Latest WK Underground Rumor

[Typhon]

WizKids just posted the latest Underground with this little nugget:
"If you've not booked your flight to Gen Con, do it today. If you've not bought your tickets to Gen Con, don't wait. If you’re unsure about going, it's too late – you’re sure now, I've decided. You have to be at Gen Con. WizKids will be unveiling a new and exciting product Friday morning. If you are a WizKids envoy in good standing, you are going to get an exclusive sneak peek Thursday night at the Envoy Appreciation Event. It's going to turn the gaming industry on its ear, and you should be there to experience it! Remember the last three Gen Con conventions? Gen Con 2000 saw the debut of Mage Knight. Gen Con 2001 saw the announcement of MechWarrior: Dark Age and Mage Knight Dungeons. Gen Con 2002 saw the release of MechWarrior: Dark Age and the announcement of Crimson Skies. Gen Con 2003 is going to blow everyone's socks off. Oh, and it just happens to be the host of the Mage Knight World Championship! "

So anyone have thoughts on what it might be? The entire article is posted here http://www.wizkidsgames.com/wk_article.asp?cid=37905&frame=Company and has some more insights on the new Approved Play changes.

[achorn666]

is anyone going to this thing? i havent been to one before and would really like to to go to one, i live up in maine so its a long drive, and flights are expensive, so is someone looking at having someone join a group going from new england, or is someone planning on going and wants someone to go with them? i mean it sounds really interesting... anyone got more info they wish to share on these topics?

[tidge]

Clix Dice(TM)

That's right, WizKids will be Marketing collectible dials with dice pips on each click, so you can randomly click these figures to reveal your dice roll.

The Clix Dice(TM) require the purchase of a Clix Dice(TM) starter set, that includes a rule book, eight random Clix Dice(TM) and a pair of six-sided dice.

[Hulk14]

er... whut?

[bjmc1975]

Originally posted by tidge
Clix Dice(TM)

That's right, WizKids will be Marketing collectible dials with dice pips on each click, so you can randomly click these figures to reveal your dice roll.

The Clix Dice(TM) require the purchase of a Clix Dice(TM) starter set, that includes a rule book, eight random Clix Dice(TM) and a pair of six-sided dice.

Actually, it's dice cards - collect and trade cards trepresenting REAL DICE! Send a d20 and a d10 into battle against five d6s! Face off against a d12 with three d4s! It's like Dragon Dice, only without the Dragons. Or real dice.

[drgnoftyr]

president clix thats right an answer to who would win in a fight george washington vs george bush

[Skrull_Painter]

bjmc, funniest thing i've seen all day

[Frontman]

Well, on a more realistic note....

Ok, they did Indy clix. What if, JUST WHAT IF in talking to Image to see if anyone there would be interested in their characters being in clix form, they get the rights to clix like....


Transformers?

G.I. Joe?

Battle of the Planets? (Ok, maybe not that one, but I'd buy a set!)

PEACE!!!

Tim

[bladestalker]

star wars clix maybe?

[Skrull_Painter]

Captain Planet!

[Gator]

Star Trek clix!

[scowlingone]

I'm hoping it's a clixgame based on Car Wars, but I'd put money on it being some kind of science fiction game.

[Trihorn]

C'mon we all know what it's going to be.........


Capcom CLIX!!!!!

But WHAT IF Wizkids had made Capcom clix without any of us knowing, that would be a dream come true (and a waste of my entire Capcom set. lol)

[clixhunter]

no no really its clix clix.....you get to match your favorite or not so favorite hcrealms personalities against each other with clix dials....with powers such as borkenness....or flaming....or 1st post......

[Scavenger4]

lies lies! you all know its going to be Barbie Clix along with the announcement of future indoor outdoor apparrel kits!

i can't wait to get see the TAOF (teenage, adult and old fogie) sets of skipper and ken!




now wouldn't that make your world on its ear? :)

[daredevil11]

It's the Michael Jackson promo character for Indy Clix -
R Michael is a young African American kid
E Michael Thriller has the powers of Nightmare plus flaming hair
V Michael is a completely different sculpt again and this time he's white.
Unique Michael can fly, but the baby on his shoulder can't.

All characters except the rookie carry a healthy dose of Perplex.

[Spider_Cide]

1.) could it possibly Anime Clix?

2.) could they be releasing Indy Clix early to that convention?

3.) anyone know if there will be any HeroClix events going on?

[mysterio_lives]

its going to be an LE clix of myself...the one & only world champion!!!

[Fuzzy]

The last time I heard about a huge announcement out of Wizkids, it was Shadowrun. I'm not going to bother speculating, I'll just wait.

[Lex Luthor]

I've got it on a good source that it is The Olsen Twinz Clix.

Mary-Kate has phasing, BCF, and super senses. Ashley has Hypersonic Speed and a Platinum MC. (or is it the other way around...I always get the two of them confused :confused: )

[hair10]

I'm rootin for Hanna-Barbara clix. Scooby Doo, Captain Caveman, Flintstones, Blue Falcon (and Dyno-Mutt too!), :p

[Hellboy]

They tried it as a card game... and the timing is right...could it be? (Dun dun DUN!!)

Aliens Vs Predator?

or even more topical?

TERMINATOR?!

[Batman1983]

Gotta say that If it isn't some amazing thing for a pre existing game: Galactus, Some huge Mage Knight figure or rules change. Then It HAS to be a sci-fi based game. As much as I'd love Farscape clixs If we could get Star Trek Clix, then when the DS9 clix come out I'm getting the whole set. Just so long as they never do Enterprise clix. Seriously it will probably be sci fi. Anime, Star wars/trek, or Alien vs Predator. & it could be a totally new battleship system, but I think a star wars version of Crymson Skies would rock!

