Catalyst Game Labs has tendered an offer with The Topps Company, Inc. to acquire various WizKids' properties, including such dynamic game lines as HeroClix, the Pirates Pocket Model Game, BattleTech/MechWarrior, and Shadowrun. After carefully reviewing options, Catalyst firmly believes that to protect the properties and ensure the best possible continuity for all communities, acquiring all brands will ensure the on going success of these game lines.

Loren Coleman [majority owner of Catalyst Game Labs] recently met in New York with Topps senior management to further explore the acquisition of these properties. "Catalyst has demonstrated our ability to manage large and important intellectual properties, "said Loren. "We will bring the same excitement and care to the HeroClix, Pirates and other WizKids' brands. We've made our initial offer, and look forward to a successful resolution."

"HeroClix represents the most popular Collectible Miniatures Game on the market, due to its superb Envoy program and a powerful community" said David Stansel-Garner, Operations Manager [himself a former WizKids employee]. "Meanwhile Catalyst Game Labs continues to grow the BattleTech and Shadowrun properties, each with their own vibrant, dedicated communities. While we would be new to the collectible miniatures market, we have proven experience in quickly acquiring the talent and infrastructure needed to produce high quality games. We've already begun the process of contacting top industry talent to bring on board should Topps accept Catalyst's offer."

Catalyst Game Labs publishes the perennial Classic BattleTech and Shadowrun game lines and co-publishes (with WildFire LLC) the recently launched CthulhuTech RPG. Next year will see the publication of a new RPG line, Eclipse Phase, numerous casual games (such as Paparazzi!, High School Drama and others), as well as the launching of a novel publishing program.

I hope you can aquire the IPs, would be great.

Nice to know you'll but owning your RPGs and expanding some more. Good luck with it all.

I wish you luck, because this would be the best resolution for all the games...

cya
Tycho

seriously good news if it comes thru.

maybe we can even get som nice heroclix SR miniatures?

those "action man" ones didnt exactly fit the miniature mold...

Woot!

I wish you the best. It would do Shadowrun a lot of good if when it land firmly with one company, and I'm sure your will treat the other games as games should be treated.

And the thought of a ShadowClix game line would be appealing (except for teh collectible part of it).

Lars

I'd be much happier if Shadowclix instead went the way of D&D Minis...

They tried that. It was called Shadowrun Duels, and it died a horrible death.

Now, here's an intriguing question. The rights to the Pirates of the Spanish Main RPG are, AFAIK, currently held by Pinnacle, and they've already released it as a Savage Worlds product. How is that going to work out?

I'm pretty sure that Shane at Pinnacle has said that the WizKids/Pinnacle licensed was terminated awhile back. If not, then it simply depends on how the contract is structured -- and that's a business matter that we wouldn't discuss in public.

Go get'em, Tiger!!!

The fact that CGL can make an offer is already seriously good news. Good luck!


(ShadowClix... A squad-level, miniature-based combat game set in the SR universe could sell to more than SR fans if done right...)

Hm... I'm now considering a reworking of the Necromunda rules as a tactical Shadowrun system.
Could be interesting. One player assembles a team of runners, the other has a corporate facility with a bunch of cheap corp-sec mooks. You could put together some interesting little scenarios. For bigger games, have 3 players, each with a squad of runners, trying to be the first to get to the target and extract it, whilst the fourth player controls the corp-sec trying to protect the target.

you mean a game somewhere in the middle of DMZ (which was a flop) and SR duels (which was a flop)?

...I would buy it anyway, though

Standalone and smaller figures, so significiantly different. If there is interest in discussion, one of us should open a new thread.

I don't know what the actual DMZ sales were like but as a miniatures game with no miniatures it did have a flaw that hurt it's non-Shadowrun following.

Shadowrun Duels was not really a clix game. While it did have clicking dials, the rules were very different, and as I recall the game was criticized mostly for the figures being too large and expensive to collect. My own take was that it was a great deal when one realized that you only needed a couple per person, and that they were cheap compared to other action figures given the additional game components.

ShadowClix would be a different game. It should be compatible with ActionClix and/or HorrorClix. It should include a high percentage of figures that would also appeal to players of other cyberpunk and near future games. I also see ShadowClix including vehicles, from bikes up to a CityMaster.

