WizKids shuffles product releases

Card Games, Miniatures Games 33 comments

Though some circles still report the Battlestar Galactica CCG simply hasn’t taken off, WizKids is still planning Betrayal, the game’s first expansion set. A popular TV show tie-in, autographed cards (Crewman Cally cards, signed by actress Nicki Clyne), will be adding to the expansion’s lure. However, the 165-card set’s release date has shifted from October 11 to November 8 “due to unforeseen production issues.”

Meanwhile, WizKids says it has sold out of the initial print run of HorrorClix (see the full press release below) – just in time for Halloween. Actually, the company plans to have a reprint in hand by the end of September, which should be plenty of time, and distributors still have stock available. So this could be a sign of success, one that WizKids needs. We’ll have more to say about this in next week’s Audio Report, but for now, let’s just say this is an interesting time to be a retailer stocking WizKids products.

WizKids press release follows:

September 6, 2006

Dear Hobby Retailers, Distributors, and WizKids Envoys,

I have good news, bad news, and good news.

First off, I would like to personally thank you for all the enthusiasm and support that you have provided for HorrorClix over the last several months. Your efforts to promote the game have been tireless, and your commitment to help the game succeed is unprecedented at a time when many games struggle to launch.

The good news is that HorrorClix is experiencing a wonderful release and we appreciate and recognize all of your help in creating this success.

The bad news is that despite our efforts to create what we thought were sufficient quantities of inventory to stock the product for three to six months after the release date, our inventory is currently out in the U.S. After the promotional window for the Cthulhu figure was closed, we continued to receive re-orders from all of our distribution partners as more and more fans became excited about our new line of Clix-based minis.

Now that the product has launched to consumers around the world, we are receiving re-orders even earlier than we had expected. The good news is that anticipating this upswing in interest and activity, we have a reprint already in the works and on the way. The reprint is expected to arrive at our warehouse at the end of September when it will immediately be able to begin shipping though distribution channels. So although in the short term we may have a lack of product to satisfy everyone’s needs, we will be able to catch up fairly quickly.

Again, I would like to personally thank you for all your help in making the HorrorClix launch a huge success for WizKids, and thank you in advance for bearing with us as we manage the overwhelming demand for this product.

Sincerely,

Joe Hauck
EVP of Sales, Marketing, and Product Development
WizKids, Inc.

33 comments

  1. “let’s just say this is an interesting time to be a retailer stocking WizKids products.”

    Isn’t it always?

  2. FWIW, BSG seemed to have a bright start, but here in the UK it has vanished! This can’t bode well for ccg’s in general because if a game like this – generally well made (not without issues however) and based on a seemingly popular license – can’t succeed then what can?

  4. trouble with battlestar is out of the 12 people who watch it (we’re talikng top rated for sci-fi channel here) how many of them will actually play ccg’s, and of thoese 4 people, how many will pay money for a card game. I think it’s just that “remember how this show was on itn the 70’s” hype, and that bsg is a nostalga (did i spell that right?) show, with no real grounds for a new lunch box or line of toys. Now if they remake battlestar 1980…we’re talking pure profit…i can smell the money from here……

    (Oh, and for the record, bsg was lame in the 70’s…I’m all about buck rodgers, you can’t beat hawk…or gary coleman as the president of earth..common….it works on so many levels!)

  7. Strangely enough, Mechwarrior is flying off our shelves over and above all other Wizkids products. As for horror clix… we’re sitting on a pile of them…

  8. We sold a whopping 13 boosters and 3 starters for the game so far. We also sent back a bunch of BSG a few days ago. Me thinks this will be going back as well.

    This market may very well have dried up on them…

  11. this is a little off topic, but can you play pirates with a 4$ starter deck..or whatever it is. Or does it take a lot more then one ship. For thoese ofus who have no money.

  12. You can *learn* the game with 1 starter for Pirates.

    It won’t be much fun after you play the first two games though, as if one player has a fast ship who gets to the ONE island first to load up all the gold will win.

    Playing with one pack is about as much fun as playing the online demo. Wizkids does make some boxed sets with one prebuilt ship (only availabel in the box) with a few more ships for $10 or so. That would be a better starter than a single pack I think.

  13. “trouble with battlestar is out of the 12 people who watch it … I think it’s just that “remember how this show was on itn the 70’s” hype, and that bsg is a nostalga…”

    If we were talking the old BSG, I’d agree wholeheartedly.

    The current, re-envisioned BSG is a fantastic show, draws a helluva lot more than 12 people in watching it, and is – IMO, but one shared by more than a few – simply the best show currently on TV. It has very little to do at all with the 70’s show.

