Friday, May 24, 2013

The Apathy of New Releases (June '13)

Ah, another month, another book of solicitations from the distributors to the retailers.   This month's solicitations are due mid-June, so they should be slated for Origins and GenCon releases.

Then why isn't there one big "OMG!" product amongst the bunch?    I mean, Mantic's Dreadball is releasing product like gangbusters, but that's after the Kickstarter did so well, so it's difficult to gauge product that's already presold to a large number of prospective clients.  Monte Cook's Numeneria RPG is slated for August, but that's crazy sales at GenCon, and a copy or two at the local store.    Heck, you might sell more copies of the Deadlands Noir book, and at least that has three products you can stock.

My Must-Have List:
Osprey: Imperial German Colonial and Overseas Troops  1885-1918 (Men at Arms #490)
This couldn't be more perfect for me, unless I wrote it myself.

My Money-is-No-Object List:
Atlas Games
Once Upon A Time 3rd Edition: Seafaring Tales    ATG 1033......$12.95
Adding pirates to your game could make your stories AAAAARRRRRRR-rated.



The Imaginary Store List (The Pegleg Gnome)
Bandai America
Power Rangers Ccg: Rise Of Heroes
Power Rangers Action Card Game: Rise of Heroes features a 90-card  set introduced in 40-card Theme Decks containing a Game Mat and a Game Manual offered in 8-count displays, as well as supplemental boosters packed in 15-count displays.
And you people thought Pokemon wouldn't die.  My four-year old daughter, Maja, told me last week that she wanted to be a Power Ranger for Halloween.  I believe this might do very, very well.

Catalyst
Battlecorps Anthology #4: PSI CAT35804.............................$14.95

Yay, Battletech fiction!

Battletech: Alpha Kit      PSI CAT35111.............................$24.99
Battletech: Strategic Kit  PSI CAT35108.............................$14.99
Battletech: Tech Kit        PSI CAT35106.............................$14.99
Let me get this straight?  Battletech, the game of my youth, that required us to find an ever-elusive photocopier to make copies of record sheets, but the charts for game play could fit on one sheet, now require three separate products.  What has happened? 

Shadowrun: Run Faster    PSI CAT27002.............................$49.99
Shadowrun: Sprawl Wilds PSI CAT27480.............................$24.99
Shadowrun: Stolen Souls  PSI CAT27200.............................$44.99

Exile Game Studios
Hollow Earth Expedition:  Perils Of The Surface World  S2P EGS1100..............................$19.99  

Fantasy Flight Games
Only War Rpg: Enemies  Of The Imperium                                         $39.95  
Star Wars X-wing Miniatures Game: X-wing  Starfield Game Tile Kit  $39.95
Forty bucks for tiles for a game played in space?  What fabulous designs do these things have that are better than a classic space game mat?  Oh yeah, they don't make FFG any money.  

Far Future Enterprises
Traveller 5 Core Rulebook                                                     $75.00              

After nine zillion versions and printings, who has any money left for another comprehensive rule book?

Frog God Games
Pathfinder:  Fane Of The Fallen                                               $32.99
Pathfinder: The Usual Suspects                                               $  9.99
Pathfinder: Razor Coast                                                          $99.99
Pathfinder: Strange Bedfellows                                                $21.99
I don't know if that $99.99 is a typo, but that 's a lot for a third party product for a game that has a lot of product released in its core line.

Gale Force Nine
Firefly: The Game                                                                                               $49.99  

Goodman Games
Dungeon Crawl Classics #78:  Fate’s Fell Hand                       $9.99  

Green Ronin
Mutants & Masterminds: Power Profiles                                                       $39.95  

Hamster Press
While I'm not too impressed by this company's Fairy Tale Assassin League,  this game has promise, just if it sells a copy or two off the shelf:  

Mongolian Goat Rodeo
Prepare for goat-grabbing, horse-riding insanity in Mongolian Goat Rodeo, a horse racing
card game based on the national sport of Afghanistan - Buzkashi! All you have to do is ride
a goat around a goal post and get back to the starting point. Of course, everyone else is
trying to take it away - in the most creative ways! Mongolian Goat Rodeo comes complete
with a 54-card deck packed with eight riding teams, a starting point, a goal post, and a
goat. Scheduled to ship in June 2013.
IMP HMS1104................................................................................................$14.99

