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Katana_Geldar
2010-01-28, 07:00 PM
We've suspected for a little while, it's official now (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75862/22320337/Wizards_of_the_Coast_announcement)

There have been several questions lately regarding the future of the Star Wars Miniatures and Roleplaying Game and until now I haven’t had definitive answers to give you. After a lengthy evaluation, Wizards of the Coast has decided not to renew the Star Wars license with Lucasfilm. We’ve had a long and fantastic run, but with the economic downturn, we have made the tough decision to discontinue our Star Wars lines.



The license officially ends in May this year, with WotC product available through August. In the meantime, we have awesome new products still coming your way. This week, we released The Dark Times minis and Galaxy of Intrigue RPG. We’ll have more coming with Masters of the Force minis in April, which will have some of your most favorite characters along with rare creatures from the Dejarik Holochess game that have never appeared in our game. We’ll also release The Unknown Regions RPG in April, which includes entirely new planets and mini-adventures for each world.

We are finishing the line with a bang so look for special programs at your local game store to stock up on favorite sets before they go into the vault. We will continue to support our Star Wars forums on the Wizards Community site so you can reach out and chat with us and other fans.

While I know the news is disappointing, we wanted to make this announcement as soon as possible and thank you for being such great fans. It’s been a fantastic ride with the Star Wars community and working with Lucasfilm. We hope you enjoy the next several months of great products. You never know when we may circle back again!


He's right, it has been a fantastic ride. And after Wizards goes we're going to have the game for a few years if someone decides to pick up the license again.

It's a good system and it had to end sometime anyway.

Rappy
2010-01-28, 07:19 PM
It's expected. None of the d20 incarnations of the Star Wars Roleplaying Game have lasted a truly lengthy period of time without starting to lose any official support...just like what happened with d20 Modern.

In my pessimistic mind, as fun as the Star Wars RPGs have been, they were bound to die at one point. Dungeons and Dragons has and will be Wizard's big cash cow in the RPG department. I mean, it's not like you can walk up to someone on the street and expect them to react with oohs and ahhs if you say "hey, ever heard of Alternity? Fun stuff, eh? That Dark*Matter..."

Still a sad loss though.

Starbuck_II
2010-01-28, 07:42 PM
Darn, I don't play often. But I always thought it was cool that there was more and more Star wars stuff.

They could have waited till they finished making a book based on the MMO (they did make a KOTR one).

Mushroom Ninja
2010-01-28, 08:08 PM
There is only one word that can sum up my feelings on this:
http://www.dedroidify.com/blogimages/No-Darth_Vader.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v56/bigbadlemurtamer/luke_NOOOOOO.jpg

FMArthur
2010-01-28, 08:10 PM
For some reason I am satisfied that they appear saddened by this turn of events. I don't know why, but I kind of expected a "lol we don't care about Star Wars anymore so... bye!" from WotC. It's hard to see the company as being run by people after all these years. :smallredface:

Matthew
2010-01-28, 08:16 PM
Should be interesting to see if anybody picks up the license, what with the new Star Wars live action television series supposedly hitting our screens in a year or two, and the animated series doing service in the meantime.

Dienekes
2010-01-28, 08:28 PM
Should be interesting to see if anybody picks up the license, what with the new Star Wars live action television series supposedly hitting our screens in a year or two, and the animated series doing service in the meantime.

You're forgetting the distinct possibility of Star Wars 3D that Lucas may be setting up.

As to the news. NOOOOOO!!! (was gonna link to the Darth Vader clip but someone already stole that joke)

I was just starting to play Saga edition!

ZombieGenesis
2010-01-28, 09:55 PM
I don't play the Star Wars game, but I'd say they're approaching this really well. Milk it for the fans sake now, surrender the rights and move on. Then when things are looking up, maybe come back to it later.
Or, alternatively, find another franchise to work with! Harry Po-
God no. I'm not even making that joke.

Foryn Gilnith
2010-01-28, 09:57 PM
WEG d6 Star Wars still exists in all its discontinued glory. And SAGA was getting mildly bloated anyway (which I found quite bizarre, given that there weren't that many books out)

Mushroom Ninja
2010-01-28, 10:02 PM
WEG d6 Star Wars still exists in all its discontinued glory. And SAGA was getting mildly bloated anyway (which I found quite bizarre, given that there weren't that many books out)

There may not be many books, but people have already found a way to do an arbitrarily high amount of damage in one attack. :smalltongue:

Mongoose87
2010-01-28, 10:16 PM
Statement: I suspect they will cut another deal with Lucasarts in a few years, when absence has allowed demand to creep back up.

Irritated remark: Hopefully this doesn't become the norm, shorter-lived editions, with fewer years in-between.

Tiktakkat
2010-01-28, 11:06 PM
That explains the new Gamma World product.

