GAME NEWS

"Yo, Joe! Wizards Announces G.I.Joe Card Game!
From ICV2.com - November 24, 2003
Wizards of the Coast has announced that it is developing an all-new collectible card game based on Hasbro's original action figure brand, G.I. Joe. The G.I. Joe CCG is scheduled for the fall of 2004 in order to coincide with the brand's fortieth anniversary.

Forty years ago Hasbro figured out how to sell dolls to boys by dressing them up in fatigues and call them "action figures." The name G.I. Joe, made famous during World War II by correspondent Ernie Pyle, was another brilliant stroke by Hasbro, but the company really hit the jackpot with the property in the 1980s when it went beyond the character's generic origins as a typical G.I. and created both the Joe "team" (Duke, Snake Eyes, Agent Scarlett), and its evil antagonist, Cobra (Cobra Commander, Destro, Storm Shadow) in a series of comic books and TV cartoons. WotC is basing its game on the rich mythology created for the 1980s G.I. Joe comics and cartoons.

In the fall of 2004, WotC will release the first G.I. Joe CCG in a two-player starter set and randomized booster packs with each card featuring dynamic artwork, which will bring the action of the cartoon series and comics into every player's deck. The G.I. Joe Vs. Cobra storyline makes it a natural for a head-to-head CCG, and WotC is formatting its G.I. Joe CCG so that players will get to command their own G.I. Joe or Cobra team by building their decks with iconic characters from the cartoon and comic series.

WotC is planning to release expansion sets for its G.I. Joe CCG in 2005. With the G.I. Joe cartoons appearing on DVD in 2004, the popular G.I. Joe comics from Devil's Due, new G.I. Joe toys from Hasbro, and now a CCG from WotC, retailers will have plenty of merchandise available to help them take advantage of the property's fortieth anniversary

Wizards Of The Coasts Ends Association With Pokemon
From ICV2.com, March 12th, 2003
Wizards of the Coast CEO Chuck Huebner has announced that the company will no longer produce the Pokemon trading card game after the next three releases. In the announcement, addressed to "Loyal Pokemon Players," Huebner said, "I want to let you know that our proposal to the Pokemon Company to manufacture and distribute the Ruby & Sapphire releases was not accepted." The announcement went on to hint that the reason the proposal was rejected was a difference in valuation. "We felt our proposal was fair and appropriate based on what we knew the property to be worth through our first hand experiences," he said.

Pokemon Ruby and Pokemon Sapphire are the latest releases in the series, coming first to Game Boy Advance on March 17th. The titles were released to great success in Japan last fall. Wizards of the Coast will be wrapping up its Pokemon CCG releases through 2003, with the Skyridge expansion due in April, Legendary Collection II set shipping late spring, and a final Jamboree expansion shipping later this year. There will probably also be another Pokemon movie released theatrically in the States this year, which combined with the new Game Boy releases will keep this property in the public eye once again.

Huebner's announcement indicated that WotC would continue to support Pokemon organized play for a period of time, but then would end. He urged players to contact the licensor for information. "I would encourage all of you to contact the Pokemon Company for details regarding its plans for tournaments and organized play events."

Presumably a new U.S. licensee will be chosen for future Pokemon CCG releases, which would put WotC in the position in which Decipher found itself last year when it was outbid for the Star Wars CCG license by WotC after holding it and producing the game through many releases.

Wizards of the Coast has had an illustrious history with the Pokemon CCG. Huebner's announcement stated that the company had sold nearly 10 billion cards around the world over the last five years, and the game accounted for well over a billion dollars in sales for WotC before and after its acquisition by Hasbro. While only a shadow of its former self, Pokemon is still one of the top games in the category and bigger than most games released before and since.

Mongoose To Publish Babylon 5 RPG
Due Out In Late May
From ICV2.com, February 25, 2003
Mongoose Publishing, England's leading RPG publisher, has acquired the license to produce a role-playing game based on the Babylon 5 television series from Warner Bros. Mongoose, which also has RPG licenses for Judge Dredd, Slaine, and Conan the Barbarian (see "Mongoose To Publish Conan RPG" below), plans to publish its Babylon 5 RPG in late May. Mongoose will use the d20 system for its Babylon 5 RPG, but promises to fashion the rules to fit the property rather than the other way around. The Mongoose game will be compatible with Agents of Gaming's B5 Wars RPG. Mongoose has also made a pledge to consumers that they will not have to wait long for supplementary materials after the release of the main sourcebook in May. In fact many of the supplements are being written at the same time as the main rulebook to ensure maximum compatibility.