Konami
Yu-gi-oh! Tcg: Battle Pack 2 - War Of The Giants
Yu-gi-oh! Tcg: Super Starter - V For Victory

Koplow

Two listings in two months!  This time is just a solicitation for dice sets.  Sure, they're not the uber-fancy Chessex sets, but 7 and 10-piece sets for under five bucks!    Dice should be an impulse buy by the register, not a something that needs to be in a locked case because your customers need to drain their 401k to purchase them.
Mantic
Mantic finally has solicited figures from its Dreadball Kickstarters solicited figures from its Dreadball Kickstarter campaign.  The teams look to be 8 figures for $25, with the Star Play...er... MVP character running $8-11.  It looks like you'll be able to purchase individual components of the game, like an extra game board.  However, I'm confused why they have a basic version of the game, Kickoff, as well as a new supplement with even more teams, and the game just came out?  I'll chalk it up to poor planning, rather than money-grubbing.

Monte Cook
Numenera RPG  -  Core Book $59.99  Player's Guide  $19.99
I know some people love them some Monte Cook, but I'm frightened how much material is missing between the core book and player's.  Two-thirds?  Or more?


Open Design
Pathfinder: Midgard Tales                                              $39.99
Pathfinder: Trapsmith                                                     $19.99

Osprey
Ronin - Skirmish Wargaming in the Age of the Samurai   $17.95
Should work great with those Zveda Samurai playsets awhile back.

Paizo
Pathfinder Adventure Card Game: Rise Of The Runelords Base Set $59.99
Pathfinder Item Cards: Wrath Of The Righteous Adventure Path $10.99
Pathfinder Adventure Path: Wrath Of The Righteous Part 1 - The Worldwound Incursion $22.99
Pathfinder Adventure Card Game: Rise Of The Runelords Character Add-on Deck $19.99
Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Demons Revisited $19.99
Pathfinder Flip-mat: Basic Terrain Multi-pack $24.99
Pathfinder Map Pack: Evil Ruins $13.99
Pathfinder Module: Wardens Of The Reborn Forge $24.99
Pathfinder Player Companion: Demon Hunter’s Handbook $12.99
Pathfinder Rpg: Mythic Adventures $39.99
Pathfinder Tales: King Of Chaos $ 9.99

Spartan
Spartan has another wave of product for Armoured Clash, Dystopian Wars, and Dystopian Legions.  Don't let me forget to cover the Dystopian Legion artillery in another post.  They do look cool.  The rest I put in the same category as Heavy Gear.  If it sells in the area, go the appropriate level of wild.

Studio 2 Publishing
Savage Worlds: Beasts & Barbarians - Jalizar City of Thieves                        $24.99
Savage Worlds: Deadlands Noir Core Rules                                                  $29.99
Savage Worlds: Deadlands Noir Companion                                                 $39.99
Savage Worlds: Deadlands Noir GM Screen                                                 $19.99
Savage Worlds: Deadlands Noir Maps  Bayou/Cemetary/Hotel/New Orleans/ Offices    $14.99 each.

Twilight Creations
Zombies!!! 12 - Zombie Zoo                          $24.95

Wizards of the Coast
Magic the Gathering - Theros
Magic the Gathering - Core Set 2014
Hoo-ray automatic revenue for the Summer months!  More revenue to try out new product!

Advanced D&D 1st Edition - Against the Slave Lords Hardcover                 $49.95
I'm torn on this one.  Like all the other books before it, I would love to have this on my shelf.  I also love the Slave Lord series, but I also don't know how I feel about the utility of the book.  Yes, it's just for show, but how many copies of the A1-4 megamodule are still floating around in good condition.  I'm not destroying a $50 hardcover to feel nostalgic, when I may be able to buy used copies on eBay, or even get the pdfs.  I have two perfectly usable copies of the Hackmaster version: Smackdon the Slavers to use on that epic day that the Burning Trogs get back together.


WizKids
Marvel Heroclix: Fear Itself
Marvel Heroclix: Giant-Man
Pathfinder Battles: Skull and Shackles

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