    That said, I don’t have the CCG, and am entirely ambivalent on the upcoming RPG.

    But as a show … BSG is outstanding.

  15. ok, you took my comment to literaly. The onnly figure I could find on the web that listen a rateings number for battle star was 850,000 people
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battlestar_Galactica_%28Re-imagining%29
    now, what this means is thatt there are only so many people watching th show, that would be less then 850,000. OUt of that many how mnay game? I dunno, but let’s say half 425,000, ok, now how many would play card games, lets half it again (halfing for eas of math) so we get 213,500 (or such). Now how man want to play a card game thats not magic the gathering, and i battle star galactica themed, well half so we have 106,550 or so (math off). ok, so roughly we have 50,000 people who play card games that are based off battlesttar, that’s not a good number for any product line, if these people are the none paying type (which apperently they are) we could half again, and have 25,000 people plaing the game. Thats not alot at all, that’s a little bigger then this college i go to. Now yes my math is sorta wanlky, but i’m just proving a point. It was to small a fan base to market a very limited product line at

  16. Tim, I see it another way. Being first to market with a gaming product based upon Time Magazine’s TV show of the year is a gamble I would be willing to take. They rolled the dice, and I think ultimately they failed on choice of genre, rather than lack of strength of brand…

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  19. “Being first to market with a gaming product based upon Time Magazine’s TV show of the year is a gamble I would be willing to take. They rolled the dice, and I think ultimately they failed on choice of genre, rather than lack of strength of brand…”

    Actually I think I disagree with you there, Chris. I think the thing that ultimately killed it was that it was collectable. I think the market for CCGs has reached the point of gluttony unless you’ve got a really BIG gimmick to push it (i.e. World of WarCraft CCG). Everything I’ve heard about it is that its a good game but I’ll be damned if I’m going to sink even more money into yet another CCG.

  20. James, we are actually saying the same thing, in two different ways 🙂 When I said “genre” I meant genre of game…so I wasn’t being entirely clear.

  21. i dunno guys, theresa sucker born every minute. I think ccg is not as saturated as people think, just wait till the next big thing comes out, or do i need ot mention how dead rpg’s were till d20 came out.

    I’ll stick by my guns and say it’s the show and fan base that doomed the game.
    Yes I own all of the mutant chronicals card game set, it’s all my freinds fualt, he made me buy the last two boxes in town (heheh).

    Wasnt’ there a Babylone 5 card game that was not very popular.

    They over estimated the market here, bring out soething like … Spong bob square pants card game, then you go someting (honestly don’t know if this is already a game)

  22. As a committed fan of BSG, I was pretty willing to put up with some crap gamewise. But collectible just is a non starter with the exception of Pirates. As a result I did not buy any of the BSG CCG. There is a market for something BSG related, this just was not it. I got zero interest in a Spongebob game.

  25. by committed, do you mean your institutionalised?
    (just kidding). So ir squid, you will be picking up the rpg then, or no?

    And what do you do in a bsg card game anyway?
    with out muffet and bojay…well, what is there?

  26. so you’ve been institutionalised? anyway, the ir squid, you plan to pick up the rpg (which some one else said was comeing out). Os are you skipping all bsg related game merchandise?

  27. Where did I say I was skipping all BSG merchandise in my post?

    I pretty much echo James S’s sentiments regarding what was a turn off with the game.

    If the RPG is any good and I’ve got a group willing to play it I’ll pick it up.

    You have either not seen the show or did not like it with the comments you have made earlier.

  28. Matthew: we’ll get the comments on the other story fixed ASAP. Thanks for pointing it out.

  30. My sole concern about the upcoming BSG RPG is that it’s in the hands of Margaret Weis Productions.

    While I have lots of respect for her writing and such, I’m concerned about the BSG line in her firm’s hands. I was fairly let down by the production and support for the Serenity RPG. I do hope that BSG will be handled well, but based on prior experience, I’ll be waiting to see (i.e., no preorders on this one for me, raving BSG fan or not).

    For the Irate Squirrel (Squid? Squid?!?), I thought he was pretty clear on why he was avoiding the BSG card game, and I didn’t see blanket statement on avoiding all things BSG.

    Besides, he’s Irate, damnit! 😉

  31. ok, i guess i took your statment as a blanket coverage, sorry

    no i don’t really like bsg, saw it the first time and didn’t like it then, and feel about the same for the new show.
    I’m not sure why, i mean the original was hollywood 70’s scifi, so thats sayig n enough.
    the new show is better scifi, but i’m still not inturested.
    again, sorry about misinturperting your comment

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