[JFarlander]

Originally posted by Batman1983
but I think a star wars version of Crymson Skies would rock!

Dude, I was just playing Starfleet Command 3 and that idea rocks for Star Trek as well. :) Could have Starships on CS/MW bases, and shuttles on the small bases... Cool. :cool: Heck, that idea would work for Star Wars as well...

[Sartek1985]

If they could get the rights to Hasbro and Capcom to make clixs out of, that would be frickin' awesome. Capcom has some of the greatest characters, and I would up and die if they released Mega Man in a clixs form. Star Wars/Trek in a CS form would be golden money, since the fan base is SO widespread.

[Bloodsword]

TRANFORMERS!!!! They are starting to work on a live action film, they should make the clix!
Each set could have a big fig.
Devestator
Omega Supreme
Superion
Metroplex
Computron
Bruticus
Tripticon
UNICRON!!! ALL big figs. It would rule!!!

[nightcreaper]

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES CLIX!! PLEASE!!!!!!

But seriously, i think it will be about indy clix, hopfully saying there will be TMNT in the set.

[Squee]

i know what it is for sure. im at it right now with my laptop it is
drumroll please


D&D clix

[Valandar]

Umm... D&D Clix would be called "Mage Knight", wouldn't it?

[EmperorNorton]

It is sooo obvious!
Finally, WizKids will make Powerpuff Girls-Clix.

Oh, how I look forward to it.
It will be so much fun. Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup against the forces of evil.

Thank you, Wizkids.

EmperorNorton

[drgnoftyr]

mage knight doesn't include the darksun world does it the dragon of tyr would be kool and unstoppable (unless ya had the right magic weopen) if done right

[Citizen_V]

Where's it going to be? Where can I get more information about it? I'd like to start planning my trip.

[Squee]

btw i was just kidding

[DJBot]

Since Wizkids owns all the old FASA RPG games, i'd say a Star Trek clix could be a very real possibility, at least the original series. Are there any other FASA games that could translate to clix?

[Gargantua]

No, no, it's "BALDWIN CLIX"

Who will win? Alec or Steven?

No?

How about Godzilla clix, with all your favorite cheesy giant monsters? Gamera vs. Ghidrah anyone?

[Lazy Nerd]

Common, you guys have it ALL wrong... Its going to be.........

DISNEY CLIX! Who will win, Lil Mermaid or Simba?

But seriously, I think it's going to be indy clix related.

[curr0001]

I hoping for animeclix myself but proably a well know property for Indyclix.

[genesis5020]

I know EXACTLY what it is...!

SPORTS CLIX!!!

Yep. And THAT'S a FACT! I checked out what WizKids has registered at www.uspto.gov (US Pat. & TM Office) and there it is! Plain as day! Just do a search there for WizKids as a registrant & you'll see for yourself!
And, really, I'm not kidding. Actually, I've known about them for almost a month now. Didn't say anything, because sometimes companies register things taht they never actually use.

there you have it, the newEK game:
Sports Clix !!

G5020

[Braden]

Where do you search for registrants?

[Braden]

oooh, I found it. Not that exciting.

[daedalus25]

*sigh* I thought this was a joke, but I did the search myself... sure enough, Sportsclix is listed under Trademarks for Wizkids. Maybe sports lovers will be happy, but it's a big disappointment for me. I'd almost have been happier if it turned out to be Pokemon clix. =\

[mysterio_lives]

still cant find it...anyone got better directions on how to find it?

[Hellboy]

thunbs way down.

this'll be retarded. The starters will probably come with baseball diamonds and football feilds and tennis courts..:mad: Fek!

[achorn666]

yup that seems to be a logical conclusion...

it sounds pretty good, can play a game with the clix, baseball, get 9 players.. collect all of the teams.. how many clix will they make? every player in the major leagues? it will be interesting to see thats for sure...

i like sports and clix.. perfect match in my book

[daedalus25]

Originally posted by mysterio_lives
still cant find it...anyone got better directions on how to find it?

Go to the main page of the site.
Click on the big "Trademarks" button.
Click on the Search Trademarks link. (TESS)
Click on Advanced Search.
Type in Wizkids.

[lavinah]

Talk about a limitless pool of $$$...

Every year, a new expansion with new players and teams...jeez.

Here's to hoping it's something more...dork related. I want ALIEN clix!

-lavinah

[Braden]

Yeah, I would also pefer something dorkier. Like Ninja vs. Pirate Clix.

[ClixMaps.com]

Makes total sense...

Well, like it or not, genesis5020 seems to be correct. They may still whip out the Indy Clix on us, but think about this from WizKids pov:

clix=$$
sports=mainstream
sports+clix=lots of mainstream $$

Seriously, they could set a new trend that could feasibly smoke the trading card industry (though that's a stiff call). It may take a while to catch on, but I think its the next logical step in the clix [r]evolution. I'm all for it. Besides, I'm a huge basketball fan (here's hoping they do some collegiate teams!), and would love to see some of my fave players as a clix-fig.

Imagine: you could pair-off Dr. "J" vs. Kobe Bryant, Tiger Woods vs. Annika Sorenstam, Sheryl Swoopes vs. Michael Jordan, Superman vs. Shaquillle Oneal!

Ah, the potential!
:p

Charlie

[NickCarraway]

You guys aren't looking at the big picture here. Think of all the permutations

Allen Iverson vs. Nightcrawler

Warren Sapp vs. Blob in a battle of the Blobs

and the best of the new sports clix:

The Portland trailblazers team ability!

