We've all seen it, be it in the hobby games industry or in larger, more mainstream markets. A company comes along and does something that seems to make no sense at all. Why is that? Are there buffoons running the board of directors?
Generally speaking, no. There are very real and solid reasons why companies do things that, at first, seem to defy explanation. Like, for example, why a games company would cancel its Babylon 5 miniatures range. . .
Babylon 5: A Call to Arms has been a truly successful game over the years, especially for a space combat game (which never enjoy the same limelight as 28mm skirmish-based games). There are thousands of players all over the world, and if you gathered all the ships sold into one place and laid them out flat, they would cover an area the size of Belgium to a depth of four inches (maybe).
We started with roleplaying games but, having a passion for miniatures games, we soon branched out. This is why we do the games we do. However, we also have to run a business - otherwise, there will be no more games, ever.
The reality of A Call to Arms, despite its popularity, is that a miniatures production facility cannot be run on B5 alone these days. We had hoped to bolster the capacity of the facility with Starship Troopers (it needs 2, maybe 3 miniatures games to run for the long term), but rising production costs mean we simply cannot continue to subsidise it. That is the hard nature of business - something can sell well, and still not be selling enough. If the hole is not plugged in good order, we risk losing the whole ship.
To be brutally fair about things, the A Call to Arms miniatures range has had a good run. There are thirteen different fleets, and few games can boast that many forces. There are around 200 different ships, not including variants. There is a good community for the game.
I want to emphasise that we have not dropped the game itself. We'll continue to support it in S&P, sure, but if there is sufficient demand, we will continue with book releases as well, covering different campaigns, variants and scenarios. We will also keep running events for as long as there is interest. In addition, we will be using the rules for future games.
The other blow, of course, is that we also have to pull away from Starship Troopers - however, I'll be dropping by the SST forum soon with something that might make SST players a great deal happier. More on that soon.
Overall, the restructuring of Mongoose is a condition of staying in business. We have always adapted to the changing business environment, and this is precisely why we are still here while so many other hobby games companies have failed. We _know_ some decisions upset some of our strongest fans, and they are never taken likely. We know you do this because you care about the games and what happens to them. But if it is a choice between cancelling a line now, or Mongoose not being around at all in twelve months time, then I think at least most of you would agree on the right course of action.
For this year, miniatures production is being mothballed (though we still plan to bring things back on line in 2009), and we will be focussing almost purely on publishing books - this is certainly where our strength lies. As well as the roleplaying side (which remains the greater part of our business, as it always has), we will be bringing you new eras for Victory at Sea, as well as the Battlefield Evolution games, such as World at War and Modern Combat. We rarely get complaints about our games systems, and so we will be spending time developing those.
Oh, and one last word. Our general clean out has sprung up some very interesting items that are no longer needed, and we will be eBaying them over the next few weeks. We'll be announcing this in our General Discussion forum, but among some playtest fleets and armies, there will be some _serious_ one-off items that should grab the attention of gamers and collectors alike. Stay tuned. . .