FFG fat trimming?

[collins 16358xp 0]

Do we think that FFG have over stretched themselves this last year. Recently there has been some news around them wrapping up the interactive wing and effectively canning the LOTR app game and today they’ve just announced that destiny has concluded, add that to the disappointment that no imperial assault is in development (with the story unfinished) which is basically code for game over.

Has legion taken too much out of them in costs and their normal distribution issues killing them? what’s the thoughts?

[theamazingmrgParticipant 2703xp 0]

It’s probably a combination of Asmodee demanding tighter margins and Trump’s tariff war with China coming to it’s logical conclusion. Increasing costs for goods produced in China is going to make it more difficult for companies to operate, particularly in niche markets.

[ced1106Participant 6224xp 1]

WRT “lifestyle” games, most companies have, at most, two such games, while FFG had seven or more. Recently and currently, FFG has: Keyforge, Star Wars X-Wing, Star Wars Armada, Star Wars Legion, Star Wars Destiny, Arkham Horror, LotR, L5R, Game of Thrones, RuneWars, Netrunner, Call of Cthulhu, and possibly a few others. No way a company can support *that* many game lines, nor can a customer continue to buy more than one or two of them.

FFG has also lost the license to create GW games. Kevin Wilson (Descent 2nd) and Nikki Valens (Arkham Horror 3rd) left the company years ago.

I do find it unusual for a game company to have an RPG or computer game department. From what little I’ve read, the more common arrangement is to hire freelancers or outsource the design. Even WotC had freelancers working on the their core D&D book line.

[collins 16358xp 0]

I had completely forgotten about the tariff war, makes sense.

[timmothParticipant 697xp 0]

Who’s We paleface?

https://youtu.be/QereR0CViMY

[sundancer 42985xp 1]

@ced1106 FFG just announced the end of SW:destiny and Android:Netrunner is OOP too if I remember correctly.

https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2020/1/14/the-saga-concludes/

[theamazingmrgParticipant 2703xp 3]

@sundancer Yeah, Netrunner went OOP a while ago.  In addition to that Runewars has been cancelled, Imperial Assault has ended, the Game of Thrones LCG doesn’t look long for this world (no official announcements of its demise, but a shift to an “infrequent” release model and the latest pack is basically just reprints from the CCG and first edition), and so on.  There’s been lots of changes going on at FFG over the last 18 months or so.  It’s a shame really.

[deltagamegirl22Participant 1036xp 6]

I am immensely sad over this one. SWD was one of the few games I am fully vested in. I swear sometimes decisions are made solely on whether I like them or not. Lol. Wait? Dawn likes this one? Better scrap it. 🙁

[redbenParticipant 9415xp 1]

Asmodee was sold by Eurazeo to PAI a little over a year ago. I would take what’s happening now as the result of PAI looking where costs are and what is generating revenue then acting accordingly to try and maximise revenue and profit. For Destiny, it’s always been FFG’s business model to churn product lines on a regular basis and to have a constant annual roll of new releases replacing old ones. The only surprise with Destiny is it seems to have happened quicker than planned given a) how short its shelf life was, and b) that there’ll be at least one unreleased set. It’s more common for them to let a line release everything and stop doing new releases (as with Imperial Assault and A Game of Thrones LCG).

[warzanKeymaster 31125xp 1]

Thanks for that insight @redben I miss your bizniiiissss posts mate!

Do you happen to know the market value of Asmodee right now? Saw GW valued at something like 2.3B today 🙂

[redbenParticipant 9415xp 0]

PAI paid $1.4 billion for Asmodee

[sundancer 42985xp 0]

GW values are mentioned here: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jan/14/warhammer-tv-series-games-workshop-sales

[redbenParticipant 9415xp 0]

Looks like the Asmodee Borg has used some of the FFG costs savings to assimilate another one

 

https://www.dicebreaker.com/categories/board-game/news/7-wonders-owned-asmodee

[ced1106Participant 6224xp 1]

“Board game distributor Asmodee has acquired Time’s Up, 7 Wonders and Cash ‘n Guns publisher Repos Production”

If it’s like Days of Wonder, Mayfair Games, etc., what will happen is that the acquired company will no longer produce its lesser selling games, and only sell its best-selling ones.

“Original Repos founder Cédrick Caumont is leaving the company to found independent studio Captain Games. As such, the publisher will now be headed up by Thomas Vermeir, who has 15 years of experience working with Repos as an external consultant.”

As much as we mourn the loss of a game company (or predict gloom-and-doom), game designers don’t disappear. When WotC was acquired by Hasbro, many employees left — with a nice amount of money — to found their own game companies. This doesn’t always happen (and I evidently doesn’t happen after once the cost-cutting begins) but isn’t restricted to game companies.

Speaking of gloom-and-doom predictions :/ I’m thinking we’re seeing maturation in the market, as “investors” are pushing money into an industry that was better known for “creativity”. Yet, if owners of game companies are being paid well for their companies, it’s much like a startup industry, where owners create a company, cash out, then begin again. It’s not like Caumont’s going to stop creating quality games just because it’s a new game company. Meanwhile, the “investors” push proven games into the mass market, exposing mainstream customers to a new type of game that goes beyond Risk and Apples to Apples. (Oh, wait. Apples to Apples was Out of the Box’s best-selling game line. Out of the Box’s founders comfortably retired, but the company went under.) Also, meanwhile, we’re still seeing new games and products come out to the hobby market — just look at all those lovely unpainted miniatures in the sidebar there… (:

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