

But in addition, they should have put together an affordable generic package about the size of the Road Through The Forgotten Forest, Thalenk Tundra, Volcarren Wasteland, and Ticalla Jungle, without any figures. It could have included a few tiles of each type (road, water, snow, ice, lava, jungle, maybe one evergreen, one plam, and one mountain), for around $25 - $30. And then they may not have been able to keep up with the demand, since everyone of us would always want to buy one more to keep adding to our collections. But face the fact that it is more profitable for them to re-print another version (slightly altered graphics with the SAME OLD mechanics) of one of their CA$H COWS like: Candyland, Chutes & Ladders, Sosorry, Operation, Monopoly, etc. The HasBORG, builds TOYS and sells them parents, IT doesn't understand the gaming industry.

[The Disciplined Soldier]

Originally Posted by wriggz

The issue is not cost, but profit.

I'm sure even in the ending days of heroscape there was money to be made, just not enough. When you are as big as Hasbro, you don't want to represent every little band out there, you only want the headliners.

Kickstarter is great for small companies, but when you are the hasbro level a game needs to make millions of dollars, not thousands or even hundreds or thousands.

I have to say that I highly doubt that there is any chance of profit in a kickstarter, other than the already established community, I doubt anyone else will pick it up. I mean think about it, in 2004, when the game was first released I believe, the video game industry was still very primitive, as far as multiplayer gaming was concerned, most could support only two players and for others, it would be on broadband or lan, internet was still not very advanced. Just points, now the internet is super advanced and video games are super easy to play online. Its easier to pick up a controller than build a battlefield, a sad reality.

[AMIS]

Originally Posted by The Disciplined Soldier

I have to say that I highly doubt that there is any chance of profit in a kickstarter, other than the already established community, I doubt anyone else will pick it up. I mean think about it, in 2004, when the game was first released I believe, the video game industry was still very primitive, as far as multiplayer gaming was concerned, most could support only two players and for others, it would be on broadband or lan, internet was still not very advanced. Just points, now the internet is super advanced and video games are super easy to play online. Its easier to pick up a controller than build a battlefield, a sad reality.

Maybe it's that I've lived through several decades of primitive video gaming but it always looks like the wheel has been reinvented every 10 years with computer technology, and board games keep getting invented and churned out.

Hasbro is about profit (not that that's a bad thing) and I think The Godz has it right - when discussing commons.
If Hasbro just printed commons there would be a consistant demand for them - heck a change of colors would just make more demand for those of us attached to this site (the MacDirk's become MacBonnet's, MacKilt's, MAcScapey's or the Knight's of Weston become Knights of Easton, Northville, Southdon, etc). No development required except for an occasional master set on specific anniversaries.

This game will last for a whiel based on the fans alone but a new master set (of uniques only) every decade or so would bring in new players.

Wriggz is correct in saying a kickstarter is really set up for the smaller companies but the question becomes, since Hasbro 'outsourced' to WoTC, is Wizards a small enough entity to let a kickstarter work?

It may not convince mother Hasbro but it could push Wizards to get back on the 'scape wagon.

On a different thought, Hasbro could just do a RISK or Monopoly Heroscape edition to see if sales would be there.

[The Disciplined Soldier]

Originally Posted by AMIS

Maybe it's that I've lived through several decades of primitive video gaming but it always looks like the wheel has been reinvented every 10 years with computer technology, and board games keep getting invented and churned out.

Hasbro is about profit (not that that's a bad thing) and I think The Godz has it right - when discussing commons.
If Hasbro just printed commons there would be a consistant demand for them - heck a change of colors would just make more demand for those of us attached to this site (the MacDirk's become MacBonnet's, MacKilt's, MAcScapey's or the Knight's of Weston become Knights of Easton, Northville, Southdon, etc). No development required except for an occasional master set on specific anniversaries.

This game will last for a whiel based on the fans alone but a new master set (of uniques only) every decade or so would bring in new players.

Wriggz is correct in saying a kickstarter is really set up for the smaller companies but the question becomes, since Hasbro 'outsourced' to WoTC, is Wizards a small enough entity to let a kickstarter work?

It may not convince mother Hasbro but it could push Wizards to get back on the 'scape wagon.

On a different thought, Hasbro could just do a RISK or Monopoly Heroscape edition to see if sales would be there.

