CGL Speculation #9, Please review ToS before posting Options

[MindandPen]

I read this differently. I imagine the business people sat down and hammered out a final deal and that it was promptly sent off to Topps' counsel to be turned into a contract. That's not an instantaneous process, though, and IMR has a hearing on Friday. It's really, really helpful for them to have this in public ASAP. If I were Topps and I felt IMR was in the best position to monetize my properties (or that I needed to help them limp along for awhile so I could get the royalties I'm owed), I'd also want an announcement as soon as terms were settled to help stave off the bankruptcy filing. If not for the lawsuit, we'd probably not have heard about this b/f it was final.

I had forgotten about the bankruptcy hearing on Friday. That explains why it was released before being final.

I'm intrigued by this part of the PR. Someone on Frank's board noted that the Topps "manager" quoted is actually the VP of Operations. That she's "overseeing Catalyst's operations" sounds intense. There may be some parallel management going on at the moment?

I noticed that as well, she has a public LinkedIn profile (linked above).

Important as we think we are, the PR is really directed to retailers who need to know that IMR is a going operation so they continue tp stock product. There's not been a print release of Corporate Guide. Given the target audience, the language seems right to me.

What?!? You mean we aren't the most important thing in the world to Shadowrun?!? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/silly.gif)

-M&P

[MindandPen]

Or, it could just be that she is the VP over the section that keeps track of what is going on with Topps licensed IP.
I mean, Topps should know better then to think about trying to buy out a game company. They already learned they were clue-less on operating one in the past. As in: their micro-managing and second guessing the people in the
company drove it into the ground, and into un-profitability as they fired most of the staff, leaving only 2 managers
with no-one else there.

According to her public profile, she has managed gaming companies before.

-M&P

[BlueMax]

According to her public profile, she has managed gaming companies before.

-M&P

Gaming sounds wide to me. Pen and paper, as you know MindandPen, is a different biz than computer. Which again is a different biz than CCG. And none of which are gambling. Yet they are all gaming.

BlueMax

[Cardul]

How long does "final review" usually take, out of curiosity?

[Dread Moores]

That's fair. Total Warfare, perhaps because of its toolbox approach, jams in perhaps too many tables and ancillary rules. The core rules themselves are no different than previous versions, really, but the exhaustive way that they are presented makes them a great deal more daunting.

To be honest, I'm really interested to see how much support the CBT RPG gets. War games and RPGs are different beasts and it will be interesting to see if the darling franchise's RPG stacks up.

Well, my other problem is that the core rules are no different. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) There have been a lot of little things that need to be fixed in BT for quite a while now. But with how long they've lacked proper unit design software and record sheet capabilities (at least capability to do them quickly and in large batches), that was never going to happen with Total Warfare. It's a shame, but it was a big lost opportunity to fix some long-lingering problems.

And yes, I've very curious to see how A Time of War does. One of these days, I should really get around to reading that PDF.

[Cain]

How long does "final review" usually take, out of curiosity?

Depends on what's being reviewed. It's possible that Topps is going to keep things in "final review" through con season, so they can have a publisher for that, then yank the rug out afterwards.

[Cthulhudreams]

Gaming sounds wide to me. Pen and paper, as you know MindandPen, is a different biz than computer. Which again is a different biz than CCG. And none of which are gambling. Yet they are all gaming.

BlueMax

So check the linkedin profile? It nominates specific companies and IPs she has managed - hence my comment on the previous page. for her, Shadowrun is a demotion - it will either be a portfolio of properties, or they are planning to flog something else (wizclicks or something)

[augmentin]

It's possible (likely?) this thread has just passed me by, but any chance we can turn back to talking about things that we can control. Like this?

[MindandPen]

It's possible (likely?) this thread has just passed me by, but any chance we can turn back to talking about things that we can control. Like this?

I actually have a long post written to address that, which I'll have to finish this afternoon - promise (IMG:style_emoticons/default/scatter.gif)

-M&P

[Kid Chameleon]

I do wonder, however, if this accounting person was sent by Topps to clean house or if CGL hired her on their own initiative...

Amy was hired after our previous accounting person resigned.

[Endroren]

So check the linkedin profile? It nominates specific companies and IPs she has managed - hence my comment on the previous page. for her, Shadowrun is a demotion

I disagree with the "demotion" idea. Check out the bold sections below (a quote from her linked in profile.)

