Open letter to Craig (GenCon people relate, please)

[reapersaurus]

Dear Craig -

You seem like a really kick-ass guy who has the best interests of HS firmly at heart.
Not just because your job is to design it, but because (I believe) you like the game and the kid-like imaginative theme.

Wave 6 seems like a GREAT step in the right direction, and the Flag Bearers for each general seems a welcome expansion of the base game mechanics/ideas. As a customs fan, I like to see new ideas that expand the game. Heck, Marvelscape could be great, and of course the Castles and Wave 5 could be, too.

The problem in Heroscape currently?

If the common fan cannot purchase the product at the store, all the design in the world won't change the bottom line or impress the sales amounts that (we guess) is what Hasbro is most concerned with.
It's simple : little product in stores = little sales.

From what I'm sensing online at various game sites (here, BGG, etc) the constant (and too-often fruitless) hunt for expansions has taken its toll on general interest in the game.

1) The non-hardcore HSer has about given up on it - they're on to other flashes in the pan that have official support, tournament structure, and product easily available.
2) The non-gamer kid (and family) can't buy HS at all (except the Master Set and Orm's Return), since many Walmarts et al haven't stocked new product in any large amounts for almost a year.
3) The hardcore HSer is tired of waiting month after month for HS to arrive at their clueless Walmart, etc's and have about abandoned them to the precious few online etailers that bother knowing about or stocking HS.

Walmart shoving the product in some massive, nation-wide wherehouse and leaving it there rotting when it would sell in hours if they simply put it on the shelf is NOT an answer to these distribution problems from Wave 4 on. It doesn't even explain why Hasbrotoyshop is continually out of recent product. Besides, this game AFAIK was designed with a BIG STORE sales model in mind. That approach has FAILED, from Wave 4 and beyond, since the big stores aren't stocking the product.

Please please please - you are talking to HSers day in and day out at Gencon - could you please get across to SOMEONE there (when a marketing rep isn't watching you like a hawk) what the real story is behind the distribution problems with Heroscape, and (more importantly) what is being done by marketing/distribution channels to ensure that this neat product you have on display will actually be at a store near us someday less than 6 months after it's "released."

Thank you for your past support on HS.net until the suits made the terrible decision they did, your continued excitement about the game, for continuing to make exciting balanced product (well, for the most part *big wink*), and your behind-the-scenes encouragement of the community members to keep the flame of HS alive.

That was classier than hell of you to name the Gencon exclusive after Grungebob, BTW. Aces!

[Jason]

-From a numbers stand point, Mass retailers (even if they stock the same crappy waves) reach way more people than any other store would. Additionally, these stores have so much influence that they dictate to the companies as opposed to vice versa. As long as the game is supplied at Mass retailers, Hasbro has to follow their demands over how to sell it. I'm sure Hasbro would love for Target/Walmart to change how it is handled but they have little to no say in the matter.

-The only real alternative to Mass retailers is to pull out and sell at other shops which does not seem realistic since it seems profits are low on HS unless bought in huge bulk.

*If I had to choose between Mass retailers rarely carrying the new expansions vs specialty shops always having the new stuff I'd prefer the Mass retailers.

-The online shop SHOULD be stocked much better than it is. Selling out of stuff all the time is crazy

[Venom]

uh oh, here we go

[Jason]

I'm just saying that when it comes to companies that Target and Walmart hold all the cards and that basically the companies have little to no influence over how they choose to distribute the items, even if we'd LOVE to see the new stuff on the shelves.

[Thor]

Pardon me if I am mistaken, been out of the HS loop awhile, but the Hasbro store seems to be stocking everything really REALLY well? At least for the past two weeks that I have been checking it. Of the total 21 HS items currently available (including wave 4 and 4.5), only 4 are out of stock (1 just went out of stock today I noticed). That's pretty good imo, I mean they are still carrying items almost 2 years old? WOW

Wave 4 not being in stores still, however, is lame. It doesn't sound like it's Hasbro's fault aznd I doubt they have much control over the situation, but it just flat out sucks.

[Jason]

I have yet to see any Wave 4 or 4.5 at any of the nearby Targets

Dear Craig and poissilby Rob,

Hi. I'm UltraDoug! "weeee!" Yes, I make thoese crazy moives.
How are you? I'm doing fine, its hot here in Texas, can you get me a job at heroscape? I want to be Taes' voice, thanks,
love,

ultradoug.

P.s. please give me the new figure, thanks.

[Gambit]

someone should write a letter to the mass retailers not hasbro

[DarkSpade]

Stock store shelves with enough product?

Yeah right. They couldn't even stock their own booth with enough product.

They were sold out of everything(heroscape) but master sets by 10:30am saturday.

[Grungebob]

Originally Posted by ultradoug

Dear Craig and poissilby Rob,

Hi. I'm UltraDoug! "weeee!" Yes, I make thoese crazy moives.
How are you? I'm doing fine, its hot here in Texas, can you get me a job at heroscape? I want to be Taes' voice, thanks,
love,

ultradoug.

P.s. please give me the new figure, thanks.

Now that is funny!! I don't care who you are!!!

[netherspirit]

Aren't most of the distribution problems coming from Wal-Mart and the retailers? They are the ones who choose what to order and stock their shelves right?