Good idea in theory, but as I've expanded my outlooks on miniature gaming to other WotC products, mainly Avalon Hill, I have noticed that seem totally uninterested in letting any sorts of the Axis and Allies Minis survive, Angels 20, they've seemed to try and kill, the land game is on life support, nothing has come out in a year or two, and War at Sea is on life support too I think. I think Wizards does not like games that compete with D&D. Now why Axis and Allies Minis competes still has me stumped as its historical not fantasy, but from seeing the WotC behaved with 'Scape I think WotC would do anything to make sure they're the only in Hasbro to do minis, and the only minis should be D&D

Just my :twocent:

[Johngee]

Originally Posted by AMIS

<~snip~>
Hasbro is about profit (not that that's a bad thing) and I think The Godz has it right - when discussing commons.

If Hasbro just printed commons there would be a consistant demand for them - heck a change of colors would just make more demand for those of us attached to this site (the MacDirk's become MacBonnet's, MacKilt's, MacScapey's or the Knight's of Weston become Knights of Easton, Northville, Southdon, etc). No development required except for an occasional master set on specific anniversaries.

This game will last for a whiel based on the fans alone but a new master set (of uniques only) every decade or so would bring in new players.

AGREED & ILMAO . . . It was my original intention to only buy multiple sets of the historical units to recreate tactical battles between units like the Knights and Scotts, etc. A little paint, a new name, and stat card with slightly different numbers or special abilities, would have been perfect. & ARRRGH! . . . "every decade" - NO, I can't wait that long for a re-publication, but the target market should indeed be the Next Generation of players. How many of you will keep your HeroScape until you have your own kids? Unlike like Lego's and Lincoln Logs, it's TOO BULKY to store easily.

Originally Posted by AMIS

Wriggz is correct in saying a kickstarter is really set up for the smaller companies but the question becomes, since Hasbro 'outsourced' to WoTC, is Wizards a small enough entity to let a kickstarter work? It may not convince mother Hasbro but it could push Wizards to get back on the 'scape wagon.

HMMM, an interesting idea ... "Hello, Wot-C! Are you reading this Forum?" I don't know too much about the Kick-Starter process, BUT don't get you hopes up about them getting BACK ON the 'scape wagon. I seriously doubt that that they would do ANYTHING to jeopardize the continuance of the profit milk that they're squeezing from their D&D CA$H COW. Corporate "suits" (the executives and bean-counters) get myopia when it comes to explaining the bottom line to the share holders, who'd rather be yachting than board gaming, I'm sure. I believe that the whole WotC experiment - the releasing of the Underdark MS and three additional Waves of characters - was JUST and attempt to entice us 'Scapers over to their Dark Side. Many of us have already played and still do play that game occasionally, which want the freedom to choose what we prefer. Look at what WotC is doing now turning specific D&D scenarios into board games (i.e. Castle Ravenloft, Wrath of Ashasdalon, Legend of Drizzt, etc.). It's another attempt to expand their D&D fan base of customers.

Originally Posted by AMIS

On a different thought, Hasbro could just do a RISK or Monopoly Heroscape edition to see if sales would be there.

Yes, that too. I forgot to mention this in my diatribe above that Hasbro SHOULD HAVE produced HeroScape versions of their other popular games like they do (it seems) with every new movie franchise that they sign an expensive contract with, i.e. StarWars, Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, Transformers, Halo, Shrek, Sponge Bob, Alice in Wonderland, etc., etc., etc. THIS diversification of marketing 'might' have brought more players into the realm of playing HeroScaper, because they saw the name every where which would arouse their curiosity to try it.

As a retired US Army Intel Sergeant that has participated in many live, active military maneuvers at the Headquarters level, I LOVE the idea of playing out TWO board games simultaneously... that is having ONE large small-scale map (like a RISK board) for the overall general picture of the Strategic Situation (which territories are controlled by whom) and also SEVERAL smaller large-scale maps (preferably in 3D maps like our BoV's) on which to play out ["fight"] each of the battles to win or loose the territories that they represent. SOME DAY . . . perhaps, I'll get my act together (my ducks in a row) and my life organized enough to pull my random thoughts and various game components together in order to plan such an Mega - Event. It might take an whole weekend or the duration of an entire convention, but it's on my Bucket List of things to accomplish.

[Darth Vader]

I'm just wondering, does anybody around here keep an eye on the Hasbro or Wizards press releases in the unlikely event that anything is done with the Heroscape brand? I check occasionally (nothing new on Heroscape, unfortunately) but I'm wondering if a move were to be made with the brand, how do we find out?