Accomplished leader with record of success in start-ups, turnarounds and rapid growth situations. Areas of expertise include business planning, P&L management, organizational analysis, change leadership, product development, marketing, sales strategy, manufacturing, logistics, operations and licensing.

I'm willing to bet these are the reasons she was selected to handle this situation. Total speculation here, but seems likely to me.

[Demonseed Elite]

I'm pretty ambivalent about this recent announcement. I'm not even certain what it means in terms of the license and it says nothing about the issues that matter to me: the professional relationship with freelancers and the quality of the products. What I can gather from it is that CGL has more time to either radically turn their business around or continue to wallow in past mistakes. I'm not sure which it will be yet.

I'll be hanging out and playing the wait-and-see game. I'm still in touch with current freelancers, they'll give me the honest scoop on how things are going with CGL as time goes on. I'm not too terribly excited about the current product slate anyway, so I don't feel like I'm missing out on much that I wish I were writing. I'll work on some unofficial material and finally put some work into a website I've owned for two years and haven't done much with. And I've dropped a line to Rob about writing for Eclipse Phase, so we'll see where that goes. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[augmentin]

I'll work on some unofficial material

Yah!

[psychophipps]

Street level noir? This mean we'll be seeing more early Dresden Files kind of stuff coming around?

Might be interesting...might fall on it's face...

[Arclight]

Amy was hired after our previous accounting person resigned.

You mean "after Loren couldn't convice her predecessor to screw Topps"? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rotfl.gif)

[Semerkhet]

I'll be taking the wait and see approach. If I start hearing on these boards, or anywhere else, about freelancers not being paid again, I'll be voting with my wallet against CGL. I would have preferred that the license go to another company so that folks like Adam Jury and AH could get back on board. Then again, Eclipse Phase deserves attention and frankly I'm much more excited by the prospects of future EP releases than I am for the slate of upcoming SR releases.

[emouse]

So check the linkedin profile? It nominates specific companies and IPs she has managed - hence my comment on the previous page. for her, Shadowrun is a demotion - it will either be a portfolio of properties, or they are planning to flog something else (wizclicks or something)

She has a fascinating background.

9 years in nuclear energy, 8 of those involved the disposal and handling of radioactive waste, apparently. I suppose she's still handling radioactive material to this day. "Decontamination & Decommissioning" or D&D studies, as it says on her profile. No wonder WotC hired her!

[emouse]

One other interesting tidbit that I had to confirm.


If this is the same Tina Trenkler on LinkedIn, then she is the VP of Entertainment Finance & Operations.

Speculation: This could suggest that Topps is getting involved to some degree in operational management at Catalyst.
BIG Speculation: It could also be a precursor to bringing the entire operation in-house.

-M&P

Hopefully not. If Topps buys IMR, then look for things to last about a year or less before there's a major shakeup, after which they'll consolidate, dropping extraneous products like Leviathans and Shadowrun, so they can focus on Battletech. And by 'dropping' I mean 'no more', it's done. About a year or two after that, they'll just suddenly close up and spend another year or so trying to sell off that portion of the company.

I think large companies have learned that RPG and miniature gaming is not a market that they really want to be in directly.

[Kid Chameleon]

9 years in nuclear energy, 8 of those involved the disposal and handling of radioactive waste, apparently.

Hah, I got two years on her there.

[otakusensei]

Hopefully not. If Topps buys IMR, then look for things to last about a year or less before there's a major shakeup, after which they'll consolidate, dropping extraneous products like Leviathans and Shadowrun, so they can focus on Battletech. And by 'dropping' I mean 'no more', it's done. About a year or two after that, they'll just suddenly close up and spend another year or so trying to sell off that portion of the company.

I think large companies have learned that RPG and miniature gaming is not a market that they really want to be in directly.

At my FLGS, Shadowrun has a game or two a week and Battletech is shelf dressing. That's despite a healthy trade in 40k, Warmachine/Hordes and a few other miniatures games.

I would love to hear news that IMR wants to drop Shadowrun. That would allow some other company with the right staff to take it over and give it the attention that it deserves.

[emouse]

At my FLGS, Shadowrun has a game or two a week and Battletech is shelf dressing. That's despite a healthy trade in 40k, Warmachine/Hordes and a few other miniatures games.