Attilargh
2010-01-29, 02:49 AM
http://www.icanhasforce.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/star-wars-red-ring-of-death-star.jpg
http://www.icanhasforce.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/star-wars-vader-sad-does-not-want.jpg
Oh well, Saga had a good run and I really prefer not having a million supplements to leaf through anyhow. Now I just need to get copies of the Rebellion and Legacy Era Campaign Guides, before they run out! :smalleek:

Katana_Geldar
2010-01-29, 03:20 AM
I've blogged (http://gmgeldar.wordpress.com/2010/01/29/the-force-will-be-with-us-always/) my thoughts on this, but the sum of it is that it will give us a few years to enjoy the game without forking out $50=$0 every three months.

Longcat
2010-01-29, 03:35 AM
What a shame, really. I've always considered SAGA to be the best synergy between 4e and 3.5.

I wonder who's going to pick up the new license, though. I sure hope it won't be Paizo.

raitalin
2010-01-29, 04:54 AM
At least there's plenty of material as it is. I always enjoy being able to get every book for a given edition of an RPG, that was the one benefit of d20 Modern kicking the bucket.

Yora
2010-01-29, 05:06 AM
Wow, I didn't knew they are still making Saga books! I thought it was discontinued years ago.

I don't think it's much of a loss. Fans of the game all have the core book by now and maybe one or two additionals for eras they really like. There's really not much reason to release any new books.

Attilargh
2010-01-29, 05:10 AM
...But the game only came out in '07. :smallconfused:

Person_Man
2010-01-29, 10:20 AM
This is really odd to me. Star Wars is a franchise that is going to last for at least another 10 years, and perhaps 20 or more. They still have a cartoon, comic books, novels, toys, video games, a large web presence, and they're probably going to re-release the movies in 3D, plus Lucas could always make (or allow someone else to make, if we're lucky) Episodes 7-9. It has universal brand recognition. Why would you give up that license? Even if it's not making a lot of money now, I doubt that it's losing money. Keep one professional staff person on it and hire a bunch of interns, and you could keep churning along until the economy gets better. WotC as a whole just seems very short sided.

Zeta Kai
2010-01-29, 11:30 AM
This is really odd to me... WotC as a whole just seems very short sided.

You sound surprised. :smallamused:

raitalin
2010-01-29, 11:38 AM
Keep one professional staff person on it and hire a bunch of interns, and you could keep churning along until the economy gets better. WotC as a whole just seems very short sided.

"short-sighted"

Its my understanding that not only is a Lucas license expensive, its also a massive pain in the ass. Lots of rules and regs, constant legal and quality requirements and final word for everything goes to them, so that might also be a factor. I still maintain that there's more than enough material as it is and future books may have degraded in quality. Including 4e's least popular mechanic (the skill challenge) in the most recent book was probably a bad sign.

Matthew
2010-01-29, 11:44 AM
Why would you give up that license? Even if it's not making a lot of money now, I doubt that it's losing money. Keep one professional staff person on it and hire a bunch of interns, and you could keep churning along until the economy gets better. WotC as a whole just seems very short sided.

The question that occurs to me is how much were they being asked for to renew the license? Star Wars is on the cusp of yet another marketing cycle, so they may have flexed their muscles and asked for more money than Hasbro was willing to budget Wizards of the Coast. Alternatively, it may have been a mandate from on high to keep to the core business and only work on brands out-and-out owned by the company, which is a very common economic downturn reaction. Either way, it is a bit of a pity.

DabblerWizard
2010-01-29, 05:17 PM
This marks a sad turn of events for roleplaying game fans around the globe. :smallfrown:

...

Maybe some intelligent, foresight driven company will pick up the Sci Fi gamer niche and make something like... "Star Trek RPG". MWAHAHAHAH. :smallbiggrin:

Gamerlord
2010-01-29, 05:18 PM
BLAST!

And I was going to get started sometime in may....

Still, maybe they might make a star trek d20 game, that alone would make up for it...

Rappy
2010-01-29, 05:31 PM
BLAST!

And I was going to get started sometime in may....

Still, maybe they might make a star trek d20 game, that alone would make up for it...
Doubtful. You see, there is a licensed Star Trek d20 game, Prime Directive . So unless its parent company loses their license or Wizards wants to buy them out (which is admittedly possible), it's not happening.

Asbestos
2010-01-31, 04:33 PM
http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75862/22320337/Wizards_of_the_Coast_announcement

WotC stops carrying the Star Wars line in April.

A pity, Saga was probably the best system they made.

Knaight
2010-01-31, 04:59 PM
By a massive, massive margin. It did fantasy better than D&D with only a handle of tweaks too. This sucks.

Matthew
2010-01-31, 05:03 PM
Previous thread on this subject somehow feel to page three: [News] Wizards of the Coast Not Renewing Star Wars License (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=140138).