All of the above would create a game that would appeal to Clix, Shadowrun, and Cyberpunk players. (I know I would buy at least a brick of each set sight unseen.)

_{Side Note: With respect to Necromunda figures, the Van-Saar make great corp security, and the other gangs are great as exactly that.}

MJBurrage makes a good point. A "ShadowClix" miniatures would have me interested, even if I just used them for mini's. But I don't like buying miniatures unseen, you never know what you'd get. I'd have to get one of those posters that shows all the miniatures (like the did with each line in the different Clix sets) & match them. I'd gladly trade ones I didn't want with those who were willing.

Shadowrun Duels were about on-par or slightly more costly than other non-game-oriented action figures because they were designed to be a game all their own. But you'd have to admit the detailing was very nice.

So Adam, when do you expect to hear back from them regarding the offer?

WARNING!!! I know nothing about this buyout/purchase!!!!!

I deal with buyouts (companies or just product lines) at work and it takes many months todo. once the business people agree then it is the battle of the lawyers over diction/prose/punctuation of the contracts. and trust me that can get ugly over a comma CS semicolon.

I hope the best and all the speed to resolve quickly!

Heh, or send in a team of professional "negotiators" to resolve this temporal impediment to predicted profitisation of a prized trademarked portfolio.

What would that mean?

He means that legalese is complicated: lawsuits have been decided over the placement of a single comma.

And we complain about players............. than I should shut up, I'm italian and our Mr. President uses costitution to wipe his @$$!

I'm married to Eclipse Phase this week, but just popping in to relay this: http://catalystgamelabs.com/2008/12/15/cat...tegic-alliance/

Catalyst Game Labs and Piñata Games Form Strategic Alliance

LAKE STEVENS, Wash., December 15 – Catalyst Game Labs, LLC, and Pinata Games have announced that they will form a strategic alliance contingent on the Catalyst group’s purchase of the currently dormant WizKids properties.

“By combining our efforts, we can deliver high-quality products that will satisfy retailers, fans and licensors alike,� said Loren Coleman, majority Catalyst owner. “As successful licensors of Shadowrun and BattleTech, [Catalyst] understands the essence of those brands and will continue to produce high-quality products for them.�

“The Pinata team brings a different, unique skill set to the table, having worked extensively on all of WizKids’ brands over the last two years. With our efforts combined, we have a wide range of hobby business expertise that covers the gamut of licensed-and-non-licensed properties across a wide spectrum of formats- RPGs, TCGs, CMGs, and more.�

Should Catalyst purchase WizKids’ properties from The Topps Company, Pinata will begin as operator for the HeroClix brand immediately.

“After a few short conversations with Catalyst, it was apparent that a strategic alliance would benefit all parties involved,� said Jake Theis, Pinata Games’ CSO. “We believe that this relationship will allow us to restart the HeroClix business quickly. I saw that HeroClix returned to the top of the ICV2 Hobby Fall CMG sales list, and I know that with the economy in its current state, retailers don’t want any delays getting the business back up and running.�

The proposed alliance between the two companies would allow for Pinata and Catalyst to release new games both together and independently.

interesting

I'd buy an ShadowClix game, if for no other reason than to have more minatures avaiable for my Shadowrun Campaign!

GLad to see this, as I read Pinata's initial responseand knew they had quite a bit of fan backing. Again, here's hoping for the best!

Great time to pick up the IP property. Good luck.

They had one..they were rather LARGE pieces, though...I have Lothan the Wise on top of my computer, and He stands almost a foot tall...

indeed, but the superhero version is much smaller, basically a standard miniature.

(except maybe for that darn galactus)

Just wanted to check out a rumor I heard yesterday at my FLGS that Catalyst has already purchased the rights for SR and Battle Tech. You know what they say about rumors.

I imagine that Adam would be posting here just as soon as the ink is done drying in the signature.

Rumour I have heard is that some Furry that wrote a bad fanfic is suing TOPPS to get the IP for Battletech and Shadowrun, because he wrote a bad fanfic and copied the original Merc Handbook text to his website.

I'm sure most everyone knows the old saying "No news is good news" but...

Any news?


-paws

Unfortunatly there was and it wasn't what I was hoping to hear.