[Batman1983]

Or the Miami Heat's ability : This team member has the ability to start fights that will lead to riots on the basketball court, then just get fined a little, so that they're allowed to do it again later in the season.

[mysterio_lives]

i find this hard to believe, especially since the rumor is that WK doesnt want to pay out the $ for the marvel license.......the $s for licensing something like nba clix would be 10x as bad.......if WK really dont like the the fees to do a marvel clix, then any type of sportsclix would be out of the question.

[muffinlad]

I asked about "Sports Clix" at GTS......all I got was blank stares. It would be a natural extension of expaning WizKid's market, as it would hit a huge number of sports fans (No...I am not one), and generate revenue from a new group of consumers.

A very good idea, even though I have zero interest.

[Puuka]

there was also LEVIATHAN mentioned on the patten pages.

[sniksder]

Originally posted by mysterio_lives
i find this hard to believe, especially since the rumor is that WK doesnt want to pay out the $ for the marvel license.......the $s for licensing something like nba clix would be 10x as bad.......if WK really dont like the the fees to do a marvel clix, then any type of sportsclix would be out of the question.


Well they don't have to pay the owners of the leagues (unless they wanted the team names and colors. etc.), all they would have to do is make a deal with the unions of each league for the players names and likeness, and with so many videos games that have this already, shouldn't be that much money

[mysterio_lives]

you think it would be cheaper than a deal with marvel????

no way

[Braden]

I don't remember about Leviathan off hand, but many of the other things they had trademarks for were dead, meaning they didn't intend to use the name anymore.

Sports Clix still sounds too dumb to be real, unless its like blood bowl or something

[Gargantua]

I can see it happening. Given the popularity of Fantasy baseball/football/what all else leagues, it's got potential to catch on if marketed right.

Having said that, I won't be buying.

[Squee]

Jason Kidd gettin beat up by my Jervis Tech Ha Ha Ha
.......cool

[Squee]

Jason Kidd gettin beat up by my Jervis Tech Ha Ha Ha
.......cool

[Corpse]

They also have Bi-Polar High, Knightmares, Leviathan, Real Top Gun, and Tsuro trademarked.

[DarthJer]

Having been a Blood Bowl fan for a while, I could say that the idea would translate pretty easily for football, and probably Basketball, Hockey and Soccer. But I am baffled as to how they could pull off a Clix based Baseball game. With Stat-O-Matic, they've (Baseball fans) always seemed to be the most open-minded to "board" games amongst sports fans, so maybe it'd work. We'll have to see.

But if they were to do a Star Trek based, Crimson Skies style of game, I would be as pre-hooked (& pre-ordered) before the game came out as I was with HeroClix. And how easy/cheap would a set like that be to make. It would take a total of seven or eight models per set, and then just different names and dials to represent the different ships...Wizkids, if you ain't workin on this yet, Get on it!

[DarthJer]

Having been a Blood Bowl fan for a while, I could say that the idea would translate pretty easily for football, and probably Basketball, Hockey and Soccer. But I am baffled as to how they could pull off a Clix based Baseball game. With Stat-O-Matic, they've (Baseball fans) always seemed to be the most open-minded to "board" games amongst sports fans, so maybe it'd work. We'll have to see.

But if they were to do a Star Trek based, Crimson Skies style of game, I would be as pre-hooked (& pre-ordered) before the game came out as I was with HeroClix. And how easy/cheap would a set like that be to make. It would take a total of seven or eight models per set, and then just different names and dials to represent the different ships...Wizkids, if you ain't workin on this yet, Get on it!

[DarthJer]

What tha...?!?!?

Well, what does one say in a situation like this? Obviously, I meant what I said, but not to that degree.

Does "oops" work? I hit the button twice, but this is...well...not good...

Well, I hope I got my point across!

Now don't make me post again...a hundred thousand times...at once!

Moderators...Please help...?

[Vennom]

I was personally more interested in the 'Real Top Gun' (a TV show about gaming?) and 'Bi-Polar High' (new collectible mini game of some sort?). The SportsClix looks like a possibility for the future, but the date on it (April 2003) doesn't seem like it would have had enough production time to have product to be showing this early. The other 2 I mentoined were patented in 2002, so have had some time to work through, and get some rules and figures for the game. I am not saying SportsClix won't be a GenCon, just saying don't get all upset about something that may or may not be 'the big secret'.

[pwylltwiceborn]

LEVIATHAN:

Renegade Legion SciFi Space and Land Based Combat

Created by FASA - makers of Battletech, Crimson Skies, Shadowrun.

Simply the best scifi space combat ever made IMHO. Better damage charts and great use of technology.

Will Allow HUGE games for clix.

Starship battles for capital ships. [ Leviathan game itself]
Fighter battles [ renegade legion: Interceptor - Crimson skies already]
Mechanised battles with vast hovertank armies and infanrty [MW: DA only hopefully without the stupid ranges and more realistic - not being able to OUTRUN artillery ranges hehe]

Great universe but just copying what they have already done though........

My vote would be Star Trek or Star Wars - HUGE market there, almost "mainstream". Crimson skies pioneered that for them - planes and ground troops. Star Trek has more figures and expansions than Star Wars though, so it would be better suited. Plus it has a larger fan base.

The sportsclix could be the old "fantasy" versions you can play as pbem games - no licences needed there.

[daedalus25]

Originally posted by Vennom
The SportsClix looks like a possibility for the future, but the date on it (April 2003) doesn't seem like it would have had enough production time to have product to be showing this early.

Shadowrun was trademarked in January and it's out in stores now. It's conceivable that they have some promo figures set up for Gen Con. But I hope you're right... I hope it's NOT Sportsclix.

