A Pirates player had a local company cut him out some special measuring sticks, and he is selling off the extras that he has. The basic measuring stick is just $7 (including shipping), and the fancier, sextant-style stick is $9 (including shipping).
Someone has put together a Google Maps mashup that lists all of the reported incidents of piracy throughout the world. Check it out!
Arr everyone,
I found a great tutorial site where the guys shows you how he made a very nice 3d Pirates game table, and constructed islands. Check it out!
Picture courtesy of www.shiftinglands.com
According to an article on ICV2, Catalyst Games has made an offer to purchase a number of WizKids properties, including Pirates, HeroClix, Star Wars, Battletech and Shadowrun. Catalyst had already licensed the Battletech and Shadowrun properties for other games, and their bid includes the properties and underlying games.
This is good news, because it means that other game companies are interested in continuing the Pirates line, and so I’m hoping that Topps will announce sort of resolution soon.
Arr everyone,
Just a quick note to mention that, with WizKids going away, there is no telling how long their site and forums are going to be up. Since the guys over at Miniature Trading have the forum part covered, I’ve volunteered to host some of the resource files, including the latest version of The Pirates Code (Frequently Asked Questions). I’ve also posted links to the Keyword Reference Sheet and Unique Treasure Reference Sheet. So, click the “Resources” link at the top of the page and check them out.
Oh, and while you are at it, check out the “Ship’s Store” for other piratical goodies!
Sad news, everyone. Yesterday, there was a post over at ICV2.com: Topps (WizKids parent company) has decided to shut down WizKids and temporarily discontinuing the Pirates, HeroClix and Star Wars PocketModel lines. Here’s the full post:
Topps Shuts Down WizKids
Pursuing Alternatives for Viable PropsThe Topps Company is announcing today that it is closing down WizKids, its core hobby gaming business, and temporarily discontinuing the WizKids product lines. Topps CEO Scott Silverstein commented, “This was an extremely difficult decision. But in light of the current economic conditions, we feel it is necessary to align our gaming initiatives more closely with Topps current sports and entertainment offerings which are already being developed within our New York office.” WizKids is based in Seattle, Washington.
In its statement announcing the closing of WizKids, Topps also indicated that it was pursuing “strategic alternatives so that viable brands and properties, including HeroClix, can continue without any noticeable disruption.”
Founded by Jordan Weisman in 2000, WizKids launched the first successful collectible miniatures game (CMG), Mage Knight, and also produced the first constructible strategy game (CSG), Pirates of the Spanish Main, in 2004. In addition to the successful comic book-based HeroClix CMGs, WizKids also released the Star Wars Pocket Model Game in 2007.
WizKids was purchased by Topps in 2003 (see “Topps Acquires WizKids”), while Topps itself was acquired by Michael Eisner’s Tornante Company and Dearborn Partners in 2007 (see “Topps Sold!”).
And then this was posted elsewhere:
As the news of the shutdown of WizKids (see “Topps Shuts Down WizKids”), one of the Big Three of hobby games, percolated through the industry, one of the first concerns was of continuing support for the games. Alliance Game Distributors, the sole distributor of WizKids products to the hobby market, issued a statement to reassure its customers. “Alliance and Diamond, meanwhile, will continue to service on-hand inventory, including the recent Arkham Asylum release for DC HeroClix,” the statement said. In addition, both companies will work with Topps to fulfill all promised Organized Play and Arkham Asylum “Buy It By The Brick” promotions.
Alliance President Daniel Hirsch commented on the news. “We are disappointed by this very unexpected news,” he said. “We have enjoyed a great relationship with WizKids, and together have brought great products and promotions to thousands of retailers in the U.S. and Canada.”
Lax Chandra, President of WizKids, spoke well of the company’s relationship with Alliance (see “WizKids Goes Exclusive”). “Through this strategic partnership, we achieved efficiencies and had many successes, including significant sales growth for HeroClix and successful new product launches like Halo,” he said. “I personally hope to work with Diamond and Alliance, who have a great team, in the future.”
ACD Distribution, at one time the largest U.S. distributor of WizKids products, declined comment on the WizKids closing.
ICv2 also contacted other game companies to get their reactions. Only Upper Deck responded in time for this article. “Upper Deck is very excited to launch our first collectible miniatures game on Tuesday, November 11,” a spokesperson said. “We believe that our World of Warcraft Miniatures Game will bring a breath of fresh air to the category, offering players unique and engaging game play and the highest quality figures yet offered in the collectible miniatures arena.”
Among the topics arousing speculation is the possible landing place for the WizKids brands. There are only three other companies in the collectible miniatures game business at this time. Wizards of the Coast, which has several collectable miniature lines, including Dungeons and Dragons, Star Wars, and Axis and Allies, would seem to be a logical candidate because of its experience in handling licenses, its existing relationship with Lucasfilm (which licenses WizKids to produce its Star Wars Pocket Model Game), and its Seattle-area location, which would make it convenient to absorb any WizKids staff. But WotC recently revamped its D&D Miniatures, turning them into supporting pieces for the D&D RPG (see “WotC to Stop Supporting D&D Minis Skirmish Game”) and moving away from totally random packaging, making its appetite for collectible game acquisitions questionable.
Upper Deck is entering the CMG market this month with the launch of its World of Warcraft Miniatures Game, and it’s an experienced producer of licensed products and already has licenses with Marvel and DC, which are licensors for WizKids’ HeroClix line. But Upper Deck and WizKids parent Topps had an acrimonious dispute last year surrounding Upper Deck’s interest in acquiring Topps (see “Topps Fires Back”), so its unclear whether the mutual trust necessary to complete a transaction is present.
Privateer Press recently entered the CMG market with the successful launch of its kaiju CMG Monsterpocalypse (see “Monsterpocalypse the Biggest Ever”), and its Seattle-area location is a plus. But Privateer is smaller than the other two CMG companies and it’s not a producer of licensed products.
Of course, there’s no rule that says that an acquiring company has to currently be a CMG producer, or even a collectible game producer, which opens up the possibilities considerably.
Fantasy Flight Games, which has extensive experience with licensed games and miniatures, is another possibility, although it, too, is moving away from the collectible game format (see “FFG Explains Its (Non-) Collectible Game Strategy”).
The good news is that Topps seems intent on completing a transaction quickly, and has a strong incentive to do so to preserve as much of the brand value as possible, so perhaps an announcement on the sale of the WizKids brands will be forthcoming soon.
What does this for Pirates? Right now, the news is so new, that no one really knows. It’s possible (and supported by the “temporarily” comment in the original press release) that Topps will continue the Pirates line eventually. It’s also possible that Topps could sell the line to another publisher.
Personally, I hope either option works out. But for now, I have a large number of ships, and I don’t plan to stop playing in the near future. And I plan to organize local games in the future.
