Saturday, August 09, 2003

 

Steve Jackson Games Breaks My Heart Again

Overnight, Steve Jackson Games announced the following:

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At the end of this month, SJ Games will close down its miniatures operation. During that time, we plan to cast enough metal to allow for expected sales through the end of 2003; after that, the lines will probably go out of print.

I say ?probably,? because we would certainly discuss licensing the figures to another company. We will welcome inquiries. (Or if somebody out there has been wanting to set up a small casting operation near Austin, that could be very interesting!)

The reason for the shutdown is simple: the division has been, ever since it was set up, the least profitable of our endeavors. Costs are high, and while some miniatures sets have been modest hits . . . overall, we would be far better off if we put the time, space, thought, and money into our other projects. It really seems that metal casting should be left either to companies which concentrate on that one thing, or which are big enough to create a minis division that is essentially its own independent operation.

I?m personally very proud of the work that we did here. It?s been a great privilege to have Richard Kerr as a sculptor, and the whole team, headed by Paul Chapman, has worked hard to release some really quality stuff. But it?s time to call it quits. Our thanks to those of you who have supported us by buying our figures and telling us you liked them. Ah, if only there had been more of you!

Over the next month we?ll release the last of the figures and vehicles Richard has already sculpted, including:

Doppelsoldner
Ogre Vulcan
Ogre Vulcan Heavy Drone
Ogre Ninja
Ogrethulhu Swimmer
Munchkin Maul Rat
Munchkin Troll
and a great number of Off The Wall Armies figures.

If you represent an established miniatures company, or have a credible startup plan, and you would like to discuss some or all of our figures, please contact Paul Chapman.


-- Steve Jackson

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Let's see if I can talk about this without breaking something. First, it's great that SJG is going to try to issue all those figs in the next month. If they actually accomplish it, it would be an all-time record for new figures issued in one month. And that's the problem, in a nutshell--you cannot sustain interest in any line of miniatures if don't release a steady stream of new figures for it. Let's take Ogre, for instance. After its initial rush of figures at the beginning, SJG couldn't sustain it, despite demand from the fans for such models as the Ogre Mark I, Mark II, Mark IV, and Mark VI. They did finally release all of those, but it took years instead of months.

SJG continued to produce a few miniatures during this period, but they allowed their focus to be horribly divided among a number of questionable, one-off product lines. What's the point of putting out a box of giant ants? Or a box of skeletons? EVERYBODY makes skeleton miniatures--why buy SJG's? Or even more dragons? The fantasy miniature market has been saturated with dragon minis for decades. And why, God, why bother with Hellboy Miniatures? I submit that if SJG had concentrated their efforts on one line--ANY line--the miniatures division would have met with greater success. Especially if it was an exclusive, popular line like Ogre/GEV or Off-the-Wall Armies. Instead, they tried to issue something for everyone, and it didn't work.

Fans should take no solace in the promise that a licensee might be found to continue the lines. Steve Jackson has repeatedly proved that he is incapable of working with third-party miniatures companies. He has tried over and over again, with Ral Partha, with Armorcast, and with a couple other resin casters, and all of them threw up their hands and gave up in utter frustration. To put it kindly, Steve Jackson is a difficult man to work with. Brilliant? Hell yes. Imaginative? Absolutely. Pickier than hell? Very much so. We might see a licensing announcement, but I would be shocked if the partnership survived the first year.

After the original Ral Partha/Ogre Miniatures/Space Knights fiasco in the early to mid 1990's, it was nearly a decade before we got any new figures (or even old ones) for the Ogre/GEV line. I'm afraid this is the beginning of another long interregnum. In fact, I would go so far as to say that if Jackson can't work with outside casting companies, and he isn't willing to do it himself, then Ogre Miniatures is dead.

Jefferson 10:35 AM

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