Asbestos
2010-01-31, 08:59 PM
Though, the SW Minis line had to come to an end. I mean, how many Lukes and Hans can you sell to people?

Knaight
2010-01-31, 09:02 PM
There was a merging done too. On the LucasArts license, yes it is a pain in the ass. So release the same system, but with the Star Wars filed off. There are no longer "light sabers" just "beam blades", there isn't an A wing or X wing, but there is a "Light Fighter" "Corvette" etc.

BooNL
2010-02-01, 02:56 AM
Saga must have been the best game WotC has created so far. It's been a great run, but to be honest, I'm glad they wrapped it up.

You can only go for so many splatbooks before breaking the game in half. I don't quite know on which side the game is on now. I don't know the new books as well as the first, but all I know is: they weren't actually neccessary.

Vorpalbob
2010-02-01, 03:42 AM
Long, ranty post ahead!

*:smallfrown:wipes tears from eyes:smallfrown:*

I love Saga. Definately the best system WotC made, if not the most popular. The sheer variety possible in five classes is astounding! I've run games where all (5) players had either Scoundrels or Scouts, and every one was played vastly differently!

The great selection of PrCs was great too. With all of the sourcebooks, even players with obscure builds had something to look forward to.

I hope Star Wars as a whole entity lives forever. It is (IMHO) the single greatest fantasy setting ever created:smallbiggrin:. The books, video games, movies should never end. Although, having a Star Wars Marathon with nine movies would be crazy; but then again, aren't there like 10 Star Trek ones?

My most sincere hope is that George Lucas can resist the corporate types, and keep Star Wars what it should be; Fantasy and Science Fiction merged with a quality that lends it intelligence, depth, and is sometimes outrageously funny and farcical, and at other times deadly and serious.

Star Wars almost died for me at the animated movie:smalleek:. The writing was awful, the voice-acting dreadful. But it was missing that element. The element of intrigue, that kept you watching. In "real" Star Wars, when a new plot is introduced, you are never told more than two of the following right away;

-Who is involved
-What they are doing
-WHY they are doing it

An example of when the animated one did NOT follow this rule;

Count Dooku & friends know that the Jedi have Rotta the Huttlet. They plan to tell Jabba that the Jedi took his son, and say that Jabba will then help them fight the Jedi by granting them access to Hutt-Controlled spacelanes. We already know who Count Dooku is, so we should only be told ONE of the other things. GAAAH!
To end this overly-long post, I say, stay strong, Star Wars,

And May the Force be With You

Foryn Gilnith
2010-02-01, 09:39 AM
I don't know the new books as well as the first, but all I know is: they weren't actually neccessary.

Yes. And while I, personally, feel that SAGA actually needed some more splatbooks; I don't feel that the mechanics SAGA needed would be produced for a long while. Forcing people to homebrew those mechanics is an adequate trade-off in exchange for cutting off bloat.

Ormagoden
2010-02-01, 10:27 AM
Its just business as usual for Wotc. Do you honestly think that letter is anything but fluff?...They are a corporation and its about the bottom line to them and nothing more.

Gamerlord
2010-02-01, 10:33 AM
I hope Star Wars as a whole entity lives forever. It is (IMHO) the single greatest fantasy setting ever created:smallbiggrin:. The books, video games, movies should never end. Although, having a Star Wars Marathon with nine movies would be crazy; but then again, aren't there like 10 Star Trek ones?

My most sincere hope is that George Lucas can resist the corporate types, and keep Star Wars what it should be; Fantasy and Science Fiction merged with a quality that lends it intelligence, depth, and is sometimes outrageously funny and farcical, and at other times deadly and serious.

Star Wars almost died for me at the animated movie:smalleek:. The writing was awful, the voice-acting dreadful. But it was missing that element. The element of intrigue, that kept you watching. In "real" Star Wars, when a new plot is introduced, you are never told more than two of the following right away;

-Who is involved
-What they are doing
-WHY they are doing it


To be honest, I never liked the core 6 star wars movies, nor the TV show, nor the animated show, I found all of them to be pretty bad, however, I find the non-source material, AKA anything George Lucas doesn't get his hands on, to be far better.

1stEd.Thief
2010-02-01, 10:33 AM
I'm playing a SAGA game now, and while I love role-playing Star Wars, I really hate the layout of the books.

They read well, but absolutely stink when it comes to looking up rules. Perfect example: Making a jump to hyperspace. In with ships, flying, space combat? No, under Skills: Use Computer. The Force user handbook doesn't even have an index for chrissakes. Absolute bunch of crud.

