[The Tekwych]

Some background:
There is a significant amount of consolidation happening in the tabletop industry right now and the (new) big player in North America id Asmodee. They now own or distribute Asmodee Publishing, Catan Studio, Bombyx, Days of Wonder, Fantasy Flight Games, Libellud, Liu-Meme, Matagot, Queen Games, Repos Productions, Z-Man, Plaid Hat Games, Pretzel Games and Filosofia, They are related to one of the largest distributers of games in Europe and hold licenses for Star Wars, Walking Dead and games like Ticket to Rife, Catanm Small World and so many more.

Games Workshop is rumored to be taking back the license for all things Warhammer 40K from Fantasy Flight Games. This means no more 40K RPG, Card games or board games that have been ongoing for almost 10 years in some cases.

Battletech, along with Star Wars, 40K and Star Trek are thought to be the only sic fi licenses to have a multi generational following.

So my question:

Would having CGL and FFG both under the Asmodee NA banner be an advantage for the Shadowrun license? Could FFG benefit from the CGL licenses as they loose the GW base? Can CGL bring FFGs editorial and marketing abilities to bare and more SR and BT to the best level.

[Imladir]

Sources?

Games Workshop is rumored to be taking back the license for all things Warhammer 40K from Fantasy Flight Games. This means no more 40K RPG, Card games or board games that have been ongoing for almost 10 years in some cases.

Why can't GW produce all that by itself?

[The Tekwych]

No Sources. But:

The Playtest team for the 40K card hame has not been given any new cards beyond what has been announced to balance.
The Forbidden Stars design team was released from their contracts and paid in full
GW has started making board games.
FFG is releasing a tabletop miniatures, rank and file, fantasy war game where players myst first assemble and paint the figures.
When asked about the situation neither company will say more than "we won't talk about that"

The issue is, I think, GW believes they can do it all on their own. The rift seams to have started when FFG released SW: Imperial Assault and, stated by several english sources, GW instead they pull the plug because "Tabletop miniatures are our thing".

This could represent a loss of 10 separate product lines at FFG. They have a strong background in RPGs (Dark Heresy, Star Wars),and  Miniatures (X-Wing, Dust, Runebound), They have done cyberpunk in cards, boardgames, fiction, and art within the Android universe.

It is, IMO, a good fit for BT and SR but FFG has been burned on licenses owned by others. They would most likely want to acquire the actual IP from Topps rather than a license.

[AJCarrington]

I'm not sure Asmodee is really interested in RPGs...most of their focus seems to be on board games (which has a much bigger growth rate vs RPGs) and such. However, I think SR, as an IP, has a lot more unexplored potential than BT. We've seen CGL dipping into other media (Encounters, Crossfire). I suspect Sprawl Gangers would also be of interest.

That being said, not sure I'd want yo see the IP in their hands...SR has always had a very strong narrative, driven by the RPG...not sure how Asmodee would do with that...

[Nightmare]

I don't see Asmonde going after CGL or SR. If they did, I really doubt it would be an improvement, more as a detriment to SR. While I'd love to see the reforme FASA buy back the SR liscense, I think that SR is currently in the...not best due to the shenanigens I learned CGL is pulling on some freelancers (info on this came out during GenCon)...right place to see it grow at the moment.

[Nightmare]

I don't see Asmonde going after CGL or SR. If they did, I really doubt it would be an improvement, more as a detriment to SR. While I'd love to see the reforme FASA buy back the SR liscense, I think that SR is currently in the...not best due to the shenanigens I learned CGL is pulling on some freelancers (info on this came out during GenCon)...right place to see it grow at the moment.

[MijRai]

Well, to add some fuel to the fire...  All Warhammer 40K products from Fantasy Flight Games disappeared from DriveThruRPG sometime quite recently, and there's no option to pre-order any of their out of stock products online. 

[Nath]

Asmodee Editions started in France as a RPG company in 1990, with games such as In Nomine Satanis/Magna Veritas, Bloodlust, and later COPS - none that you probably ever heard of - and the French version of D&D3, L5R and 7th Sea. It only started publishing board and card games in 1998, and it entirely dropped RPG publishing in 2006. There have been some change in the management team, but I would be surprised if they overturned that decision, considering most changes were people from the RPG era being replaced by marketing people coming from the "mainstream" gaming industry (like Hasbro, Lego...). They don't even mention the company origins in their corporate history.

