Isn’t this kind of late for an April Fool’s joke??

*checks calendar* Nope, not 1 April. I really did not see this coming…

Isn’t FFG taking on too many projects?  They took over some of GW’s stuff.  They are now publishing Kingsburg.  Now they’ve taken over the Battlelore behemoth.  With all of their other projects like Cosmic Encounter and Dune remakes they seem to be too thinly spread.

However, you will note, they seem to be taking on any game where they can just add expansions and not come up with anything new and original.

Wow, this can only be good news for Battlelore fans.

I wonder if the DOW exclusive distribution deal brought this about?

Given that Battlelore is based on a system developed at DOW, and that’s part of other DOW games, I wonder what this means for that “system”?  Will there be changes now that the game is over at FFG?  Interesting news.  Hopefully this is good news for Memoir fans too, now that DOW can concentrate on that game instead of dividing attention and funds.

Actually Diane, the system BattleLore is based on (the Commands and Colors system) was first published by Avalon Hill/Hasbro in Battle Cry.  In addition to the two DoW games, it’s also been implemented by GMT in Commands & Colors: Ancients.  There hasn’t been any problem with this in the past, so I don’t see any future issues just because FFG has been added to the party.

Thanks for the clarification Larry!  I was aware that it was developed elsewhere; I was just under the impression that it had moved wholesale to DOW’s domain.  I’m glad to hear that it’s used to being shared, and that doing so once again shouldn’t affect Borg’s “baby”. :)

Wow.  If you are a “fan” of Days of Wonder, this is great news indeed.  If you are a “fan” of FFG, this is also great news, indeed.

I am a “fan” of Days of Wonder.  I am happy.

Indeed.

Ryan B.

If this means more support for BattleLore, fantastic. If it also gives DoW more time to work on other things, great.

I bet those people that thought BattleLore was going to keep DoW from supporting Memoir ‘44 effectively are feeling pretty silly now…

"Isn’t this kind of late for an April Fool’s joke??”
That was my initial reaction too. Simply amazing. I think FFG has the knowledge to pull this off, now I only hope they have the manpower to.

This may be good news for Battlelore fans, and I am sure Fantasy Flight will do well with the franchise, but I doubt that Days of Wonder looks on it as a great success.  Obviously, they are getting some money out of the deal, but they also put in a huge investment in sculpting and molds for all of those miniatures.  They had grandiose plans about Battlelore being a hobby within a hobby.  Personally, I think they were squeezed a little between existing loyalties.  Upstream fantasy miniatures folks (the types who are inclined to paint for hours) are largely Games Workshop’s customer base.  The downstream folks had Mage Knight and the clicks products to turn to.  That left Battlelore a bit betwixt and between.  Its a shame really, as Battlelore is my favorite of the Command and Colors implementations thus far.

What happened to Days of Wonder?  They used to be the golden child.  Now it looks like they are selling off assets to stay afloat.

It must have been very painful to do this, as Battlelore was described as the fulfillment of their childhood dreams.

Jason - From what I’ve read, Games Workshop has lost a lot of market share to Privateer Press’ Warmachine games.  Incidentally, the third big name in tabletop miniatures is Rackham, whose Confrontation and AT-43 lines are distributed and supported in the US by… Fantasy Flight Games. 

FFG has already made a deal with GW to be the exclusive publisher of board, card, and roleplaying games based on GW properties. 

If FFG can throw the kind of tournament support behind Battlelore that they have for Rackham’s Confrontation & AT-43, I think it they stand a good chance of stealing a little more of GW’s thunder. 

Mark Crane - DoW sells off one product line and that means they’re selling off assets to stay afloat?  That is a bit of a leap…

Yes Brett, I think a number of companies have been eating into GW’s once unassailable position in fantasy miniatures.  Though, from some business related articles I saw earlier in the year, it looked as though US sales were keeping GW afloat, while they were closing shops in the UK. 

That said, I think Warmachine is a competitor to GW’s 40K—“space fantasy” line.  Its sort of a match in scale and scope.  I don’t really think Warmachine scratches the same itch as Warhammer Fantasy Battle—a more traditional Orcs, Goblins, Lord-of-the-ringy setting.

Stunned Suprise.

I have to wonder what kind of business decision it is to sell off a game product that has a rabid fan base throwing money at it...because you don’t have time to develop it. I personally would have suggested they hire someone. BL is a cash cow, why sell it off?

Now, of course, I say all that without knowing the real numbers behind the decision. Hopefully the final result is win, win & win for DoW, FFG & Fans.

DoW did drop the ball with this latest round of expansions for both BL and M’44. I was really hoping it was just a small blip and with X-Mas on the horizon, that we would see stronger offerings for it.

Peace

Brent, in the Days of Wonder forum linked to in the news item, the company mentions an announcement in September related to Memoir ‘44, so your hope for an Xmas surprise might still come to fruition.

Eric

Great freakin’ news!

I mean I love how Days of Wonder pulls no stops with the games, but so does FFG (to a slightly less extent).

Been really waiting for the promised expansion that introduces mage units to the game! REALLY WANT SOME NEW CRUNCH that isn’t just dwarves and goblins!