Quote from: lordmalachdrim;1122562Based on the shipping times from the printer to their warehouse I'd say they use China and between the tariffs now in place, the recent delays with US Customs for all things China, and the corona virus playing havoc over there I'd say they just felt it was too much to continue to print there and they're too lazy to look else where from something as low on their list as RPG material.

Which is sad because they own L5R now and I don't see them letting anyone else touch it until they squeezed everything they can for the card game.

Correct. FFG staff have stated before that they have all, or most, of their product made in China. Came up in a discussion we were having about defective product and according to FFG. They at the time tended to order more games than needed so they had some spares to cover the defects. Which tended to be high if you dont watch the factory like a hawk.

Quote from: kreegan;1122510Just saw this on Reddit. Wonder what's going to happen to the Star Wars RPG license?

http://www.d20radio.com/main/fantasy-flight-games-long-term-plan-will-discontinue-rpg-development/

I saw someone suggest Paizo should pick up the license and adapt it to their Starfinder game. And...that's not a bad idea. It could supply some sales where PF2 may be lacking.

Quote from: Mistwell;1122623I saw someone suggest Paizo should pick up the license and adapt it to their Starfinder game. And...that's not a bad idea. It could supply some sales where PF2 may be lacking.

License is bundled with minis, and FFG isn't letting it go.

Well, I'm sad to see L5R no longer have an RPG. Maybe they can sell the rights to the RPG to another company who will actually put out a competent edition.

Quote from: HappyDaze;1122627License is bundled with minis, and FFG isn't letting it go.

Given my experience drafting licenses, I think your certainty it's bundled as one license as opposed to two licenses is questionable unless you have an article or other source stating such? Usually, different types of uses each obtain their own licenses, even if signed on the same day by the same parties, so you can keep a clean line between different uses.  For reasons just like this one.  A license has value because one party is selling products using that intellectual property in a way which sends part of that money to the other party. If you're not selling anything, the license loses all value and is wasted being tied up doing nothing. So you'd want it to end, even if a separate (but related) product line continues to sell.

Quote from: Mistwell;1122623I saw someone suggest Paizo should pick up the license and adapt it to their Starfinder game. And...that's not a bad idea. It could supply some sales where PF2 may be lacking.

That is an absolutely terrible idea, but since Starfinder is D&D in Spaaaaaaace anyways (like d20 Star Wars before it), I fully support the idea and will be over here with my d6 SWRPG that has stood the test of time.

Speaking of. What is this Star Wars box set FFG released that seems to be a reprint of the WEG original? Saw it on the shelf at Barnes & Noble yesterday.

Quote from: Omega;1122645Speaking of. What is this Star Wars box set FFG released that seems to be a reprint of the WEG original? Saw it on the shelf at Barnes & Noble yesterday.

What it says on the tin. A reprint of the core rules and the first supplement as a special anniversary edition. I got a copy and am really happy with it. It's nearly identical to the original print.

Quote from: Orphan81;1122638Well, I'm sad to see L5R no longer have an RPG. Maybe they can sell the rights to the RPG to another company who will actually put out a competent edition.

Well what draws you into the game to begin with?  Maybe that could be a good way to make your own political heavy samurai game.

I saw this and it might be related. Yesterday, Asmode, the company that owns FFG, announced that they would no longer ship replacement parts for game pieces that were damaged or missing. This was a well liked feature that I used myself a few times and something that FFG did before they were bought out. Whether their excuse is real or just spin, it still doesn't look so good for Asmode.

This could be another sign of a company-wide cost cutting measure forced on FFG from above. It seems to me that the boardgame market is reaching a saturation point with multiple $100+ boardgames being released every year. Just my observation from my local game stores.

https://www.asmodeena.com/en/customer-service-faq/?fbclid=IwAR3iLDmYQClIbeQmhvX3mTHNuHZLb0-AmL9g8zKf_TE5Sy62NxM5xRqmnS4

A couple things for you. I think folks are right that FFG is having trouble sourcing their Chinese made games and parts. The Tariffs are driving up prices and the Chinese respond by raising their price to cover the new costs. Result is, the games are no longer profitable to produce or support.

Asmodee is a different story. That is the Euro-Boardgame conglomerate. In 2018 they bought Alliance, the single largest game distributor in the United States. Big on Asmodees agenda: driving out as much of the US Competition as possible, and FFG being an American game company probably hasn't been getting alot of love from Asmodee/Alliance. My condolences to the RPG developers at FFG that now have to find a new way to earn a living, hopefully most of them will get soft landings and a decent golden parachute.

Asmodee has come up before with other companies they have acquired and usually its seen as not a good thing. When they took over Plaid Hat for example they gag-ordered all the staff and have ended several ongoing lines from PH, some in mid development.

Hmmm - they just announced new L5R books:
https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2020/2/24/celestial-realms/

Wonder if they're just clearing out backlog, or if the theory that Asmodee is just moving RPG development/printing elsewhere actually holds water.

Quote from: steelshadow;1123029Hmmm - they just announced new L5R books:
https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2020/2/24/celestial-realms/

Wonder if they're just clearing out backlog, or if the theory that Asmodee is just moving RPG development/printing elsewhere actually holds water.

Hope floats... and so does a corpse.

Could be part of their backlog of product.
The stuff thats done and payed for and ready to print. Or close enough that stopping would be a loss.