[Braden]

I would say that Leviathan and Sportsclix are the most likely canidates. Of course neither one really interests me, unless they look cool.

[malice93]

streetfighter clix (the capcom large figure clix) ala shadowrun look alikes
ShoRyuKen!

I've mentioned car wars clix in an old thread (old slot car body fits on hovercraft from mechwarrior.) too bad steve jackson games would never, ever, never, never, never ever let that happen. It'd have to be someone else's license (Twisted Metal clix!!!) Unique Sweet Tooth! (or the tank but don't know its name.)

Star Trek or Wars probly would'nt give up licenses either. Danmn it~

Sports clix, uck, that'll probly be it too. Blood bowl: license again. Dice clix is hellarEus

[bjmc1975]

There is a history of companies registering trademarks they are thinking about using, but have no current plans for - mainly to keep someone else from grabbing it from them. It's possible this Sports Clix thing is one of those; though I also wouldn't be particularly surprised if it wasn't.

[EvilGenius]

Well, SportsClix wouldn't be something that I would be buying, BUT I think it would be a pretty smart move for WK. You just don't get more mainstream that that. And we already know what a cool concept Clix is. Introducing it to more kids and adults would only be good for WK. Sports fans have the uber-collector mentality also. Which means more $ for WK, which means that there's a MUCH greater possibility that they will be able to continue to make HeroClix, after all.

So even if it's not Geek-Centric enough for my tastes, I think that SportsClix would be a GREAT move for WK. Realistically speaking, they can't continue to make different product lines that cater to the same market. Their products already compete with each other. How many people have said, yes, Crimson Skies looks cool, but I can't afford that AND Heroclix? It's even more prevalent with Mechwarrior and Heroclix.

Hitting another, larger, collectible market that doesn't overlap much with their existing customer base is just good business. Especially when you have a good product idea to begin with.

If this is the big news, kudos WK. :)

[andrew_G]

Sports clix would probably be a smart move mainstream dollar wise, as mentioned in a previous post. (they wouldn't interest me much as I'm not American, far prefer something like aliens or some such, myself)

There would be a major problem with 'sports clix' ala the heroclix style and size. The sculpts.

With superheroes you can easily differentiate between characters by their costumes; the faces are not really that important (sometimes they are not so important to the comic artists themselves). Don't get me wrong, I'm not denigrating the sculptors of clix, most of their sculpts are at least good while most are outstanding. But there is a big difference between sculpting the features of a drawn character and an actual persons likeness.
It's only a thought but what they could do would be a license or license to include dials with sports action figures. It would be much harder to stage a game (size-wise) with the larger sizes but the sculpting could capture the likeness that much better.

[Gargantua]

Sportsclix would probably be a great move on Wizkids part. I'd be a bit disappointed, as I really wouldn't get into it, but then again, that's probably a good thing. My bank account could't afford for me to get into another game at this point. I already spent too much on Heroclix!

[daedalus25]

Hmmm... I'm thinking Sportsclix would NOT be a good idea.

Read through this thread... many people are saying it would be a great move, but they are NOT going to buy it.

Then who will?

Is Wizkids looking to target a different audience for this market? Then where would it be sold? Clix are typically sold in comic book stores and gaming stores. The sort of people who go to these places are typically the sort of people who like comics and are playing Heroclix. But if the Heroclix people for the most part aren't interested in Sportsclix, then they'll have to find a new place to sell this product. And will it be able to compete with the video game market? Heroclix doesn't really have to worry about that... there are barely a handful of superhero type games out there. But there are hundreds of sports games available on every console. Will these people be willing to give up their realistic environment to play with miniature figures on a tabletop? Or will it be too "geeky" for the typical sports fan?

Of course there are exceptions to the above stereotypes, and I'm not saying everybody fits into the above categories, but from a marketing viewpoint I think the above is fairly accurate. So looking at it like that, I can't see Sportsclix as being a very good idea. I could be very wrong, but I personally wouldn't take this risk when there are so many ideas already proven successful (i.e. Star Wars, Star Trek, etc.).

[EvilGenius]

Originally posted by andrew_G
With superheroes you can easily differentiate between characters by their costumes;

Players have #s on their uniforms, right? Some sports even have the players name on the back of the uniform (modern american football, for example). Different eras will probably have different looking uniforms, so you can see the difference between different era players with the same #.

[capsshield]

galaxy clixs
star wars, star trek, babalon 5, lost in space
like the heroclix worlds but they can be played like crimson skies or mech warrior or heroclix depending on the event or campain. the truth is they probally realised how much money they can make through liscensing and will do a ton more. does anyone out there think that mage knight outsells heroclix. i dont know but i doubt it

[EvilGenius]

Hmm. Come to think of it, I'll probably have to get any Pittsburg Steelers SportsClix, even if I dont' play the actual game :)(#### stupid collector gene!!! stupid stupid $ waster gene!!!!)

And maybe any NY YankeesClix, especially if they do prev era's. A complete set of the '69 Yankees would look great on display. :)(#### stupid collector gene!!! stupid stupid $ waster gene!!!!)

:cool:

[PaladinKWA]

Sportsclix would be great.

Lego makes a killing with their Basketball and soccer toys. And Mego has a hockey game.

There are just as many baseball card shops as there are comic book shops. The sports clix would be tradable and collectible like baseball/football cards only YOU COULD PLAY WITH THEM TOO!

The idea for MageKnight and Heroclix random packs came from baseball cards (random cards). So this is kind of a return to WizKids original idea.

It's interesting though, if you go to a Mechwarrior tournament, the demographic is completely different from a Heroclix game. The same is true of Warhammer, Indy Clix, Mage Knight, and Pokemon.