Yora
2010-02-01, 10:46 AM
To be honest, I never liked the core 6 star wars movies, nor the TV show, nor the animated show, I found all of them to be pretty bad, however, I find the non-source material, AKA anything George Lucas doesn't get his hands on, to be far better.
"Star Wars fans hate Star Wars!" (http://www.jivemagazine.com/column.php?pid=3381)

:smallbiggrin:

Though I have to say, I really like The Empire Strikes Back. But I think most real fans do. It may lack a strong narrative as it has neither a beginning nor an end. But it's the essence of Star Wars at it's best, without the goofiness of the other movies and George L. absolutely horrible directing. Is it just me, or are the dialogs in Empire much better than in the other movies as well?

Gamerlord
2010-02-01, 11:38 AM
"Star Wars fans hate Star Wars!" (http://www.jivemagazine.com/column.php?pid=3381)

:smallbiggrin:

Though I have to say, I really like The Empire Strikes Back. But I think most real fans do. It may lack a strong narrative as it has neither a beginning nor an end. But it's the essence of Star Wars at it's best, without the goofiness of the other movies and George L. absolutely horrible directing. Is it just me, or are the dialogs in Empire much better than in the other movies as well?

Yeah, that was the only one I liked.

Grommen
2010-02-01, 11:56 AM
Not really surprising when you think about it. Wizards of the Coast bought D&D only to save it, then sold out to Hasbro for millions. Hasbro really just does not strike me as understanding the niche market of RPG's, so they keep doing really stupid things.

It's not a good sign that they have decided that a franchise that makes millions of dollars for everyone else can't make a profit in the gaming world.

So I wonder how long it will be till Hasbro decides that D&D does not make them enough money, and cancels it as well. I see 4th ed stuff sitting around book stores getting sold for discounts, or just plain not selling at all.

Me thinks their be trouble in Paradise. I really want to be wrong, because wile I don't like 4th edition. I think it's a necessary evil and I really hope it does well everywhere else.

Doc Roc
2010-02-01, 12:30 PM
Its just business as usual for Wotc. Do you honestly think that letter is anything but fluff?...They are a corporation and its about the bottom line to them and nothing more.

Clearly not a corporation made up of people.
Because that's not how a corporation works. No one is ever allowed to take off the standard issue ceramic masks. Smiling at WizCo is punishable by death if someone sees it. Jarring the mask is punishable by death. It is illegal under corporate policy to become emotionally invested in the work you slaved over that fans are going to decry over and over as bloat even though you pulled sixty hour weeks staring at the paper through that darn ceramic mask, praying for inspiration. Watching editors change language or remove whole mechanics.

Yes, clearly, that letter is just fluff.


Adoringly,
Ministry of Love

Talkkno
2010-02-01, 01:32 PM
I think you guys have to consider the expanse that goes into the license, consdeirng WOTC pays out high fees since its alot hader to go threw a RPG book then just look at some minis, I wouldnt be suprised that Lucasarts asked for a higher one and Wizards just decided not to pay. Also that Del Rey has a exclusive book contract with Lucasarts, so that also may be a problem.




I like 4th edtion :smallbiggrin:

Knaight
2010-02-01, 02:34 PM
So I wonder how long it will be till Hasbro decides that D&D does not make them enough money, and cancels it as well. I see 4th ed stuff sitting around book stores getting sold for discounts, or just plain not selling at all.

Me thinks their be trouble in Paradise. I really want to be wrong, because wile I don't like 4th edition. I think it's a necessary evil and I really hope it does well everywhere else.
I'm the opposite. I don't particularly like 4th edition, but I don't hate it, but I am all for the fall and failure of D&D. Currently the market share of D&D is just too big, and people are getting driven away from the hobby in general if they dislike D&D, because they may not even know other systems exist. If D&D collapses, I would expect the rise of several systems, most notably GURPS and World of Darkness, but smaller companies would get bigger as well, perhaps Evil Hat, or even Grey Ghost.

If D&D falls, RPGs are far from done for, particularly as it would be a very gradual transition. People still play games from the 70's. For instance, the game I usually play came out when I was two years old, and I can only assume that enough other people are the same for older games to stick around. The D&D brand would stay alive after being out of print, probably for 50 or so years, in which time the other companies and systems rise to the forefront, and everyone is for the better.

Matthew
2010-02-01, 02:40 PM
"Star Wars fans hate Star Wars!" (http://www.jivemagazine.com/column.php?pid=3381)

So funny, and so true.

Talkkno
2010-02-01, 02:57 PM
, and people are getting driven away from the hobby in general if they dislike D&D, because they may not even know other systems exist.

There isn't any real proof the increase in people who play RPGs gained from D&D's brand power in the industry is negated by the people who are alienated from D&D. Consdring that I consider the brand power of D&D to actually increase the hobby's fanbase, for its a game pretty much everyone knows how to play to some extent and is ready to go. Finding a common ground. In your world of a billion indie RPGs people build there own camps around there favorite RPGs. Making it very indimating to a newcomer on what is the "in" group. IMO