 WizKids announces how they will make cons suck in 2005
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« Gen Con SoCal ‘04: More News From the Exhibition Floor [ Lots of Images ] | Main | Gen Con SoCal ‘04: Day 2 - Dead Gentlemen »
December 03, 2004
WizKids announces how they will make cons suck in 2005 Specifically, with their newest round of convention-exclusive figures. The good news is that the largest one is for Mage Knight, which is unlikely to draw the greasy retailers out of the woodwork at this point. Or it will draw fewer of them, but they will be the very greasiest. Among the scattering of ub3rl33t figures for other WK games is some sort of "mega-pack" for Pirates of the Spanish Main, which ought to help drive a great game even further into the ground. Read on for details. Below is press release text from WizKids. December 3, 2004 (SEATTLE) — WizKids Inc., makers of the best-selling Mage Knight™, HeroClix™, and MechWarrior® collectable miniatures games (CMGs), announced their exciting lineup of incredible convention exclusives for the 2005 season, including the largest Mage Knight figure ever created! "The centerpiece of our 2005 Convention Exclusive lineup is the Mage Knight Apocalypse Dragon," said Mike Samora, Vice-President, Sales and Marketing at WizKids. "It is the largest Mage Knight piece ever made, and is easily the most powerful!" The Apocalypse Dragon, a five-headed horror of unimaginable strength and ancient power, is the perfect centerpiece for any Mage Knight collection, and is a must-have sculpture for any fantasy aficionado. A Limited Edition Lord Katalkus figure, a mighty champion whose vile plans are inextricably tied to that of the Dragon itself, will also be available at conventions. WizKids will also follow up on the outstanding success of its 2004-exclusive Marvel HeroClix Galactus figure by introducing the Dark Phoenix, a large, fiery, powerful incarnation of X-Man member Jean Grey. Also available is a gilded Nova as a Herald of Galactus! MechWarrior players will get an exciting look at the future of the game with the Shiro, an incredible ‘Mech from a major House familiar to the classic BattleTech universe. A Pirates mega-pack of exclusive ships and other accessories will also debut. The Mage Knight Apocalypse Dragon and the Marvel HeroClix Dark Phoenix figures will be available for purchase at a limited number of summer conventions, while supplies last. A raffle will determine which convention-goers get the opportunity to purchase those exclusives. The Shiro, Lord Katalkus, Nova, and Pirates mega-packs will be available free of charge to customers who purchase a specified amount of product from the WizKids booth, while supplies last. Founded by 20-year game-industry veteran Jordan Weisman, WizKids is a Seattle-based game developer and publisher dedicated to creating tabletop games driven by imagination. Its Mage Knight, MechWarrior, MLB™ SportsClix™ and HeroClix CMGs are among the most successful games on the market today, and the company has sold hundreds of millions of figures worldwide. For additional information, visit http://www.wizkidsgames.com.
December 3, 2004 11:30 PM: Some Dude says... Seriously, what is this site's problem with wizkids? They created an entirely new genre of collectible games, they added super-heroes to the mix, and they are continually trying new things. You don't like them -- presumably because you prefer metal figures that you can paint yourself. We get it already. Shut the f&*k up now, please.
December 4, 2004 12:12 AM: Allan Sugarbaker says... Actually, we like the games WizKids has created quite a bit (Mike's favorite is obviously Pirates), and I personally admire the company's achievement of creating the first successfull CMGs. Mike's point is that ultra-rare convention exclusives can hurt an otherwise enjoyable game's chance of having a long life. The thefts at last year's Wizard World LA of Galactus figures from hotel rooms and cars were surreal to hear about. But to be realistic, the "C" in CMG stands for "Collectible" and WizKids needs to make some money just like any other game company. We just hope the direct sales at conventions are handled better this year. If convention exclusives are advertised so thoroughly ahead of time that gamers fly in from other countries to get them, there'd better be significantly more of them to go around. Finally, I think Mike has painted exactly *one* metal miniature in his life, and I greatly prefer the prepainted D&D Miniatures and Mage Knight figures to flailing paints at an unpainted figure myself. I'll be shutting the f&*k up now.
December 4, 2004 05:40 PM: misuba says... Just in case Allan doesn't get around to it, I will also be shutting up the f&*k. If I can find it - sometimes it gets lost between the fhqwhgads and the f.r.e.e.v14gr4. If you had been paying attention to pretty much everything WK has done in the past 12 months, you would understand why we consider them a legitimate target for ridicule. This does not change the fact that clicky bases and pre-painted figs are indeed good things. I wouldn't want to go back to the days before. But seriously, WizKids, if you're reading this: stop... hurting... America.
December 4, 2004 07:48 PM: Chris H. says... If I were not beat from attending GenCon (where WK didn't even bother to show up), I would list about 15 valid reasons why WK has hurt the industry in general. Being a retailer, I have facts and figures generated from other retailers around the country. However, with such an A$$hole post...I won't even waste my time. Spend some time reading the archives before being such a kiss a$$ fan boy, research your point of view, and back it up with some facts....
December 5, 2004 07:43 AM: Grayhawk says... First, "some dude" needs to hush. Second, I can only hope that the "convention" exclusives are handled better this year than last. During every large convention I went to (and after every one I didn't), I heard lots of grumblings from the fan ase...and the fan base was becoming very cheesed off about this. As much as I love most of their stuff (even the stuff that tanked, like ShadowRun Duels and CreepyFreaks), the company sems to have...issues. Mike and Allan are right: A quick reveiew of the last 12 months will show you why.
December 5, 2004 09:18 PM: Some Dude says... Interestingly, the responses from (presumably) the webmasters, were pretty good. I stand slightly corrected. The rest of the posts seemed a bit ... um ... well, goofy (there -- no expletive. Nice, right?). For example, Chris - Back *what* up with facts, exactly? I see a lot of negative press about WizKids here (a fact that none of the webmasters are denyinig, by the way, Dr. Genius), and I commented on it. I can only assume that your reference to me being a "fanboy" was equally well researched. Seriously, you might be retarded. No. I mean it. Retarded. And I don't know if they are hurting retailers. I'm not a retailer. I just collect relatively cheap plastic crap, and WizKids created a whole new industry for my obsession that had stalled with Series 268 in the McFarlane line-up. If they are hurting retailers, I am genuinely sorry to hear it. As a pure collector, I have no complaints. By the way, I totally dig using dollar signs for the letter "s." That is not retarded at all. No, wait, yes it is.
December 6, 2004 12:14 PM: Chris says... Dude, whatever. You are clearly WK's base. I see that from both your posts. There is no point in arguing with you...flame on fanboy.
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