I think a lot of people will be attracted to Sports Clix. They may not go to THIS site, but I bet if you went to a Fantasy Football site you would get a lot of interest.

[PaladinKWA]

Sportsclix would be great.

Lego makes a killing with their Basketball and soccer toys. And Mego has a hockey game.

There are just as many baseball card shops as there are comic book shops. The sports clix would be tradable and collectible like baseball/football cards only YOU COULD PLAY WITH THEM TOO!

The idea for MageKnight and Heroclix random packs came from baseball cards (random cards). So this is kind of a return to WizKids original idea.

It's interesting though, if you go to a Mechwarrior tournament, the demographic is completely different from a Heroclix game. The same is true of Warhammer, Indy Clix, Mage Knight, and Pokemon.

I think a lot of people will be attracted to Sports Clix. They may not go to THIS site, but I bet if you went to a Fantasy Football site you would get a lot of interest.

[PaladinKWA]

Sportsclix would be great.

Lego makes a killing with their Basketball and soccer toys. And Mego has a hockey game.

There are just as many baseball card shops as there are comic book shops. The sports clix would be tradable and collectible like baseball/football cards only YOU COULD PLAY WITH THEM TOO!

The idea for MageKnight and Heroclix random packs came from baseball cards (random cards). So this is kind of a return to WizKids original idea.

It's interesting though, if you go to a Mechwarrior tournament, the demographic is completely different from a Heroclix game. The same is true of Warhammer, Indy Clix, Mage Knight, and Pokemon.

I think a lot of people will be attracted to Sports Clix. They may not go to THIS site, but I bet if you went to a Fantasy Football site you would get a lot of interest.

[ducko5]

Just because the people who post on a Heroclix message board don't seem to like Sportsclix, doesn't mean there's nobody out there who's gonna buy it. HCRealms isn't the right place to get a true random sampling of opinions.

[EvilGenius]

I think you have some good points Daedalus, but I think they would be managable. As PaladinKWA pointed out, there are a lot of SportsCards shops. And with a more mainstream product, why couldn't WK sell through the chain toy stores, like KB or ToysRUs? They already sell HeroClix through ToysRUs, after all. :)

And the fact that a lot of the "HC" fans wouldn't buy it is kind of besides the point, I think. Or maybe it IS the point. They can't keep tapping the same demographic with new products. We won't invest in 5 different collectible lines. We've already shown that with the product lines that are out. They need to tap new markets in order to grow.

So why not go to another "proven" collectible market? As far a competition goes, that's where the collectible mentality comes in. Kids still buy cards. They buy collectible action figures of their favorite players (check any toy store for those figs). They buy sports games, as you pointed out. Why not combine all of them into 1 fun product?



Originally posted by daedalus25
Hmmm... I'm thinking Sportsclix would NOT be a good idea.

Read through this thread... many people are saying it would be a great move, but they are NOT going to buy it.

Then who will?

Is Wizkids looking to target a different audience for this market? Then where would it be sold? Clix are typically sold in comic book stores and gaming stores. The sort of people who go to these places are typically the sort of people who like comics and are playing Heroclix. But if the Heroclix people for the most part aren't interested in Sportsclix, then they'll have to find a new place to sell this product. And will it be able to compete with the video game market? Heroclix doesn't really have to worry about that... there are barely a handful of superhero type games out there. But there are hundreds of sports games available on every console. Will these people be willing to give up their realistic environment to play with miniature figures on a tabletop? Or will it be too "geeky" for the typical sports fan?

Of course there are exceptions to the above stereotypes, and I'm not saying everybody fits into the above categories, but from a marketing viewpoint I think the above is fairly accurate. So looking at it like that, I can't see Sportsclix as being a very good idea. I could be very wrong, but I personally wouldn't take this risk when there are so many ideas already proven successful (i.e. Star Wars, Star Trek, etc.).

[Hellboy]

what if whatever it is isn't trademarked, because they're working under limited liscence from some other company?

so I ask...what if its not sportclix?

[GoldenAge]

Gen Con, shmencon...

I went 10 years in a row back it's hay-day. When games were the chief concern. Today it's just a big mall with poorly run 2nd rate games dedicated to the bigest companies in the industry (Hasbro) - Not the players. I'll doubt I'll ever go again. :(

The move didn't help either.

Sorry to be such a downer. Go to the Chicago Comic Con in Aug.

[Hellboy]

DRAGON*COOOOOOOOOON!

(read in the screaching voice of Bill Shatner)

[dIt]

Hey look! I got A Darryl Strawberry Unique... Yeah! The one holding the crackpipe instead of a baseball glove.

Unless this game is done tounge in cheek, It's quite possibly the worst idea I've ever heard. Baseball is boring to play, it's torturous to watch... to play a game of clicks based on it? I'd rather wash my balls in icewater...

Thank you,
dIt

"The secret of creativity is the ability to hide one's source."

[EvilGenius]

Originally posted by dIt
Baseball is boring to play, it's torturous to watch... "

In your OPINION (heck, and mine too). However, a whole lot of people LIKE baseball, playing and watching.

To say nothing of Football or Basketball.

And once again, I don't think that heroclix players would be to potential target audience .....

[Hellboy]

but if it were really Sportclix (something gamers wouldn't be interested in) would it really "set the gaming world on its ear" or whatever tagline it was they used?

I'm holding out hope its something else.

[daedalus25]

As I stated, I could be wrong and Sportsclix could be successful. However, I will elaborate why I made the assertions I made.

In Orlando where I live, Wizkids games are found in comic book/gaming stores and electronics gaming stores (in very short supply), and those are the only places I've been able to find them. I play all the MK and HC games, so I try to notice boosters being sold wherever I go to do price shopping and all that.

