Age of Annihilation - Backer Trend and Discussion

[caps]

Crisis Protocol is absurdly priced: $80 for 10 (unassembled!) minis and not much else as far as I can tell. That's where licensing $$$ come in I suppose.

Battletech and X Wing are interesting cases; 2-3 miniatures for $30-50. In the case of X-Wing they are highly detailed and nicely prepainted.

[nyys]

I think the key is the terrain. Crazy amount of plastic tied up in those pieces.

[caps]

Originally Posted by nyys

I think the key is the terrain. Crazy amount of plastic tied up in those pieces.

Sure, but I think we could see a starter set with ~16 figures and a Battle-for-the-Underdark level of terrain for $60-$100. And then figure-only expansions in the $20-$50 range depending on how many figures are in each pack.

[Grungebob]

Originally Posted by caps

Crisis Protocol is absurdly priced: $80 for 10 (unassembled!) minis and not much else as far as I can tell. That's where licensing $$$ come in I suppose.

Battletech and X Wing are interesting cases; 2-3 miniatures for $30-50. In the case of X-Wing they are highly detailed and nicely prepainted.

FFG bought their own Chinese production plant in order to produce the X-Wing line and meet the demand.

[caps]

Originally Posted by Grungebob

FFG bought their own Chinese production plant in order to produce the X-Wing line and meet the demand.

I wasn't suggesting X-Wing is really a parallel. The X-Wing starter set is 3 miniatures that are very small (probably a similar amount of plastic as a Small heroscape figure) and it retails for $50 (usually on sale for less).

[Knox]

I think faction packs will go for $100-150, and small expansions like they used to release will be $35.

[Grungebob]

Originally Posted by caps

I wasn't suggesting X-Wing is really a parallel. The X-Wing starter set is 3 miniatures that are very small (probably a similar amount of plastic as a Small heroscape figure) and it retails for $50 (usually on sale for less).

I guess what I’m saying is that it’s hard to standardize price based on surface comparison, and it’s hard to express the sheer volume of plastic needed for Heroscape which makes it uniquely susceptible to fluctuations in the cost of oil.

[nyys]

Originally Posted by caps

Sure, but I think we could see a starter set with ~16 figures and a Battle-for-the-Underdark level of terrain for $60-$100. And then figure-only expansions in the $20-$50 range depending on how many figures are in each pack.

I want you to be right, but I think Battle for the Underdark would be a $100 box today even without our current economic insanity.

[Knox]

Originally Posted by Grungebob

I guess what I’m saying is that it’s hard to standardize price based on surface comparison, and it’s hard to express the sheer volume of plastic needed for Heroscape which makes it uniquely susceptible to fluctuations in the cost of oil.

I think they will want it to be priced on the higher end of that curve so that they aren't having to constantly adjust price. I.e., they'll assume the highest end of their estimated oil cost when they price the new sets

[caps]

Originally Posted by Grungebob

I guess what I’m saying is that it’s hard to standardize price based on surface comparison, and it’s hard to express the sheer volume of plastic needed for Heroscape which makes it uniquely susceptible to fluctuations in the cost of oil.

I don't follow how that has to do with X-Wing having a dedicated factory.

I think Star Wars Legion, Warhammer Warcry, and Warhammer Kill Team seem like pretty good comparison points in terms of minis. I don't know how the terrain cost will impact it. Probably you'll get fewer minis for a similar cost but some Heroscape terrain (note that the Warhammer sets, at least, do include some plastic terrain pieces).

[rudyvalentine]

I have never considered Heroscape to be a comparable game system to these other hobby miniatures games mentioned here, but this is certainly a new age. I just don’t believe it’s going to translate to attracting a similar gamer with its streamlined rule set and theme.

So it’s going to cost as much as all the other miniatures games now and it’s not going to have the same accessibility that it did in the past in being mass market priced and available in a toy aisle next to monopoly and trivial pursuit.

That’s ok I guess, gaming has certainly evolved in the last 15 years. But I still feel they may have misread their audience for this. They wanted to make something special and that’s going to be expensive. But they could have also had something more in line with it’s cheaper roots that’s still fully playable and gets people into the system. Those terrain boards in Arena of the Planeswalkers were great for setting up a quick battlefield. Add some plastic terrain and a wall or two and you’ve got a perfectly serviceable battlefield. Throw in enough units to make a couple armies and price it to try to get some more people on board.

X-Wing’s starter set it pretty slim but it gives just enough to play the game and once you play and see the potential the system has with new ships and abilities you’re ready to go spend some more money.

[My Darling Panzer]

Originally Posted by artemiscorso

Oy, the $250 price tag is a rough one for me right now. Justifying that would have to be related to a Christmas present for the kids and I, and the kids are much more into the Superheroscape. I really like the walls and wish they had included more new and unique terrain, instead of so many figures. The figures are interesting, I like the idea of an entire faction in a box. I agree with some on the site that feel they are too much of an amalgamation. Cut the figures back a lot and the terrain by a little and charge a $100 for it and that would be my sweet spot.
On a bit of a tangent, G.I. Joe feels like a great fit for Heroscape. You've got great heroes, thematic Cobra squads(vipers, crimson guard, snow serpents, eels, etc. etc.), and the capability for large or huge figures with vehicles. Not to mention you've got heroes with varying abilities or skills that would be really interesting played out in 3-d space. I like what the c3g team has done with the G.I. Joe customs, it would just be nice if Hasbro fleshed it out with a bunch of figures and such. If this was a Heroscape G.I. Joe box set of this size $250 would be flying out of my bank account.

So while the GI Joe aspect is a bit specific, it really calls out the recognizability of the new Heroscape. I'm not a hardcore gamer. Heroscape is the only tabletop game I play (I more collect Xwing and Armada), so the instant accessibility and recognition of knights, vampires, giants, dragons, elves, etc really appealed to me. These new figures are largely more difficult to pinpoint and thus may be turning off new more casual players like myself back in 2004 though I was a kid back then. For instance Heroquest has the easily recognizable dwarf, elf, wizard, barbarian/warrior and thus increases accessibility to the more casual gamer.

These new Heroscape designs are a much tougher pill to swallow especially as what should be the foundation to more expansions.