 May 2004 Archive
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03:27 PM: Allan Sugarbaker says... Just in time to help build hype for Gen Con Indy, Wizards of the Coast has announced its line up for the Best Four Days in Indianapolis. Highlights include the conclusion of the Living City campaign, the D&D Miniatures Championship Finals, an early glimpse (and even a few pre-sales) of the new D&D Basic Game, a look at October's coffee table book, a D&D timeline exhibit, and an "Epic Level D&D Party" on the first evening of the show.
10:01 PM: Allan Sugarbaker says... A Yahoo Finance story yesterday tells of a "relatively low" fine ($1.94 million) imposed on Topps by the European Commission. According to the story, "The Commission fined the company for an elaborate strategy to prevent imports of the children's items [Pokémon collectibles] from low-price to high-price countries in 2000 in the European Union, saying it was distorting competition." Basically, if Charizard stickers were fewer Euros in Portugal, Topps discouraged retailers in Denmark from having them shipped in, artificially stunting the supply. My question: why are we hearing about this now? I want news on the next Yu-Gi-Oh sex scandal, or Cthulhu CCG counterfeiting ring. Pokémon is so end of the twentieth century.
04:44 PM: Mike Sugarbaker says... I was hoping for it way back when, but didn't dare really expect it. Now it's fact: FFG will be lending their considerable graphic and marketing might to the classic, long-out-of-print Arkham Horror board game by the end of the year. So far the news is just on the poorly-titled Rants page (it'll fall off in a week or so), but get a load of this cover artwork. This is almost exciting enough to make up for the announcement that the Call of Cthulthu CCG isn't going to make Origins (grumble grumble).
03:15 PM: Allan Sugarbaker says... The latest Atlas Games Dispatches post describes and shows a picture of another vehicle from Cthulhu 500, the Satanic Pushcart. The two-deck card game of Elder God-influenced racing still appears to be on track for release at Gen Con Indy in August, and will likely carry a price of $19.95. Now, if there's a Deep Ones' Dune Buggy, specializing in aquatic and beach terrain, I'm definitely going to have to pick this up.
06:43 PM: Allan Sugarbaker says... According to a Sci Fi Wire story, actress Judi Dench was nearly enticed to play a little Dungeons & Dragons by my wife's favorite bald guy, Vin Diesel. This all happened (or didn't happen, apparently) during the shooting of The Chronicles of Riddick, which comes out next month. So, were Riddick's eyes a play off of the drow living in darkness? Nah, couldn't be.
05:46 PM: Allan Sugarbaker says... With our latest review, we welcome Justin into our midst, and he's decided to pull up a stone and stay a while. His first review here at the Cave takes a look at The Noble's Handbook by Green Ronin Publishing. After his look at this d20 supplement on upper crust society, Justin found many things to comment on, some flattering and others, not so much. Have a look.
05:22 PM: Allan Sugarbaker says... Pelgrane Press has decided to release its Dying Earth RPG in PDF form through RPGnow.com. From the sound of the press release, the main rulebook and other supplements will all see electronic form, and new products will have "a decent interval between print publication and pdf release." How long will it be before this is the standard practice for all tabletop RPG companies? WotC's been offering out-of-print products in electronic form for years, and now smaller companies are finding an added source of revenue from electronic re-release.
10:07 AM: Allan Sugarbaker says... On a subsection of the Discovery Channel Canada website, there's a new video segment on the 30th anniversary of D&D. The segment features WotC Special Projects Manager Ed Stark, and Brad King, author of Dungeons & Dreamers. Make no mistake, you won't be surprised by the content; the video is definitely aimed toward the uninformed neophyte. There's still some interesting discussion, though. The most evocative quote came from Mr King: "I think it's fair to say, without Dungeons & Dragons there would be no videogame industry today."
03:18 PM: Mike Sugarbaker says... According to a noncommitally titled GAMA press release, AAGAD chair Nicole Lindroos and WotC RPG brand manager Charles Ryan came to the conclusion that D&D3.5 doesn't fully meet the AAGAD's requirements for nominees, and Ryan made the decision to pull it. "A second or subsequent edition of a game is eligible to compete in in the Best Roleplaying Game category only if a set percentage of the content is new and the rules are substantially altered in the new form from every previous form. Although substantially altered, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, V3.5 does not contain the set percentage of new material." The replacement nominee is Z-Man's Cartoon Action Hour.