The people who go to these stores typically aren't going there to find a tabletop sports game. The electronics gaming stores will have sports fans, but they're typically the ones buying the console games and aren't interested in little plastic figures.

You're right, they could sell these in collector shops where baseball cards, etc. are sold, but I don't know many people that still buy these. There could be quite a number buying them, but I don't know. I personally don't know any, and so it could very well be a bad assumption on my part.

I did know people that played Fantasy Football many years ago, but they grew out of it, and I wasn't aware that it was still a big thing in some areas. And most of the sports fans I know today like to actually go out and play the game in real life. I honestly can't picture a single one of them who would prefer to sit down at a table and play with 2 inch figures and some dice. Again perhaps a bad assumption, but I'm just going by my personal experience.

Yeah perhaps I'm being a bit selfish since I wasn't interested in the last several breakthrough ideas they had (Crimson Skies, Shadowrun, and Creepy Crawlies). Maybe the change in demographics will be a good thing. We'll see, I suppose.

[bladesword]

here is something no one thought of yet

tv clix now we can have
buffy vs captain kirk
picachu vs scooby doo
zena vs micholangolo
optimus prime vs bubbles

don't know about you guys but i would buy it

[CaptainMarvel]

Sports clix might not be so bad.

Does anyone remember a game called Blood Bowl? I took Blood Bowl and hero clix and wrote an entire set of rules for the two games to merge.

Me and My friends love to play, it is a blast you get a salery cap you draft a team you start a leauge.

Theres nothing sweeter than Savage Hulk sideline blasting abbomination into the opposing teams fans and watching them beat the #### out of him.

If anyone thinks this sounds like fun just pm me and I can fax or e-mail you a copy of the rule.

[Ceoh20]

hmm....I can't say I lik=e the idea of sports clix, I s'pose it could be popular, but it isn't something that the female ranks of supporters would really flock to (or at least I wouldn't...unless they had rowing...but that is just me). I think= a good idea would be to get something that would be more likley to attract the members of the fairer sex...not something girly, but maybe something like anime. I dunno, that's j6ust my view on the subject...I'm a bit of a tomboy when it comes to these things...but sports do not appeak= to me.

[HalfassedNinja]

Mark my words: It's either Star Wars or GI Joe

[I Am The Game]

Is it possible that Wizkids is having problems negotiating deals with mass merchandizers like Target or Wal-Mart, and they're going to make a game exclusively for them?

[Jadehorde]

Originally posted by PaladinKWA
Sportsclix would be great.

Lego makes a killing with their Basketball and soccer toys. And Mego has a hockey game.

There are just as many baseball card shops as there are comic book shops. The sports clix would be tradable and collectible like baseball/football cards only YOU COULD PLAY WITH THEM TOO!

The idea for MageKnight and Heroclix random packs came from baseball cards (random cards). So this is kind of a return to WizKids original idea.

It's interesting though, if you go to a Mechwarrior tournament, the demographic is completely different from a Heroclix game. The same is true of Warhammer, Indy Clix, Mage Knight, and Pokemon.

I think a lot of people will be attracted to Sports Clix. They may not go to THIS site, but I bet if you went to a Fantasy Football site you would get a lot of interest.

I don't think this will work...for a big reason...the stats. How are you going to translate athletes into stats that are workable in a Clix form? Will the sports be unified? Unlike comic forms where there are rough estimates of power that can be massaged to fit (and even then there are so many complaints that characters were done incorrectly)...how are they going to show athletes and the variance they have from year to year?

How does one do Barry Bonds and his monster year?
What about stellar rookies? Do they have to wait 5-6 years for a fig? Certainly don't want to jump the gun and give a juicy fig to a flash in the pan, let alone some type of REV system to a guy in the league for 3 years. Do you have V's that are pathetically low to show athlete that has hung around, but has lost all his luster? What about players that have had serious injury streaks like Terrell Davis, Ken Griffey, Grant Hill, etc??

And I gotta believe with the prima donnas in sports as they are, if the numbers are there to look at, a horde of them and their associates will have things to say if they don't measure up...

[Jadehorde]

Basically...

with trading cards...those numbers are true...it's what the player was able to accomplish...

But with Clix stats...those are going to be slightly biased and subjective...meaning people are not going to like them cause they don't measure up favorably against some other star...let alone cross promotion....MLB guys aren't gonna like that the vast majority of their figs are going to be slower than NBA guys, or that the heavyweights are predominantly in the NFL...yet that's what's gonna have to be indicated...(unless they are completely different systems...possible certainly).

[DarthJer]

I don't think this will work...for a big reason...the stats. How are you going to translate athletes into stats that are workable in a Clix form? Will the sports be unified? Unlike comic forms where there are rough estimates of power that can be massaged to fit (and even then there are so many complaints that characters were done incorrectly)...how are they going to show athletes and the variance they have from year to year?

Stats are made every year for video games, such as the Madden or EA's NHL lines, and are usually pretty accurately based on the previous season. Sometimes it means that teams in real life are having a terrible season, but are awesome in the video game, and vice versa, but that's just accepted. Trading cards only show stats from previous years as well. As Wizkids has shown, they don't mind making the star players a part of every set (like Wolverine, Spidey, Hulk and the greatest of them all, Elektra), so every year, there will be an updated Randy Johnson, Marshall Faulk & Kobe Bryant.

Not a big problem at all...

And this could "turn the gaming world on its ear", because its not a product that will be sold in gaming stores very much, if at all. Sounds kind of revolutionary. (Please don't go off on my use of the word revolutionary. It's the best that I could think of for that space, but I don't think the idea will change the way that the world economy operates. Just trying to think along with Wizkids.)

