Steamforged Games announced today the company has acquired the rights to the Iron Kingdoms IP from Privateer Press. this includes the Warmachine miniatures game, Iron Kingdoms RPG line, P3 paint line and accessories as well as the novels. Warmachine did quite well from from its launch in 2003 until about 2013, then interest died off drastically, both locally and nationwide. I hope Steamforged manages to revitalize the game lines but it is very hard to do so once a game tapers off.
Showing posts with label Warmachine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Warmachine. Show all posts
Monday, June 3, 2024
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
Privateer Press and Free Riders
Privateer Press put out a press release today indicating that all of its North American distributors have signed up to its "no free riders" policy, which Privateer hopes will discourage high volume retailers that add no benefit to the hobby such as offering play space or conducting hosting tournaments or organized play. The stick to get stores in line is delayed access to new releases from Privateer Press.
There is no indication yet as to how Privateer plans to police the retail level to insure compliance. I assume the company will first look at those retailers with a history of egregious discounting with no in store play to support them and direct distributors to delay new releases to those stores. No indication if the new policy applies to Amazon, arguably the most egregious "free rider" of them all.
There is no indication yet as to how Privateer plans to police the retail level to insure compliance. I assume the company will first look at those retailers with a history of egregious discounting with no in store play to support them and direct distributors to delay new releases to those stores. No indication if the new policy applies to Amazon, arguably the most egregious "free rider" of them all.
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Free Warmachine and Hordes Rulebooks
BELLEVUE, WA, August 31, 2015 – The rulebooks for the award-winning WARMACHINE and HORDES tabletop miniatures games, Prime and Primal, are now available in PDF format for free download from www.privateerpress.com.
To coincide with the release of the WARMACHINE and HORDES rulebooks, Privateer Press is also hosting a contest in which players and retailers can win WARMACHINE and HORDES prizes. Players will have a chance to win a complete army just for purchasing a WARMACHINE or HORDES Battlegroup Box or Two-Player Battle Box from their local gaming store. The retailers from which those purchases are made will also have a chance to win a prize package of Privateer Press product worth over $400 MSRP. Retailers can increase their odds of winning by tweeting their store’s name, alongside a photo of customer purchasing a WARMACHINE or HORDES Battlegroup Box or Two-Player Battle Box, to @privateerpress. For contest rules, see www.privateerpress.com/free-rules-contest.
WARMACHINE is a fast-paced 32 mm tabletop miniatures game set in the steam-powered science fiction/fantasy world of the Iron Kingdoms. Each player commands an army of detailed miniatures including a warcaster, an elite soldier-sorcerer who possesses incredible arcane power and the ability to mentally control a force of steam-powered mechanical automatons known as warjacks, and his supporting soldiers in a battle to vanquish the enemy warcaster. The fully compatible feral twin of WARMACHINE, HORDES, puts players in command of a battle mage known as a warlock who can control an army of powerful warbeasts and leads her own army of warriors into combat to destroy the enemy warlock.
“Now that WARMACHINE: Prime and HORDES: Primal are available for free, tabletop gamers everywhere will be able to see why these critically acclaimed games are loved by so many,” said William Shick, Director of Business and Brand Development for Privateer Press. “This exciting release is great news for anyone with an interest in WARMACHINE and HORDES. It will welcome new players, bring even more enthusiasts to WARMACHINE and HORDES communities worldwide, and open the doors for more customers to friendly local game stores everywhere.”
To download WARMACHINE: Prime and HORDES: Primal, visitwww.privateerpress.com/the-rules-are-free.
For full contest rules, see www.privateerpress.com/free-rules-contest.
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Miniatures are a Dicey Business
About once a month or so, we get asked by a miniatures company to pick up their line. We generally do not for two reasons:
1. Expense. Investing in miniatures is much more costly than other products. We can bring in a copy of a new RPG or boardgame with a fairly minimal investment. We stock in one copy and see if it sells. If it does, lather, rinse repeat, so to speak. In order to do well with a miniatures line, you have to stock the core rules, plus a reasonable footprint of single figures and boxed sets. This can come to quite a bit of money. Stocking the core Flames of War line will run a store over $1000, which is not an amount we, or any store for that matter, is willing to invest without some assurance that the line will sell. This leads to #2:
2. Burnout. Not us, the players. With the exception of Warhammer 40,000, all miniatures gaming in the US is highly regional. Warmachine may do very well in one area, while Flames of War sells like hotcakes in another. Many miniatures games have a fairly short interest span. The players try one out, it does well to that group for 1-2 months,t hen they move onto something else or back to their favored game. We have about half a dozen miniature lines that did well for a period of time then interest in them petered out, leaving the remnants on the shelf.
1. Expense. Investing in miniatures is much more costly than other products. We can bring in a copy of a new RPG or boardgame with a fairly minimal investment. We stock in one copy and see if it sells. If it does, lather, rinse repeat, so to speak. In order to do well with a miniatures line, you have to stock the core rules, plus a reasonable footprint of single figures and boxed sets. This can come to quite a bit of money. Stocking the core Flames of War line will run a store over $1000, which is not an amount we, or any store for that matter, is willing to invest without some assurance that the line will sell. This leads to #2:
2. Burnout. Not us, the players. With the exception of Warhammer 40,000, all miniatures gaming in the US is highly regional. Warmachine may do very well in one area, while Flames of War sells like hotcakes in another. Many miniatures games have a fairly short interest span. The players try one out, it does well to that group for 1-2 months,t hen they move onto something else or back to their favored game. We have about half a dozen miniature lines that did well for a period of time then interest in them petered out, leaving the remnants on the shelf.
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