How to spend money well
You probably know that I’m not a big fan of the Asmodee. It’s a board game publisher that’s larger than all the other publishers in the industry combined. Asmodee makes every one of us, independent publishers, feel like we’re sitting at a blackjack table and the odds are stacked against us. Like we don’t stand a chance.
The market value of Embracer Group, the owner of Asmodee, is 3.6 billion dollars. With such a giant, I have to face them when I go to Essen SPIEL to promote another new game or when I compete for the rights to bring a hit to the Polish market. We’re competing with Asmodee for the hearts of gamers, and Asmodee has 3.6 billion ways to win those hearts. Independent publishers have slightly fewer.
So, yeah, I’m not a big fan.
In this constant struggle, in this David-and-Goliath battle, in the daily reading of news about yet another Star Wars or Lord of the Rings game they’re releasing, another contract they’ve signed, another bigwig they’ve added to their team, in this stream of news worth 3.6 billion dollars, sometimes there’s a piece of news that makes me raise my thumb, that makes me nod my head and think – these dollars are being put to good use. It’s good to see someone capable of this.
I nodded like that two weeks ago when, just before Gen Con, Asmodee announced their plans for the development of the Legend of the Five Rings line. But before I dive into that, let me give you a brief historical overview.
Legend of the Five Rings is one of the greatest games of the ’90s. It’s an incredibly popular and revolutionary collectible card game (CCG) in its concept and tournament scene, and it’s also one of the best RPGs in the industry’s history. Written by John Wick, it was the pinnacle of RPG achievements. A brilliant world, colorful and amazing characters, beautifully designed clans, simple yet fantastic mechanics… Legend of the Five Rings might be the best thing that came out of the ’90s.
Years passed, companies and games fell, then rose again, the rights to Legend passed from hand to hand, and in the last decade, both Fantasy Flight Games and then Asmodee tried to revive Legend, but it was far from the popularity of the ’90s. The brilliant story, the wonderful world somehow couldn’t catch wind in its sails and develop like it did back then.
And then, somewhere in those glass-walled skyscrapers, perhaps on the 70th floor, in an elegant office, someone made the decision that Legend deserves a share of those 3.6 billion dollars. That it deserves to have some of those big shots put in the effort and show the world how it’s done.
A sixteen-minute video recorded in Asmodee’s studio is impressive. Steve Horvath and Joe Desimone lay out the plan for Legend of the Five Rings for the coming years. They start by discussing what Asmodee has prepared for the Clan Wars event – a gigantic statue of one of the characters created in collaboration with Dark Horse. A series of novels set in the world of Legend published by Aconyte Books that precisely describe the events of this event, a comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics also intertwined with these events. In addition, an epic 192-page artbook from the world of Legend published by Aconyte Books showcasing the most famous and beautiful illustrations from the rich 30-year heritage of Legend. Also, Clan Wars the board game, an adventure board game designed by Monolith Studio, and then River & Gold, a euro game designed by Office Dog Studio. And a gigantic limited map of Rokugan produced by Dark Horse Studio. And more… As a break from Clan Wars, we’ll be able to play Tomb of Iuchiban – a 144-page RPG campaign written by Edge Studio. We’ll be also able to buy a gigantic diorama from Loot Studio and read even more books from Aconyte Books. It’s a freaking massive project.
If you’re a fan of Legend of the Five Rings, you feel taken care of. You feel like you’ll be delving into your beloved world for the next few years, consuming it in every possible way, and enjoying a new, fantastic product every few weeks. A dozen products, 7 different companies under the Asmodee umbrella involved, 3.6 billion dollars put into work and used in a way to make geeks happy.
I nod my head with approval. I raise my thumb up. Good job.
And the gorilla? No, still, I’m not a big fan.
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Want to support independent publishers? Jump to Portal Games website and check what’s new! 🙂
I strongly believe that good board game is the one that tells a good story. You play it and suddenly you are sucked into it, you feel chills on the skin. Emotions grow. In a moment you defend castle. You hear roar of warriors. You smell boiling oil. You are into it.
That's how I design my games. I always want to tell a good story. I want players to be into it. As deep as possible.
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