Ulthuan

Sad news. Fantasy Flight has put out some great games set in the Warhammer universe - Chaos in the Old World and Blood Bowl: Team Manager are some of my favourites, while the recently released Forbidden Stars (set in 40k obviously) was looking good, too (and ripe for expansions). This development also means classics like Talisman and Fury of Dracula will stop being produced.

Opinions are split on whose fault this is - some say FFG wanted a bigger piece of the miniatures market (they already own the top seller - X-wing), others argue that it was GW who wanted to develop board games in their universes exclusively. The most paranoid even suggest that this was a plot by Asmodee (owner of FFG) to weaken GW and attempt a takeover.

So - what do you guys think? Does this affect you in any way? Will it affect GW future releases and their general financial condition?

This development also means classics like Talisman and Fury of Dracula will stop being produced.

That's the part that gets me, I've not yet picked up all the ones I want to, and there will be a giant price spike now.

True - Talisman has a lot of expansions these days, as is customary for FFG, these might become rather costly. I luckily still have my Polish version of the game from 1995 ("Magia i Miecz")

Fury of Dracula will probably just get another publisher (as the game mechanics are GW's). Stuff like Forbidden Stars and Chaos in the Old World however might soon cost as much as Starcraft: The Board Game, (which is a lot) as the mechanics are FFG's while the setting is GW's.

I think there are still 2 or 3 expansions for Talisman that I need to pick up. Looks like I'll have to hunt around for a good deal somewhere...

Need to hurry then. Those things are getting pretty expensive right now

Big Talisman player back in the day.

Fury of Dracula rings a bell. When did that one come out?

SpellArcher wrote:Big Talisman player back in the day.

Fury of Dracula rings a bell. When did that one come out?

I think it was mid 80s.

RE.Lee wrote:Sad news. Fantasy Flight has put out some great games set in the Warhammer universe - Chaos in the Old World and Blood Bowl: Team Manager are some of my favourites, while the recently released Forbidden Stars (set in 40k obviously) was looking good, too (and ripe for expansions). This development also means classics like Talisman and Fury of Dracula will stop being produced.

Opinions are split on whose fault this is - some say FFG wanted a bigger piece of the miniatures market (they already own the top seller - X-wing), others argue that it was GW who wanted to develop board games in their universes exclusively. The most paranoid even suggest that this was a plot by Asmodee (owner of FFG) to weaken GW and attempt a takeover.

So - what do you guys think? Does this affect you in any way? Will it affect GW future releases and their general financial condition?

It will probably affect GW and releases a bit. But not that much in the end. Royalties in 2015 were around 1.5 million (they were a lot higher in 2016, but that was because Total war Warhammer was released). Which means the downside of ending this agreement is 1.5 million (around 10% of their annual profit). It really depends on the reasons for the termination if this is worth it or not.

If GW terminated the agreement then the most likely causes are
- They want to stop FFG growing and expanding in the fantasy / 40k market or they see them as a big competitor they are currently helping with the deal.
- They want more money and feel they have a bigger chance of achieving this when working with other (smaller) parties.

As for FFG terminating the agreement. Wanting a bigger piece of the pie is very well possible. I can also see that they could perhaps consider GW a big competitor they are basically giving free money. I doubt they are planning to take over GW. Though if the someone believes that AoS will be a big success in one - two years now would be the time to buy them, before the succes becomes apparent. But I don't think FFG wants them. They already have a futuristic game in X-wing, so they have little need for 40k. And Fantasy (either WH or AoS) isn't what it used to be.

So, all in all, I think it's a combination of money and seeing the other party as a competitor. Or perhaps they simply ran out of ideas for new project...

Rod

Shannar, Sealord wrote: I think it was mid 80s

I remember another one, set in a pyramid or something, maybe a few years later?