So unless the people from Fantasy Fight Games somehow have RPG as a major component of their business strategy in the US and convince Asmodee people, that's not going to happen.

[The Tekwych]

RPGs are are one of the 9 core sections of FFG, albeit the smallest. They have almost 20 rulesets but 8 are GW licenses and 4 are Star Wars. They are actively building their Android IP, creating card games, board games, novels (including bringing in Mel Odem) and now Art books with background fluff. The FFG community is asking for an RPG and now that FFG owns Legend of the 6 Rings that will most likely be an RPG as well as a card Game.

RPGs are alive and well at FFG and Android is the nearest, active license to Shadowrun. FFG has shown they can do RPGs, Miniatures, Dice Games, Tactile Tabletop skirmish games, Board Games and Novels and Fluff.

FFG is now, IMO, too big for Hasbro to myst buy them and Hasbro has just 'found' all their Avalon Hill properties to play with again. The industry is becoming big corporations and small 'indie' groups and collections. The day that Palladium, Green Ronin, MWP, and CGL standing by themselves is coming to an end and choices will have to be made.

[Dwagonzhan]

It's a niche industry; of course consolidation is happening. It's been happening in cycles since the fall of TSR in the 90s.

[MijRai]

Uh, Legend of Five Rings has been an RPG for years, Tek.  The fourth edition has been around for years, in fact.  Word on the street has been that because Fantasy Flight acquired the game, Fifth Edition won't even come around until 2018 at the earliest. 

[Novocrane]

I believe the point was that it's now possibly going to be another RPG feather in FFG's cap.

Yes, it's going to be a while before 5e could start, but Shawn Carman sounded fairly certain in interview (before the sale) that AEG wasn't in a hurry to do 5e anyway.

[The Tekwych]

Uh, Legend of Five Rings has been an RPG for years, Tek.  The fourth edition has been around for years, in fact.  Word on the street has been that because Fantasy Flight acquired the game, Fifth Edition won't even come around until 2018 at the earliest.

Yes. The LCG in 2017 and, not announced but hinted at, a RPG 'to follow'. I use this as a way to suggest to Nath that FFG does see a future in RPGs and is still investing in them. 

[Dinendae]

Would having CGL and FFG both under the Asmodee NA banner be an advantage for the Shadowrun license? Could FFG benefit from the CGL licenses as they loose the GW base? Can CGL bring FFGs editorial and marketing abilities to bare and more SR and BT to the best level.

No, I don't think so. Despite problems with the Shadowrun line, consolidation quite often negatively impacts products, especially if the parent company's marketing and/or investors start exerting too much sway. That's the point where you see creativity and willingness to experiment get sacrificed on the alter of profit, which brings me to GW:


GW, and what it does, should never be considered as an example of anything other than how to destroy your own company. It's a company that doesn't even realize what business it is in, as according to the last investor's article I saw about them (just before Age of Sigmar released) they still claim they are in the collectible miniatures market (which just happens to have a set of rules), rather than the war gaming market that everyone else sees them in.


It doesn't surprise me that they have apparently revoked FFG's license to produce Warhammer related RPG materials: Games Workshop has a long history of stupid decisions in regards to their RPGs. This is the same company that went on a legal jihad regarding anything they thought they could get away with claiming they had sole rights to. For example the term "space marine:" They sued a lady who had written a kids book called 'Spots the Space Marine' despite the fact that her book had absolutely nothing to do with GW properties at all, and despite the fact that the term 'space marine' was first coined back in the 1930s.


This is the same company that annually raises prices and/or (usually and) reduces the amount you get with a purchase, even though they are decimating their ability to get new people into the game every time they do it. Kudos to them for trying to branch out into computer games, but I don't know if it will be enough to save them after the Age of Sigmar debacle. GW pulling the license from FFG for their games, especially if it's because of Star Wars Imperial Assault, wouldn't really surprise me. Stupidity seems to reign at GW, especially where their RPG products are concerned.

[MijRai]

Uh, I'm going to point out your information is rather out-of-date, Dinendae.  Things have been changing with Games Workshop, and it has been for the better. 

And while people like to rag on Age of Sigmar, everyone I know in the GW community finds it fun to play.