Click here for Dave Chalker's review of WotC's new Gamma World. Sounds pretty decent, much better than the 3.x era version. I still lean more toward Mutant Future, Omega World, the first or second editions of Gamma World or Encounter Critical, but based upon Dave's description I don't think I'd turn up my nose at an opportunity to play this new version.
Question for everyone: Has anybody seen the new D&D red box in toy stores or the toy section of bigass toy stores? These places are gearing up for the Christmas season. I think if D&D is really reaching out to the masses with this new Essential Basic thing-a-ma-bob, this is their best way of making that happen. On the shelf in the nerdotron section of Borders & Nobles ain't gonna cut it. This thing needs to be in Wal-Mart next to the latest rebranded Monopoly atrocities.
A Return to the Stars
-
After a veeeeerrrryyyy long, and mostly unplanned, hiatus, Stuart and I got
together to play more Stargrave in recent days. It was good! It was also a
bit ...
%202.png)
.JPG)
.png)
.gif)
Posts
From a thread on RPG.net, the Red Box has been seen in Wal-Mart, next to the Magic, Pokemon, and Yu-Gi-Oh stuff.
ReplyDeleteMaybe not quite as good as being next to the mainstream boardgames, but still a step forward, IMO.
I'm told it actually has been seen in shelves at Wal Mart, but I have no proof and am skeptical it would be. Also, the WotC ads themselves say it's available at Target, but it's not at the one near me.
ReplyDeleteI've also heard about the Walmart. while 4e may not be my bag, I hope Wizzo sells a million of those damn things. As Steve Jackson once wrote, "When D&D does well, the hobby does well."
ReplyDeletePS: One of the bloggers on my roll has a pic of the box at a WalMart, but that's just one example. I'm not sure how widespread it is, though.
ReplyDeleteI've heard that it's in Target, but I haven't seen it myself.
ReplyDeleteI saw the Castle Ravenloft boardgame on Walmart's website.
So far, I haven't seen it anywhere except in my FLGS.
ReplyDeleteHere in Philadelphia, I saw it at Redcap's Corner, and at the Borders that serves the University of Pennsylvania campus in the middle 'island' of toy/game merchandise.
ReplyDeleteI have to be honest: It's very, very tough to fight the urge to buy it.
Yeah, I can definitely see Mutant Future and the new Gamma World scratching similar itches. Adding the GW decks to Mutant Future might be cool.
ReplyDeleteI've seen the new red box in Borders, though it was in the board game section, so that joke writes itself.
The red box was a good idea but I don't see it really appealing to younger players. Old guys born before 1980 love it but if you're born after 1990, You don't remember that "classic" look. Making products for them you have to compete with the look and design of computer / video games. The red box should have gone for a Dragon Age look to it. That would have helped get more new players to the system.
ReplyDelete@Louis: I disagree, actually. Keeping the old art style was a step in the right direction, because it is so different than what people are used to. You get a reaction of "What in the world is that? It looks like old 70s art!" and then a closer inspection instead of a "Eh, looks like more generic fantasy stuff that I see on the covers of a thousand games and books. Yawn."
ReplyDeleteOriginality is a plus in my book, and doubly so for standing out from the crowd.
Jeff, here's proof that the Red Box has been seen at Wal-mart. http://carjackedseraphim.blogspot.com/2010/10/51-followers.html
ReplyDeleteTwo comments...
ReplyDeletea)The red box "nostalgia look" is aimed mostly at 30-somethings whose kids are now the same age they were when they started playing D&D. :)
b)This is a good opportunity to shamelessly pimp my own take on Gamma World style play using 4e rules, Earth Delta. http://mrlizard.com/earth-delta/210-earth-delta-beta-release-1c
"Old school attitude, new school rules." My design motto.
Seen it at Target, but no where else.
ReplyDeleteI honestly hope people don't buy it. Not because I hate WotC, but because the thing gives you a sour taste for D&D, in my opinion. I bought it for a newbie I know, who was interested in D&D but completely new to it. We messed around with it and found that it basically plays like a solo adventure...then becomes fairly useless unless you go buy the $90 worth of books you need to actually play. I wish they'd make a real red box that gave you all you needed to play a short campaign, instead of this bait and switch.
ReplyDeleteWhen the first 4E starter set came out it was being sold at Toys R Us for about $15-$20. I thought that was pretty good attempt to break back into mainstream. Too bad they didn't sell any other RPGs. I wonder if mainstream stores feel too burned by the whole controversy from the 80s.
ReplyDeleteMost stores (like Target and Walmart) prefer to sell collectible card or minis games anyway. Probably because they're more toy or like board games.
I've never seen D&D at Target, I doubt it will make it there. But I did see Settlers of Catan. It's spot at our local store is consistently empty (sold out?).