Damn, not good, I was hoping for Catalyst to get the rights.

Another thing that annoys me is that there has been no official announcement by Catalyst concerning this. It's been 2 weeks since that post. Maybe it's just me, but if I enjoy and support something I like to be informed of what is happening.

They did tell us during the Battletech chat. And they might be bound on what they can say during negotiations for the rest of the properties(and it might be involving new license negotiations too). In fact, the reason might entirely be because of the lawsuit being launched by some Furry for the IP rights for Battletech.

Yeah, I suppose your right. I have a cold, feel miserable, heard the bad news, felt worse. Needed to rant.

The BT chat wouldn´t have a transcript, no?

It also might be a negotiations ploy. Topps wants more money for the liciences, Catalyst says no, we cant afford that, Topps says "OK, I guess we'll hold on to it for a while". Catalyst then has to either make a bigger offer, limit the scope of the offer (like just for the IP rights to SR). Another possibility is that Topps might sell off the IP rights seperately, thinking it can get more money for each seperately.

All this is pure speculative bulldrek on my part though.

Still no word from CGL on this?

My guess is that the"value" of these properties lies in the vidoe & computer game rights (especially MMO). WoW may have the fantasy MMO market sown up in a way similar to how D&D has monopolized fantasy gaming for the past couple decades. Considering the VAST sums of money WoW brings in, everyone is looking for properties that can get in on the action. Add to this that everyones cash flow is screwy right now and things may have changed drastically since November.

The rights to make video games, MMO's, hell, even a Shadowrun-themed Peggle-clone lie with Smith and Tinker, founded by original Shadowrun co-creator Jordan Weisman.
There has been a relative quiet around them ever since they announced that they had acquired the SR and BT IPs, but from what I've gathered, the "insiders" in the "industry" keep an eager elf-eye on them and have them on their "potentially capable of pulling off something interesting without going flat-out-broke within the first five minutes"-list...

In other words: video- and computer game rights are not part of the deal.
(Unless Topps somehow secretly snatched those rights, which I very much doubt...)

No...it is the lawsuit filed against Topps by a Furry arse who plagiarized the old Eridani Light Horse entry from the original merc handbook, and is now claiming ownership of the CBT IP:

His forum discussion(namely 90% BS) on it here:

http://z8.invisionfree.com/Exterminatus_No...c=4207&st=0

court info here:

http://dockets.justia.com/docket/court-azd...case_id-418129/


My bet is that Topps figured if someone is willing to sue over(and get an injunction preventing the sale of) one of the FASA properties, that they must have alot more value then they thought...when, in truth, it is just a Furry being a Richard to the fans of one of the games.

It´s a crime that wronged Furry, so it will certainly end with maximum punishments, yes? *sarcasm*

Hmm. Maximum punishment.

That link is hilarious Cardul.

"I swear! I wrote the original ELH writeup! And then they tried to buy me off but I wanted this one minor character and that was TOO MUCH FOR THEM so now I want to sue them for ONE MILLION DOLLARS the Battletech license!!!"

First, you need damn proof. He himself admitted that there was no copyrights or agreements or anything signed. Guess what? You lost right there. The guy later down has it right. All the company has to say is "oops" and it's a done deal.

A horse calvary in BT though? Huh.

Seconded.

Of course, I don't care about BattleTech, so if the guy ever makes it to court (laughably unlikely) I won't care about the outcome, though I would love to see the guy beaten, if just for the lols.

Copyright law is so muddled these days (ever since the invention of the internet, actually) that it's damn hard to prove anything, assuming you can even get into court...

He doesn't have to win. He just has to cause enough of a nuisance and legal fees that fighting him becomes no longer profitable. They'll pay him off, and then gods only knows what will happen next.

Hey, tha's an idea, We have Frank Trollman sue for the Shadowrun IP. That oughtta make things interesting, and he's got a more legit claim to it.

No, no...a morphic unicorn officer in the ELH...would probably fit into SR as a Changeling, but not into BT.

Or are you meaning "Eridani Light Horse", which is just a merc unit that focuses on faster and lighter mechs and vehicles?

But, yeah..I think that Topps pulled SR and BT off the table because of this suit, and will be passing the cost of the suit on to whoever buys the properties.

What the Furry filed for.