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Dumpshock Forums _ General Gaming _ WizKids announces MLB SportsClix
Posted by: Adam Oct 16 2003, 08:08 PM
http://www.wizkidsgames.com/wk_article.asp?cid=38458&frame=company
Not much to say about this, althougg after three games that appear - from my perspective and readings - to have done relatively not well from a commercial/gamer perspective, this certainly is a huge domestic license for WizKids to have obtained.
Posted by: Pistons Oct 17 2003, 01:40 PM
Saw this one coming from miles away. It's cool, though; kids and adults who love baseball will certainly give it a shot, and it stands a good chance of being advertised in the mainstream media. From there, some might explore the rest of the website and notice all the Mage Knight, HeroClix, Shadowrun, Battletech... 
Posted by: Jon Szeto Oct 17 2003, 01:52 PM
But the important question is, will there be a stick of bubblegum included in each booster pack? 
Posted by: DigitalMage Oct 17 2003, 02:45 PM
I'm not sure this is going to be as successful as its other games which "are now played in more than 56 countries worldwide", purely due to the fact that they appear to be based on American sports - baseball to start with, but I bet American Football isn't far behind maybe?
Maybe they should do a football game to rival Subbuteo That would probably gain more acceptance outside of the US.
Posted by: Kurb Oct 17 2003, 02:50 PM
I didn't read the link, but WizKids owns Topps, and as we all know from when we were kids, Topps made Baseball cards, and yes there was that nice old crunchy stick of gum we all had to have.
Posted by: Jon Szeto Oct 17 2003, 05:32 PM
| QUOTE (Adam) |
| Not much to say about this, althougg after three games that appear - from my perspective and readings - to have done relatively not well from a commercial/gamer perspective, this certainly is a huge domestic license for WizKids to have obtained. |
Incidentally, out of curiosity, which three games were those?
Posted by: Athenor Oct 17 2003, 05:36 PM
My guess is he's referring to Crimson Skies, Shadowrun: Duels, and Creepy Freaks.. the 3 games that lack organized play, or booster-draft style purchasing (well, CF does.. but it's aimed at a -really- young audence). If he's talking about Indy Heroclix, that is a possibility as well.. But the former 3 were not games meant to sell as much as the collectable-enfused frenzy of Mage Knight, Mechwarrior, and Heroclix.
Yeah, I saw MLB or something coming too.. makes ya wonder how they are going to do expansions.. perhaps a yearly wave of 800+ players? 
I still worry that they are stretching themselves too far, but if topps bought them just to do this (and to compete against MLB Showdown), then more power to them -- as long as they keep their level of quality high.
Athenor
Posted by: Bull Oct 18 2003, 01:37 AM
| QUOTE (Kurb) |
| I didn't read the link, but WizKids owns Topps, and as we all know from when we were kids, Topps made Baseball cards, and yes there was that nice old crunchy stick of gum we all had to have. |
Just as a note... Topps owns WizKids, not the otherway around.
Posted by: Pistons Oct 18 2003, 02:11 PM
| QUOTE (DigitalMage) |
| I'm not sure this is going to be as successful as its other games which "are now played in more than 56 countries worldwide", purely due to the fact that they appear to be based on American sports - baseball to start with, but I bet American Football isn't far behind maybe? |
You'd be surprised. There's quite a following for baseball in Japan, for example. There's also an "international" (American) football league. (http://www.ifaf.info/)
Posted by: DigitalMage Oct 20 2003, 09:31 AM
| QUOTE (Pistons) | ||
You'd be surprised. There's quite a following for baseball in Japan, for example. There's also an "international" (American) football league. (http://www.ifaf.info/) |
Oh I don't doubt that it could be successful, or that these sports are liked elsewhere (a friend of mine regularly watches American Football). However, the overlap between fans of these sports and potential gamers is probably a lot less than the overlap between fans of Marvel comics, or fantasy and potential gamers is.
Posted by: Jon Szeto Oct 20 2003, 02:04 PM
| QUOTE (DigitalMage) |
| Oh I don't doubt that it could be successful, or that these sports are liked elsewhere (a friend of mine regularly watches American Football). However, the overlap between fans of these sports and potential gamers is probably a lot less than the overlap between fans of Marvel comics, or fantasy and potential gamers is. |
But on the other hand, it will be growing Wizkids' customer base. One of the RPG industry's persisting problems is that it has such a small customer base. Limited customers = limited revenues = very little room to grow. So shouldn't it make sense for WizKids to find new markets to expand into?
Posted by: Adam Oct 20 2003, 02:40 PM
Growing the customer base is a great thing. However, I think it's safe to say that the recent releases -- Creepy Freaks, Shadowrun: Duels, and Crimson Skies -- have been seen as duds by many retailers, and that Mage Knight 2.0 buzz is not as strong as it should be. With MLB Sportsclix sure to be in retail stores like WalMart at prices below what hobby retailers can afford,they feel as if WizKids is not supporting them, and thus, that they shouldn't support WizKids. This further erodes WizKid's spot in the game market -- and WizKids is still in the business of making games, last I checked.
I'm not predicting doom or gloom, but WizKids sure doesn't seem to be on fire like they used to be.
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