However the Babylon 5 RPG Rulebook will come out first. It will be a 300+ page hardcover with full color illustrations throughout -- most of which will come from stills from the TV series and movies. In the Mongoose Babylon 5 RPG, players can be human or Narn, or Centauri, or Minbari. Of course they can be Earthforce officers, but there are many other possibilities as well. Mongoose is also filling in key details of the Babylon 5 universe such as "the innermost workings of the Centauri royal court and Great Houses," but don't fear--all new material is being run by Bab 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski, himself.

Dragonball Z GT Card Game coming from Score
From ICV2.coom
Score Entertainment has announced the acquisition of the license for Dragon Ball GT, the newest Dragon Ball series, for expansion and continuation of its Dragon Ball Z Collectible Card Game. The first Dragon Ball GT CCG products from Score will appear late this year or early in 2004, according to a Score spokesperson. The new game products will include new characters, such as Pan and Goku Super Saiyan 4, that are more powerful than any characters in the current Dragon Ball Z CCG. For those interested in the game mechanics, a new customized physical attack table will allow the GT expansion to fit well with the current DBZ sagas. All existing DBZ cards and rules will apply to the GT expansion.

Dragon Ball GT is about to launch in the U.S. on DVD (April), with Cartoon Network exposure planned for next year. As the successor to the phenomenally successful Dragon Ball Z series, it will undoubtedly be one of the biggest games of the year.

Magic: The Gathering Get Redesign For Eighth Edition
For the first time in nearly 10 years Wizards of the Coast will redesign the look of Magic: The Gathering cards. This updating will begin with the release of the Eighth Edition scheduled for July 28th. The new look will feature enlarged art and easier-to-read power, toughness and card names. The new cards will also incorporate an expanded palette, including a special metallic silver for Artifacts cards. Foil cards are also being made more "vibrant."

Other than minor "tweaking" , the basic design of Magic cards has remain unchanged since its' introduction in 1993. The only significant departure was for the Portal series of cards, which is now discontinued. The Eighth Edition and associated redesign of Magic are being launched at the Tenth Anniversary Celebration for Magic: The Gathering, which will be held at GenCon July 24-27 in Indianapolis.

The first look at the new card design was at the recent Magic the Gathering Pro Tour-Chicago event.

WotC Announces Summer RPGs For Release May through August
From ICV2.com - January 13, 2003
Wizards of the Coast has announced its summer RPG releases, planned for release in the May through August period. Its biggest releases for the summer, the 3.5 editions of the D&D Player's Handbook, DMG, and Monster Manual, were previously announced for July (see "Wizards of the Coast Goes Beyond Third Edition", below). Here's the rest of the line-up:

May
Unapproachable East, by Richard Baker, Matt Forbeck, and Sean K. Reynolds. Unapproachable East is a Forgotten Realms accessory with descriptions of people, places, and unique cultural elements from the eastern region of the Forgotten Realms world. Includes new spells, magic items, feats, character races, prestige classes, and monsters.

Urban Arcana Campaign Setting, by Bill Slavicsek, Jeff Grubb, Eric Cagle, And Dave Noonan. Urban Arcana is a d20 Modern campaign, with new races, advanced classes, occupations, feats, creatures, and rules for organizations and secret societies. The expanded magic system features new magic items for the modern world.

June
Ghostwalk, by Monte Cook and Sean K. Reynolds. Ghostwalk is a campaign setting for D&D, an undead city which allows players to interact with and play ghosts as tangible characters for the first time. Hero's Guide, by JD Wilker and Rodney M. Thompson. Hero's Guide is a Star Wars accessory that provides new options for characters of all classes.

August
Dragonlance Campaign Setting, by Margaret Weis, Don Perrin, Jamie Chambers, and Christopher Coyle.
This book, produced by the Sovereign team as part of the broad-ranging Dragonlance deal, updates the Dragonlance setting to the d20 rules system.

Galactic Campaign Guide, by JD Wilker and Richard Baker.
This Star Wars accessory is a gamemaster's resource for starting and sustaining a Star Wars campaign.

Conan RPG Comming In 2004
December 07, 2002 Mongoose Publishing, the British publisher of roleplaying games, has acquired the license to produce an RPG based on Robert E. Howard's Conan. Mongoose will have access to the entire Conan universe including the original Robert E. Howard novels as well as subsequent Conan books by other authors, film adaptations and even the Conan comics. Ian Sturrock, the creator behind Mongoose's popular Slaine RPG, will handle the design of the new Conan RPG.