[Jadehorde]

Originally posted by DarthJer
Stats are made every year for video games, such as the Madden or EA's NHL lines, and are usually pretty accurately based on the previous season. Sometimes it means that teams in real life are having a terrible season, but are awesome in the video game, and vice versa, but that's just accepted. Trading cards only show stats from previous years as well. As Wizkids has shown, they don't mind making the star players a part of every set (like Wolverine, Spidey, Hulk and the greatest of them all, Elektra), so every year, there will be an updated Randy Johnson, Marshall Faulk & Kobe Bryant.

Not a big problem at all...

And this could "turn the gaming world on its ear", because its not a product that will be sold in gaming stores very much, if at all. Sounds kind of revolutionary. (Please don't go off on my use of the word revolutionary. It's the best that I could think of for that space, but I don't think the idea will change the way that the world economy operates. Just trying to think along with Wizkids.)

the problem with that is that with cards...those stats are FACT, they ain't some numbers jumbled through an Excel spreadsheet...those are the ACTUAL numbers made by an athlete. So there is no room for complaining or interpretation...

With a Clix game...some hot rookie might be made better than a classic vet one year...and next season you'll see that he was a flash in the pan...it would be terrible if the vet's Clix was overshadowed in that manner. That's my problem with SportsClix...how do you make it up to date and relevant without falling for the flavor of the month??

[The Rev]

I heard a reliable rumor that it might be WizKids announcing their Buffy the Vampire Slayer license.

Imagine Buffy Clix.

[XocgX]

It's gotta be something like Transformers or GI Joe.

If Image subsidiaries can afford the lisence, they certainly can. In NO way is ity Star Wars (though I'd LOVE that.....)

[superdahlen]

Trek Clix. Think about it, there is a ton of characters and a ton of cool starships.

[TyeDyeSamurai]

Stats aren't too hard for sports clix since the facts are already there. If someone has a .300 batting avg, their "Accuracy Stat" could be 30.
A basketball player averages 45 points a game... his "Shooting Stat" is 15.
Now these are just made up, but you can see that sports stats can easily be given a conversion chart and made into clix.
Every inning, click all players that were active down one.
Every period, click all players that were active down one.
Move down the ice and then push to slapshot quickly on the goal.

It would take less effort than converting fantastical powers and fake worlds into clix like Wizkids has already down for a while now.

[Squee]

Join the Spidey Clan

*Free beer


*(no free beer)

[Jadehorde]

Originally posted by TyeDyeSamurai
Stats aren't too hard for sports clix since the facts are already there. If someone has a .300 batting avg, their "Accuracy Stat" could be 30.
A basketball player averages 45 points a game... his "Shooting Stat" is 15.
Now these are just made up, but you can see that sports stats can easily be given a conversion chart and made into clix.
Every inning, click all players that were active down one.
Every period, click all players that were active down one.
Move down the ice and then push to slapshot quickly on the goal.

It would take less effort than converting fantastical powers and fake worlds into clix like Wizkids has already down for a while now.

That's the problem though...we already have so much debate because characters weren't done exactly to specification...and these are with characters that the numbers can be made up without any real constraint...with actual people and stats it's going to be worse because how does one justify giving an athlete a given stat for a given period in his career??

What is the interval for the REV's used for a player who's in the league 17 years vs a player in the league for 3?? Are you seeing my point now? How does one show major injury streaks that seriously hurt a player through his early/middle/later career? Do you skip those years or pick something? What if that player had some stellar years in between injury seasons? Or players that hung around too long after they got too old, but had a final incredible year? Basically the problems we have now with fictional comic characters are going to be ten times worse if used on real world stats that can be looked up and verified, because ultimately some subjective element WILL enter into the equation....the illusion of objectivity garnered from basing the Clix stats on some season or seasons of a player will only serve to heighten this, not lessen, because people will expect certain interpretations and will not be pleased when those aren't given. What about intangibles...an inside basketball player on a bad team may score mass points at the end of games in garbage time, scoring easy layups when they are down by 10 with 30 secs left...but those are meaningless stat inflation and isn't indicative of skill...how does one account for those kinds of things?

[TyeDyeSamurai]

I'm not sure what they'd do... but it would definately be too much to have all the players on every team in even 3-4 sports remade every year to show the past season.
I could see generics (batter, pitcher, first baseman) and then Uniques (Derek Jeter, Nolan Ryan or even Sammy Sosa from ElseWorld's Cork-Bat story arc)
So maybe there would be only so many real life players, but then it would be easier to make them accurately.

[Ravenface]

Can we please stop pretending it's going to be Sports or Trek clix when we all know the actual product to be released is...
BibleClix.

What with the recent growth of the Christian niche market (Christian rock sales are through the cathedral roof!) and with world events increasingly making the modern consumer aware of biblical events, the time for BibleClix is now.

There's a huge market craving for it...praying for it!

BUILD your own army of reverent soldiers!

PROVE the Philistines were more cunning warriors than the Hittites!

HOWL as David rolls a critical hit to KO Goliath

They could even use pre-existing sculpts to cut early costs.
The Drop Ship could be...Noah's Ark!

You could sell them at Wal-Mart too!

The first expansion (Onward Christian Soldiers) will be out soon in support of the Gene-fist starter set.

I've already sent in the Reader's Digest coupon for my LE Onan figure!

Brilliant idea! Not kidding! Worth Lots of Money!

[sachmo]

Maybe it will be Maxim Clix? Or Penthouse Clix? Now that would get some geeks running for their local game shop! :D

[Castiglione]

Originally posted by XocgX
It's gotta be something like Transformers or GI Joe.