11:37 AM: Mike Sugarbaker says... Jeez. Although, honestly, this one is not looking like such a bad move at first blush. WizKids obviously has the capacity to make a lot of this punch-out plastic and make it cheap, and it looks from the picture like plasticard is well suited to the sort of rack-'em-up game where your units get pushed around in formation. The price certainly may be right compared to the competition, but is WK driving down its own profit margin? Should they be announcing another plasticard game, given that they professed at GTS that they aren't sure anyone will buy the first one? Is that fell beast big? Yes. Yes, it is. Well, folks, that's the Lord of the Rings Epic Battle Game, set to ship in October. Thanks and good night. Try the beer-battered trout.
11:48 PM: Allan Sugarbaker says... Now, you may not know this, but one of the Cave Dwellers, Demian, is a major gamebook enthusiast. So it's only fitting that with the Lone Wolf RPG coming out this month from Mongoose Publishing, he conduct the interview with the game's designers. Choose the correct path and have a look at what Demian found out about the highly anticipated game.
04:11 PM: Allan Sugarbaker says... The collaboration between rogue samurai is well underway, as Ronin Arts announced its Treasures of Freeport PDF, approved by Green Ronin Publishing. The new Freeport d20 supplement provides 47 pages of what Ronin Arts is known for: over 100 treasures, both magical or otherwise. For a paltry sum of $6.50, Freeport players will be all over this one.
12:19 PM: Mike Sugarbaker says... Why you should bookmark the new Gamethink weblog immediately, despite the Orwell-esque title: "I'm shooting here for perspectives anchored in practical understanding of the possible, for rolegaming as a commercial pursuit as well as a social one." Word up to that.
05:38 PM: Mike Sugarbaker says... Paizo Publishing has announced that, while Dungeon will be focused solely on D&D moving forward, Dragon will be widening its focus to all the media in which D&D appears: the minis game, computers, et cetera. Dragon will also include a WotC catalog every quarter. The relaunch officially happens in, of course, August.
12:18 PM: Allan Sugarbaker says... According to Joe Sequino, director of marketing at Winning Moves Games, "If you like The DaVinci Code, you’ll love playing CODA." Well, I have no feelings one way or the other toward The DaVinci Code, but codes in general have always intrigued me. I might have to pick up a copy of CODA now, since certain retailers (listed on the Winning Moves website) can enter me in a contest to win anything from the purchase price of the game, to the company's complete 2004 product line-up (see the details below). Considering how the purchase price you might win is calculated without shipping and handling added in, this contest seems like an interesting attempt to help brick & mortar stores move some games, which is always good to see.
03:31 PM: Allan Sugarbaker says... Actually one of the first 1PG titles written, Deep7's latest release, Exosuit A-OK, has only recently been deemed ready for prime time. The downloadable RPG of robot suit anime draws inspiration from all the greats, from Neon Genesis Evangelion to Robotech. For only $3.95, the 13-page RPG gets you started in no time, like the rest of the 1PG line.
07:38 PM: Mike Sugarbaker says... Well! That didn't take as long as I thought. No voting yet from what I can see.
01:09 PM: Allan Sugarbaker says... While superhero RPGs aren't my thing, if today's Green Ronin press release is any indication, I'm obviously in the minority. Mutants & Masterminds, the company's increasingly popular game, has sold out entirely, having outsold Death in Freeport by a significant amount. The core rulebook will see a revised second printing next month.
12:18 PM: Mike Sugarbaker says... Gamers with a yen for comics should check out this essay on "Comics, Games and World-Building" by New Zealand-based cartoonist Dylan Horrocks (whose graphic novel Hicksville should be owned by every avowed comics fan).
10:02 AM: Mike Sugarbaker says... They just can't catch a break, can they? This time, independent retailers are less than thrilled that the new HeroClix starter sets and booster design, set to go on sale two weeks or so from now, went on sale at WalMart yesterday. Alliance Distribution doesn't even have their allotment yet, so small shops are out in the cold. Um, WizKids? Those small shops do your organized events for you. Just a tip.
07:33 PM: Demian Katz says... Perhaps figuring that James Ernest has gotten away with using that particular word for long enough, Rio Grande Games has, in their latest newsletter, announced Who's the Ass? as one of their forthcoming titles. Of course, they're referring to the quadruped, not the body part, so it's really not all that naughty. Other titles mentioned in the newsletter include FBI, a criminal-catching game, and Maharaja, a strategy game set in India. As always, there's also news on the company's latest adjustments to their release schedule, so if you're a fan of German games, take a look and see what's on its way.
10:45 PM: Allan Sugarbaker says... Matthew's latest review gives us the skinny on one of Atlas Games' latest products, En Route III: The Road Less Travelled. See if the adventures contained in this d20 anthology are what your campaign is looking for.
04:57 PM: Mike Sugarbaker says... Wanna try out the beta version of the new Call of Cthulhu collectible card game? 'Course ya do, you mugs. Here's your rules PDF and here's your card mockups. |
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