In addition to the Slaine RPG, Mongoose has published a Judge Dredd RPG , and is also preparing a new d20 Mecha RPG. Mongoose obtained the Conan license from the Swedish company Paradox Entertainment. This announcment comes on the heels of Dark Horse's plans to publish a new Conan comic series starting in mid-2003. A big budget Conan film featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger has been in the works for some time, though it currently appears to be on the rocks.

Green Ronin Buys Dragon Fist from WotC
From ICV2.com, November 06, 2002
Green Ronin Publishing has announced the signing of a purchase agreement with Wizards of the Coast for the Dragon Fist RPG, which was originally released as a download-only product in 2000. Green Ronin founder Chris Pramas designed Dragon Fist when he worked at WotC, so this represents the reunification of creator and creation.

The Origins Award-nominated Dragon Fist is a martial arts fantasy game inspired by Wuxia (Chinese fiction featuring knight-errant-style heroes) and martial arts films such as Come Drink with Me, One Armed Swordsman, Bride with White Hair, etc. The original game pre-dated Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but definitely will resonate with fans of the film. A new edition of the game will see print as an Open Gaming License product in the summer of 2003.

2002 Origins Game Awards
The 28th Annual Origin Awards were announced at the annual GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association) this year. Many of the expected games won, with Decipher's Lord Of The Rings CCG winning two awards. Oddly, Wizards Of The Coasts won three awards, but one of them was for Best Game Related Novel (Clan War 7th Scroll) and another was for the now defunct Chainmail minitures game. The very popular (at least around here) Hackmaster took Game of The Year and Dork Tower took two awards.

Best Accessory:
D20 System Character Record Folio (Green Ronin Publishing)

Best Amateur Periodical:
Alarums & Excursions (Lee Gold)

Best Professional Periodical:
Dork Tower (Dork Storm Press)

Best Play-By-Mail Game:
Middle Earth FA0 1000 (Game Systems)

Best Game-Related Novel:
Clan War 7th Scroll: The Lion by Stephen D. Sullivan (Wizards of the Coast)

Best Game-Related Short Work:
Prometheus Unwound by Matt Forbeck (Eden Studios)

Best Historical Miniatures Rules:
Fear God and Dread Nought (Clash of Arms Games)

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Miniatures Rules:
D&D Chainmail (Wizards of the Coast)

Best Historical Figure Series:
World of the Greeks (Wargames Foundry)

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Figure:
Mage Knight Great Fire Dragon sculpted by Kevin Barrett (WizKids)

Best Vehicular Miniature:
Mage Knight Atlantis War Machine: The Fist of Fezk sculpted by Kevin Barrett (WizKids)

Best Abstract Boardgame:
Cosmic Coasters (Looney Labs)

Best Historical Board Game:
Axis & Allies: Pacific (Hasbro/Avalon Hill)

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Board Game:
Risk 2210 (Hasbro/Avalon Hill)

Best Card Game Expansion or Supplement:
Apples to Apples Expansion Set 3 (Out of the Box Publishing)

Best Trading Card Game:
The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game (Decipher)

Best Traditional Card Game:
Munchkin (Steve Jackson Games)

Best Graphic Presentation of a Board Game:
Zombies!!! (Journeyman Press)

Best Graphic Presentation of a Card Game:
The Lord of the Rings Tradiong Card Game (Decipher)

Best Graphic Presentation of a Book Product:
Call of Cthulhu 20th Anniversary Edition (Chaosium)

Best Illustration:
Dork Shadows Cover Illustration by John Kovalic (Dork Storm Press)

Best Role-Playing Game Adventure:
Unseen Masters (Chaosium)

Best Role-Playing Game Supplement:
Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (Wizards of the Coast)

Best Role-Playing Game:
Adventure! (White Wolf Game Studios)

Game of the Year:
Hackmaster (Kenzer and Co.)

Hall of Fame:
Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
The Settlers of Catan

Wizards Of The Coasts Goes To Springfield
July 24, 2002 (from ICV2.com)
Dragonball Z Boardgame due from Fantasy Flight

July 08, 2002
Fantasy Flight Games of Roseville, Minnesota announced that it has acquired the rights to create board games based on the hugely popular Dragon Ball Z animated series. Fantasy Flight plans to publish several small fast-paced board games under the title: Dragon Ball Z Battle! Boardgame. The first two games, which are scheduled to come out this winter, are based on the Majin Buu and Fusion sagas.




"Rifts® is a registered trademark owned and licensed by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books, Inc."