If Image subsidiaries can afford the lisence, they certainly can. In NO way is ity Star Wars (though I'd LOVE that.....)

Transformers and GI Joe are owned by Hasbro, the world's biggest toy company.
Hasbro owns their own game company, Wizards of the Coast, and so there is little to no chance they would give a game liscense to anyone else.
Hasbro also owns the master toy and game liscence for Star wars so it can't possibly be that.

If is was SportsClix, why make a big deal about it at GenCon?
The Elven Vampire Stormtrooper set couldn't care less...
Better to debut it at some sort of sports show or soomething.

They may have just trademarked the name so nobody could register it out from under them.

Jordan Weisman once told me that the Renegade Legion rules set were what he wished Battletech had been, and so I know he has a lot of fondness for the universe. My bet is Leviathan....

No Guts, No Galaxy!

[bjmc1975]

I suspect if it's sports clix we won't see REV's - like Starting line-up, they'll just have a dozen or so set poses, and maybe do two versions (road and away) of each guy. They won't even have to worry about the faces like SL did - just paint jobs. "Uniques" might be retro jerseys or past players or something. I suspect for the initial release at least they'd just use current line-ups (except possibly the aforementioned uniques).

Some sports will be relatively easy to do, others will be much harder. Baseball could be pretty easy - people have batting, fielding, running, and pitching values. Batting works against pitching, running works against fielding, and powers like "power hitter" etc. would impact how everything goes. Basketball would be either very simple (mainly shooting against defending, maybe with some speed and/or defense thrown in)or potentially fairly complex, football could be a nightmare.

[hudson20]

Originally posted by clixhunter
no no really its clix clix.....you get to match your favorite or not so favorite hcrealms personalities against each other with clix dials....with powers such as borkenness....or flaming....or 1st post......

Lol can I be the first guy with "first post" power all the way down my dial?

I wonder if we are even going to able to fit AZN in a 200 point army. Can he take on OWAW supes 1 on 1? Does he have the "figure review" power all the way down? That's the power that makes him a master of master of strategy cause he knows all of his opponents tricks. Kinda like outwit.

[DS-00-0, FSD]

Am I the only one whose eyes are glazing over, thinking back to the day when Sportsclix was a bunch of little plastic football players with the little sponge football on a big sheet of metal and that goofy vibrating motor.


Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

"Why is my quarterback running in circles?"

*Flick*

"There he goes!!"

Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

[Kaitouace]

I had one of those. Heh. Good times.

Had one for horse racing too. Nothing beats learning the fine art of gambling at age 10.

[XocgX]

Good point on Hasbro....but they may have figured that the 'Clix' system is well done and popular. Less risk for them if it fails....

I hope to any god you like that it isn't sports clix....what a god#### waste of plastic....

[Regault]

Hmm. I'm thinking either Leviathin or Tsuro.

All but one of the trademarks for Bi-Polar High are dead, removing it from the running.

Sportsclix was filed extremely recently, and the generic nature of the name implies that they're just doing it as a blanket trademark term. Plus, I don't think the sports style collectible card games do spectacularly well enough compared to how much the licensing fees would cost.

Leviathin and Tsuro both had their trademarks filed a year ago, which puts them at the right timeline for development.

Reading the phrasing of the Tsuro trademark, it doesn't refer to "...specifically collectible figurines." like the others do. My guess would be that its some japanese board game Weisman liked and decided to license for publishing in the States. This is corroborated by the lack of TV and supporting media trademarks.

The most likely for the next Clix game is Leviathin. It has the standard blanket array of trademarks WizKids uses and all the marks are still live after a year or so of filing.

[XocgX]

What are leviathan and tsuro?

Are those 'codewords' from the daddy handbook for GI Joe and Transformers?

[sudro2]

Originally posted by Ravenface

I've already sent in the Reader's Digest coupon for my LE Onan figure!

Ooooo! I want one!






















(I guess no-one else on this board knows what onanism is!)

[Jay10]

When is GenCon?

[malice93]

july 24-27th

no way on the hasbro

[scowlingone]

Leviathan would probably be a sdtarship combat clix game, as the name was used for the starship combat game set in the Renegade Legion universe, which is owned by Weisman (well, Topps, now, I guess).

[Vennom]

I have a feeling with the new announcement on the front page that SportsClix will indeed be the big 'surprise' at GenCon, seeing as how that is what Topps has always been associated with.

And the LE mail aways will be done with wrappers from various sports cards packs as a way to sell more of them. "Send in 20 foil wrappers and $5 to get your Sammy Sosa Corked Bat LE figure now!"

I think I'll pass.

[PMMJ]

Originally posted by Castiglione
If is was SportsClix, why make a big deal about it at GenCon?
The Elven Vampire Stormtrooper set couldn't care less...
Better to debut it at some sort of sports show or soomething.


GenCon is really the biggest show in the gaming industry, so it's where the big announcements come.

And SportsClix would be *huge,* and could really let WK break out of just the gaming industry and into the mainstream.

[Grendel1138]

I know for certain that it won't be Trek clix. Decipher retains all rights for Trek concerning RPGs and miniature games.

SportsClix - Eh, I could finally play a Clix game with my father. Appeals to a whole new crowd and thats good.
GIJoe/Transformers Clix - Could be huge. 80s revival is still going strong. Both brands have strong toy lines and comics to boot.
Star Wars - Eh, as cool as it would be to see Darth Maul use BCF and KO Chewbacca, it's a long shot.

[Gorkymancrx]

Maybe its like car clix! With different factions like muscle cars, and import cars! Or better yet war clix. OMG if it were something like WWII clix that would be a dream come true! Imagine my panzer group is attacking your T-34s! Wow, I hope thats the case!