Scrye 17 - 35 - X-Files CCG: Mention
State of the Industry
Retail Report
John Corradin
The Days Of Knights
173 East Main Street
Newark, DE 19711
Who Am I?
I am a store owner, college profes-
sor, avid game player and live action
adventurer. I love Star Trek, Babylon 5,
Hercules, Xena and anything to do
with King Arthur and the Round
Table. Lest I forget, I am also a writer,
having been a regular contributor to
SCRYE since Issue #2, and the author
of Targen's Tome, a book about Magic:
The Gathering.
What's Hot?
As of this writing, Dragon Storm,
ani-mayhem, XXXenophile, Classic Star
Trek and A New Hope are doing a slow
but steady burn. Alliances is, of course,
sizzling off the shelves and is destined
to be the Legends of 1996. However,
you probably know all that by now so
let's glimpse into SCRYE's crystal ball to
see what the future holds...
Retail Report
John Corradin
The Days Of Knights
173 East Main Street
Newark, DE 19711
Who Am I?
I am a store owner, college profes-
sor, avid game player and live action
adventurer. I love Star Trek, Babylon 5,
Hercules, Xena and anything to do
with King Arthur and the Round
Table. Lest I forget, I am also a writer,
having been a regular contributor to
SCRYE since Issue #2, and the author
of Targen's Tome, a book about Magic:
The Gathering.
What's Hot?
As of this writing, Dragon Storm,
ani-mayhem, XXXenophile, Classic Star
Trek and A New Hope are doing a slow
but steady burn. Alliances is, of course,
sizzling off the shelves and is destined
to be the Legends of 1996. However,
you probably know all that by now so
let's glimpse into SCRYE's crystal ball to
see what the future holds...
I see a white light with a rather
predominate "X" through it. Indeed,
the X-Files card game promises to be a
huge hit. First, it has a built-in fan base
that expands with each new episode
and, secondly, it seems to be an out-
standing card game, combining the
best elements of the classic game
CLUE, with those of this highly suc-
cessful TV show.
For the lovers of great art, I see
Dark Ages as this Fall's premium col-
lectible. The "Killer B's", Brom,
Bradstreet and Bolton will make sure
of that. What's more, the folks at FPG
have promised a fully compatible RPG
game to go along with the card game.
The industry has been moving in that
direction for some time now. Dark
Ages may be the first to complete the
transition to this new level of gaming.
What's Not?
predominate "X" through it. Indeed,
the X-Files card game promises to be a
huge hit. First, it has a built-in fan base
that expands with each new episode
and, secondly, it seems to be an out-
standing card game, combining the
best elements of the classic game
CLUE, with those of this highly suc-
cessful TV show.
For the lovers of great art, I see
Dark Ages as this Fall's premium col-
lectible. The "Killer B's", Brom,
Bradstreet and Bolton will make sure
of that. What's more, the folks at FPG
have promised a fully compatible RPG
game to go along with the card game.
The industry has been moving in that
direction for some time now. Dark
Ages may be the first to complete the
transition to this new level of gaming.
What's Not?
Netrunner seems to have run its
course and failed to jack into the pub-
lic's imagination. Dr. Who and Monty
Python made an initial splash with
their fans but the games themselves
did not entice gameplayers to buy
into the games. Star Trek: CCG is simi-
larly fading into the night nebulas.
Sleepers
A "sleeper" is a game that has hid-
den value due to its playability, art or
production value. I believe that there
are three such values on the market
that are worth looking into.
The first is Galactic Empires. It is
definitely the Magic: The Gathering of
the science fiction genre. It has both
the simplicity in design and the com-
plexity of variety that made M:TG the
mega hit of the 90's. Best yet, it keeps
getting better. Companion Games has
made every effort to improve their
game with each new release. I give
Galactic Empires pluses in all of the
above categories.
course and failed to jack into the pub-
lic's imagination. Dr. Who and Monty
Python made an initial splash with
their fans but the games themselves
did not entice gameplayers to buy
into the games. Star Trek: CCG is simi-
larly fading into the night nebulas.
Sleepers
A "sleeper" is a game that has hid-
den value due to its playability, art or
production value. I believe that there
are three such values on the market
that are worth looking into.
The first is Galactic Empires. It is
definitely the Magic: The Gathering of
the science fiction genre. It has both
the simplicity in design and the com-
plexity of variety that made M:TG the
mega hit of the 90's. Best yet, it keeps
getting better. Companion Games has
made every effort to improve their
game with each new release. I give
Galactic Empires pluses in all of the
above categories.
The second sleeper is Mythos. The
playability and art gets thumbs up but
more importantly, the game has great
potential resale value, even the com-
mon cards! Horror fantasy has a great
fan base, as does Cthulhu itself. In
addition, Chaosium has decided not
to reprint any of the editions or
expansions. This means that as the
game's popularity grows so will the
demand for the out-of-print early
expansion, which is currently readily
available.
My third and final sleeper is Star
Wars. What? Huh? Isn't Star Wars the
most popular game this side of
Wizards of the Coast? Yes, it most cer-
tainly is. But if you think it is hot now,
just wait until the reruns of the old
movies hit the screens next summer
with the new movies following right
behind. This should warp Star Wars
sales into hyperspace.
Singles
playability and art gets thumbs up but
more importantly, the game has great
potential resale value, even the com-
mon cards! Horror fantasy has a great
fan base, as does Cthulhu itself. In
addition, Chaosium has decided not
to reprint any of the editions or
expansions. This means that as the
game's popularity grows so will the
demand for the out-of-print early
expansion, which is currently readily
available.
My third and final sleeper is Star
Wars. What? Huh? Isn't Star Wars the
most popular game this side of
Wizards of the Coast? Yes, it most cer-
tainly is. But if you think it is hot now,
just wait until the reruns of the old
movies hit the screens next summer
with the new movies following right
behind. This should warp Star Wars
sales into hyperspace.
Singles
The singles market has held its
own over the last few months, with
Star Trek, Star Wars, Guardians,
Shadowfist and the rapidly expanded
Galactic Empires leading the way to
modest gains. M:TG, however, is a dif-
ferent story altogether.
With the introduction of
M:TG into the Japanese
market, coupled with the
WotC statement that there
were certain cards which
would not be reprinted,
the M:TG market made
another giant leap for-
ward. Daily, I receive
requests from Japan for
the hard-to-find, out-of-
print cards. It's just begin-
ning. Wait until the game
really integrates itself into
the Japanese con-
sciousness. WOW!
