Ogre Miniatures?

[ivarr]

I just wish they would find a reasonable way to make the Mk III available continuously. I, for one, do not mind using counters or tanks from other manufacturers for the all of the various "defenders", but having a proper OGRE miniature is very necessary. I love the 3d ones in the ODE boxed set, but I would be happy to pay even a relatively high price for a well done resin Mk III.

[ivarr]

Or even access to a file that would allow me to 3d print my own w/out IP infringement.

[Don Hawthorne]

Originally Posted by Andrew Hackard

We have no current plans to do so, although we continue to investigate options for bringing them back at a price we believe people would be willing to pay.

The $923,680 raised on Kickstarter went to lots of things besides printing, although the printing was expensive enough (paper isn't anywhere as cheap as it used to be). Shipping over 12 kg of anything is expensive, especially shipping outside the United States. Shipping the 800+ containers to our warehouse was expensive. It took several very talented staff months to create the components for the game; that was expensive. And, of course, Kickstarter and Amazon Payments took their cut right off the top.

Calling all that almost a "million bucks for fifty pounds of cardboard" is just simply wrong.

No, it is not "wrong".

Pouring all that money into paper after acknowledging an interest in miniatures was "wrong".

Creating, as a result, a 26.4554715 pound boondoggle of flimsy paper components in a hobby where virtually every other company is producing plastic pieces was "wrong".

Failing to use that money to pursue plastic molding by consulting with companies already geared up for it - Fantasy Flight, Hasbro, Days of Wonder, Flying Frog, et al - was "wrong".

Not availing oneself of the many U.S.-based metal miniatures casters who could reproduce OGRE minis from extant molds or recreate them from existing models, and do so at reasonable prices, was "wrong".

But most "wrong" of all was coming right out and SAYING that the miniatures would return and then failing to keep that promise in any meaningful way was as "wrong" as it gets.

You can try to spin it any way you like, but what I said was not "wrong".

What you DID was "wrong".

Even THIS guy is doing a better job:
https://ideas.lego.com/projects/15083

If "Munchkin" is the house cash-cow, then great, congratulations, best wishes.

But when you get a tremendous outpouring of enthusiasm - to the tune of about a million bucks - about a title you have largely abandoned , then you need to realize it deserves at least as much of an investment of enthusiasm on your part as the fans who paid that money put into it.

Failing that, just sell or license it to someone who knows what to do with it.

Don Hawthorne

[philreed]

Originally Posted by Don Hawthorne

Failing that, just sell or license it to someone who knows what to do with it.

We are not currently seeking to sell or license out Ogre. Ogre is an SJGames brand and our current plan is that the property will remain an in-house line.

[philreed]

Originally Posted by ivarr

I just wish they would find a reasonable way to make the Mk III available continuously.

We wish it were possible. Unfortunately, the economics of the minis do not allow for continuous production of Ogre miniatures. What remains in W23 -- http://www.warehouse23.com/products?...D=558398555-sb -- is all that we're offering at this time.

If the situation changes we will make an announcement.

[ivarr]

I was not intending to sound upset in any way, and apologize that my questions have brought forth negative feelings/comments. I was simply voicing that I love the game and wish that there was a reasonable way to keep a mini for the Mk III available. Please don't take my questions/suggestions as anything buy near-fanboy love of OGRE.

[ColBosch]

For two decades there's been discussion among the fans and industry about when metal miniatures would go away. New York's ban on lead figures came close, but pewter kept them around a while longer. However, the rising prices of raw metals has finally led to that sad day. Either fans need to pay the new, higher prices or they need to accept that companies are going to discontinue lines.

Make no mistake: if sales of the reintroduced Ogre miniature line had been strong, especially at the higher prices, then it'd still be in production. However, even when excitement was at its peak for Ogre Designer's Edition, orders for the miniatures were still clearly quite low. While the caster's posts of "someone placed an order, so I have to chase the chickens out of the shed" were tongue-in-cheek, there was an obvious grain of truth to them. A few people really loved the miniatures line and spent a lot on it, but that wasn't enough to justify keeping it in production.

Now, of course, I don't speak for SJ Games, but I do know something about the industry. The key thing I've learned is this: if it's not profitable, then it has to be discontinued. The old days of constant vanity projects are over, and the companies that persisted in that business model are long dead or absorbed.

[philreed]

Originally Posted by ivarr

I was not intending to sound upset in any way, and apologize that my questions have brought forth negative feelings/comments.

Nothing to apologize for at all. We just don't want anyone thinking more is happening than is really in the works these days. IF we find a way to make Ogre minis cost-effective and profitable then we will act. Until then the minis are not in production.

[philreed]

Originally Posted by ColBosch

The key thing I've learned is this: if it's not profitable, then it has to be discontinued.

And even then simply being profitable isn't always enough to mean it's worth doing. Why sink $1 into a project that takes 1 man hour and returns $.25 profit when that same money/time can go into a project that returns $10 profit?

[GranitePenguin]

I'm a boardgame Ogre guy, not a Minis guy, so I just couldn't justify it.

Sometimes, things just don't line up. As much as I love Ogre, I still don't have a metal Ogre of any kind, let alone many of them. The timing was never there for me, even on the last run. I was really hoping to get at least a single Mark V and Mark III, but the fates did not align.

Hopefully if/when new minis happen, I'll be able to get them.