I would love to hear news that IMR wants to drop Shadowrun. That would allow some other company with the right staff to take it over and give it the attention that it deserves.

I think you missed the point of my post. It was prefaced by 'if Topps bought IMR'. It was patterned after what happened to WizKids, and what's happening now to WotC.

Essentially, it would mean the death of the company and eventually the lines. With at least a year of dead time after the company killed each line. A strong license like Battletech or Shadowrun could survive, but I think in Shadowrun's case it would mean 2 years or more of nothing at all. I'm not talking about Topps handing it off to another company.

If we were lucky Topps would just stick it in a closet for a few years. At worst, some subsequent manager would torch the entire line, destroying any remaining material. There were rumors of such happening to dead lines at WizKids, though it's a bit more significant in that case where you're talking about molds, prototypes, and in-house material that outside parties have never seen. At best Tornante (which owns Topps) would produce some other media property 'based' on Shadowrun, much like the 360 game was.

Doesn't matter how it does at your local venue. I've got my own stories of how MechWarrior or DDM was doing well locally compared to HeroClix or SWM. The company sees a bigger picture. If Battletech is what makes more money on a whole than Shadowrun, that's the line that would last longer and be picked up first. After HeroClix, WizKids' #2 line was Pirates. NECA got Pirates as part of their purchase, and has expressed intent to resume the line, but it's been a year and nothing has come of it yet or been previewed to any degree.

That's why I think the last thing any of us want is to see Topps take over IMR and move the production in house. It wouldn't last, it's just not profitable enough, and it would truly have the potential to drive the licenses into the ground, deeper than IMR's bad rep is capable of.

Fortunately, with Topps having had some experience with buying WizKids and running them into the ground, I think that's the last thing they'd want to do as well. Unless Tina, who was brought in essentially post-WizKids, has the itch to run an RPG/Miniatures division as part of Topps.

[Terminax]

Boy this crowd is rough.

[Dread Moores]

At my FLGS, Shadowrun has a game or two a week and Battletech is shelf dressing. That's despite a healthy trade in 40k, Warmachine/Hordes and a few other miniatures games.

I don't mean to seem insulting, as that's not the goal here. But what exactly does that matter, or how does it relate? I don't quite understand how your experience with a single store should be an example as a statement across the whole industry. Additionally, I'm really not sure what the relevance was to the topic at large? I can understand you aren't interested in Battletech, but it seems as if you're more interested in bashing the game simply because it is there (at CGL). If there's issues with CGL management (and there are), keep them with the management. Don't let that bleed over onto an unrelated target. Battletech isn't to blame for the problems the company had. Some folks long associated more specifically with Battletech? Sure. But not the game.

[emouse]

Don't let that bleed over onto an unrelated target. Battletech isn't to blame for the problems the company had. Some folks long associated more specifically with Battletech? Sure. But not the game.

Ah, but it may be that Battletech is to blame because it's keeping Catalyst afloat enough to hold on to Shadowrun. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

More seriously, I think that's where some of the analysis we've seen has slipped up. It was coming from people who were Shadowrun people, and almost completely ignored the fact that Battletech exists. I wouldn't say Shadowrun is insignificant to the equation, but it is only part of the equation. A part, I suspect, that is smaller than Battletech in terms of generating income for the company.

[BlueMax]

Ah, but it may be that Battletech is to blame because it's keeping Catalyst afloat enough to hold on to Shadowrun. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

More seriously, I think that's where some of the analysis we've seen has slipped up. It was coming from people who were Shadowrun people, and almost completely ignored the fact that Battletech exists. I wouldn't say Shadowrun is insignificant to the equation, but it is only part of the equation. A part, I suspect, that is smaller than Battletech in terms of generating income for the company.

I used to think this, until SR4A was at Borders and Barnes and Noble. Ain't never seen a Battletech book at a bookstore in the 21st century. I wouldn't doubt if the SR sales were higher. When they finally get off their duffs and print A Time of War, they could make some money. Especially , if they started printing books to go with A Time of War. And I can't wait for the 27th Anniversary Boxed Set, I hope its being sold at a profit.

Whoever got SR back into bookstores, they deserve some massive kudos.

Bluemax