B5 Licence will not be renewed in 2009

[JayRaider]

B5 Licence will not be renewed in 2009.
Just read the state of the mongoose

The end of an era.
I feel old

 

[Tolwyn]

I feared that this day.
I loved B5 and ACTA is an adequate game for this setting.

Sad that B5 will finally die.

I agree, I feel old, too.

 

[Da Boss]

a sad day - I wonder how this effects the minatures given that they were only recently sold off?

 

[Juzza]

There will also be a new version of A Call to Arms. The space combat game set in the universe of Babylon 5 has too many fans for us to let it fall by the way side. So, expect a new universe, new ships, and a lot of the core mechanics you have been asking for – including a solid points-based system!

sounds promising

 

[mollari_uk]

How does the B5 licence effect the mini's line? I'm a little confused that the licence won't be renewed but there'll be a 3rd edition of B5:ACTA?

 

[Burger]

How does the B5 licence effect the mini's line? I'm a little confused that the licence won't be renewed but there'll be a 3rd edition of B5:ACTA?

I think the point is, there'll be a 3rd edition of ACTA, but it won't be B5:ACTA.

 

[Tolwyn]

Mhm, perhaps it would be a great chance, too.

There could be many fan supplements and modifications.

 

[Scipio]

Makes no sense to me.

Why resculpting B5 ships and getting the production of minis up an running again if they do intend to kill it off?

Me and a friend started out this year and ordered our first fleets two weeks before they announced they would drop the game this year.
Now we are 12 players and 31 fleets in our group and new players are joining us every week.
I think that the game has big potention to grow still but if they burn their current customers by dropping the B5 universe I fear that it will affect the future interest in the Mongoose lines.
I know that I expect to start up other games from Mongoose but if the games they produce is to exist for a little time and then expire and die I want to know that now so that I can choose games from another company instead.

If they do kill it off I will be out. I'm not interested in getting mini-games from companies that will not support the games they produce but kill them off and expects me to get into the next new thing with the same short life.
Also it's B5 that I love and that got me into ACTA without it I might as way play whatever.

 

[mollari_uk]

Ah, I misread it. It does say "...expect a new universe, new ships...".

 

[mollari_uk]

There's no reason an unoffical version can't be released. I'm not sure how licencing works but couldn't they do one in S&P?

 

[Burger]

I know that I expect to start up other games from Mongoose but if the games they produce is to exist for a little time and then expire and die I want to know that now so that I can choose games from another company instead.

I'm sure my parents would have liked to know the future of Betamax, so they could have invested in VHS instead.
I'm sure my friend would have liked to know whether the future of HD-DVD, so he could have invested in Blu-Ray instead.
Unfortunately we don't have a crystal ball.

But who says that just because the game is out of production, you have to stop playing? Clearly you have a healthy gaming group, you can continue to play it, I know that my ship viewer isn't going any place and hopefully this forum will remain intact. The game will still be supported and improved by the fans, such as Da Boss's house rule compilation.

 

[Scipio]

I know that I expect to start up other games from Mongoose but if the games they produce is to exist for a little time and then expire and die I want to know that now so that I can choose games from another company instead.

I'm sure my parents would have liked to know the future of Betamax, so they could have invested in VHS instead.
I'm sure my friend would have liked to know whether the future of HD-DVD, so he could have invested in Blu-Ray instead.
Unfortunately we don't have a crystal ball.

But who says that just because the game is out of production, you have to stop playing? Clearly you have a healthy gaming group, you can continue to play it, I know that my ship viewer isn't going any place and hopefully this forum will remain intact.

No I don't have to stop playing. But if we don't get new players and new updates the game will die in our club and I will, except ocasionally. I have seen it happen before but were hoping for more from Mongoose.
Right now ACTA has become bigger than Warhammer and Warhammer 40k. That is a feat. But if they drop the B5 line it will die fairly soon in our group.

I myself will also prefer some other game where the company will stick to their products.

And the comparison with betamax is ridiculous. WHFB have lived on for 25 years.

 

[Burger]

I myself will also prefer some other game where the company will stick to their products.

How can you tell? Do you have a crystal ball? If so can you tell me next week's lottery numbers please?

And the comparison with betamax is ridiculous. WHFB have lived on for 25 years.

So has VHS. What you are asking for is ridiculous. How can any company possibly tell what 6 years in the future will hold? How can they predict which games will be popular enough to justify continuing development, and which will not be worthwhile?

 

[katadder]

still a shame for those of us with lots of big fleets, and for ironwind, unless new rules are released to use those fleets.

 

[Scipio]

I myself will also prefer some other game where the company will stick to their products.

How can you tell? Do you have a crystal ball? If so can you tell me next week's lottery numbers please?

Well I can't know. But going with WHFB or WH40k seems like a good bet.
Also any historical game is a good option.

And the comparison with betamax is ridiculous. WHFB have lived on for 25 years.

So has VHS. What you are asking for is ridiculous. How can any company possibly tell what 6 years in the future will hold? How can they predict which games will be popular enough to justify continuing development, and which will not be worthwhile?

Well they can't. But if their intent is to scrap their games after a short while and start up new ones instead of supporting the existing ones that is working I will now know and then I will not get into anything more from them because that is what I will expect from the other games as well.
If they have a problem to get their games to be successful and scraps games to launch new ones I will know that if I want something that will be around for a while I better not buy anything from them.

 

[Da Boss]

it is indeed sad but to be honest its not that unexpected........?

The RPG has covered pretty much everything (apart from the Gaim which I am playing ) and as stated in the State B5 is becoming less and less of an asset as a licence..........

However ! there is good support on here and I hope that the forum stays (even if its remnamed - ACTA) as as source of that support.

There are a good few fan made supplements in the works

Katadder has his League (and possibily the entire fleet book?) :wink:
There is the Centauri / Orieni war pack
BSG and Stargate adaptations
perhaps a "ships of the ISA" pack
I have done the first 20 pages of the next part of Darkness Rising Epic (probably only about 60 or so this time but maybe more)
I am really hoping that as a Dilgar War pack surfaces as this has huge potential. Lots of good stuff already generated for it so this could be a really big thing

I would agree however does seem a bit of annoyance for Ironwind?

 

[emperorpenguin]

Sad news, but long expected I feel.

I doubt this forum will survive given how the SST forum was removed/merged.

How does this affect Iron Wind? Do they have a licence with Warner Bros or are they using the Mongoose license in which case they won't be able to sell soon? I missed the Iron Wind "takeover" so have no idea how this all pans out......

 

[Burger]

I would agree however does seem a bit of annoyance for Ironwind?

Yeah, I can't really see them selling many models for a game which is not in production. So I expect they are none too happy about the investment they have made, I don't know how the licensing/financials worked, but they have definitely been spending money to re-do the molds, etc. I doubt they'll get much return on that investment.

 

[katadder]

yep, unless someone else takes over the game or comes up with a new game IWM have been a little bit screwed over.

there is plenty of fan made stuff but its not going to help with sales or bringing new people in.

guess there will be another ebay resurgence soon then.

 

[Methos5000]

When in 2009 exactly? Does this effectively cancel P&P? I know when West End Games lost the Star Wars RPG license they couldn't publish at least one book for the license they were currently working on.