Hero games bought out? <- and what's up with Eon Products?
cs11...@ucla-cs.uucp
>I heard a rumor the other day that Hero Games had been bought by I.C.E.
>Can anyone confirm or deny this rumor? I'd really like to know what has
>really happened.
Hero Games had a display in a "DEALER ROOM" at L.A.'s ORCCON'86 and were
conducting brisk trade. They sold out Fantasy Hero on the first day
of convention. They seem to be in "good health"...
If you are right I hope it is not going to end up like the SPI's death at
the hands of TSR.
On the other hand, WHAT'S UP WITH Eon Products? The people who brought
you games like "BORDERLANDS", "Cosmic Encounter", "Quirks" and other
goodies? I found all of the above products in the West End Games' catalog.
Now, ALL of the Eon games were advertized with Eon logo, yet the feeling
I go was that Eon was a part of West End Games. Is it? Has it been for long?
(West End Games is a company known for their board games and PARANOIA)
Eric Robert Jablow
could not handle the strain of producing so many games with
only a four-man company. They sold all rights to their games
to West End Games of New York, and a more fitting bunch of people
I could not name. Anyone who would give both Greg Costikyan and
Eric Goldberg a job deserves anything it gets.
West End will be coming out with a repackaged edition of CE Real_Soon_Now.
It will have some minor editing done. Perhaps some of the more problematic
powers will be removed. I wonder if they'll start up a mag like Eon's old
ENCOUNTER magazine. If you want a great game to play, try CE. Ignore
expansion set 5, Moons, however.
Incidentally, if you are looking for an interesting diplomatic game, try
Pax_Brittanica, which Greg Costikyan did for Victory Games (=SPI-in-exile).
It is a brilliant (literally--look at the map) game on the age of Victoria
and the colonization and exploitation of the world by Europe and the US.
Recommend it to your friends in net.politics--you'll never hear the end
of the arguments.
Respectfully,
Eric Robert Jablow
MSRI
ucbvax!brahms!jablow
I may be a screwy little wabbit, but at least I'm not
going to Alcatraz!
--E. Fudd--
w...@milano.uucp
> ... I hope [Hero Games] is not going to end up like the SPI's death at
> the hands of TSR.
I have a button which says black letters on a white background:
"SPI Died for Your Sins"
...almost no one gets the joke.
> WHAT'S UP WITH Eon Products?
If anyone has any confirmed info on this (and doesn't feel it's worth posting
to the whole net), please mail it to me. I am very interested.
--
Alan Wexelblat
ARPA: W...@MCC.ARPA
UUCP: {ihnp4, seismo, harvard, gatech, pyramid}!ut-sally!im4u!milano!wex
"No wife, no horse, no mustache."
andrew riggsby
>I have a button which says black letters on a white background:
> "SPI Died for Your Sins"
>...almost no one gets the joke.
shouldn't?
Andrew Riggsby
riggsby@harvunxu
sf...@warwick.uucp
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>West End will be coming out with a repackaged edition of CE Real_Soon_Now.
>It will have some minor editing done. Perhaps some of the more problematic
>powers will be removed. I wonder if they'll start up a mag like Eon's old
>ENCOUNTER magazine. If you want a great game to play, try CE. Ignore
>expansion set 5, Moons, however.
What!? You don't like moons!?
What can introduce more fun in a game than turning over a little round piece
of card that says "You must sing a little song about your alien power"?
Though I must admit that the moon that makes everyone hum (on pain of loss of
property) is a pain.
Pete "Warpish" Strover
--
"What's your aim in life?" | UWSF&FS
"To become immortal - or die trying" | Arts Fed Pigeonholes
--------------------------------------------| Uni. of Warwick
DISCLAIMER: | Coventry CV 47 AL
This is an alcohol generated article. | UK
sil...@uiucdcsp.cs.uiuc.edu
No, "sins" is not an acronym. The circumstances following the death of SPI
are approxamately as follows. SPI was having cash flow problems due to
computer foul-ups of the mailing list, moving, getting a new computer etc.
They were also having the perenial printer problems, as every game company
not affiliated with a printer does. They took out a loan, which somehow
managed to be underwritten or something by TSR, yes, the forces of darkness
themselves (who had already driven some small companies under by lawsuits
that TSR had no chance of winning (they sued everyone who published an FRP
for a while)). Anyway, TSR "reluctantly" forclosed, and got SPI (this is
after an unsuccessful attempt to but the company.)
TSR did not have to honor subscriptions, lifetime or otherwise (you ended
up getting discounts, but effectively lost about 1/2 your money) or outstanding
orders. Most of the design staff left, especially after it was announced that
the operation would be moved to Lake Geneva. They have since formed
Victory Games (under TAHGC umbrella & with access to printers 3M) otherwise
known as "SPI" in exile. All in all, TSR's actions are somewhat suspect, and
it was a real tragedy that the second largest wargames company should die
in such an ignominious fashion.
Ami Silberman
"...an erect man may expose himself in an aperture..." from the rules to Sniper,
SPI's 1971 game of man to man WWII combat.
I.L.Sewell
> Anyway, TSR "reluctantly" forclosed, and got SPI (this is
>after an unsuccessful attempt to but the company.)
>TSR did not have to honor subscriptions, lifetime or otherwise (you ended
>up getting discounts, but effectively lost about 1/2 your money) or outstanding
>orders. Most of the design staff left, especially after it was announced that
>the operation would be moved to Lake Geneva.
>Ami Silberman
An interesting sideline to this little article is the future of the DragonQuest
game. For those of you who do not know what DQ is, it was SPI first (I think)
attempt to enter the market of FRP games. A full description is not appropriate
here other than to say that it was a great success and looked like doing VERY
well( those of us who have played it can understand why - its dammed good) and
rumour has it that this was a major reason for TSR (`*#$%%&') closing down SPI
after thay had seen the projections for the game ( it already having had a
second edition out and three very good scenarios - especially the Enchanted
Wood) and seen it as a major contender to D&D in the market. Anyhow when closed
down all the right to SPI games went to TSR (#*~=) and some of which are still
being made - mostly the wargames. But there has not been a single thing on DQ!
The reason is that THEY wont release the rights to the game such that no one
can wright for the game, except on their instructions, with out getting one
hell of a copyright suit against them. This is how it stands now after all
these years with the only material being published is the odd article in
Dragon, most of which are very bad annd seem to have been wriiten by D&D
writers how have absolutly no feel for the game.
Does anyone know anything further? Corrections will be most welcome as this is
mostly built on rumour.
Ian Sewell
" Its Autumn guys and your all leaves......"
w...@milano.uucp
wondering:
There is a line of (very good) FRP supplements put out by a company calling
itself Role Aids (yes, that's how they spell it!). I have a couple of their
books and have seen several more. All the back cover blurbs say that their
stuff is usable with AD&D (it is), and that AD&D is a registered trademark
of TSR, etc. Then in big letters it says explicitly that TSR has NOT given
them permission to use the logo, etc.
My question is: Why do this? Is it some sort of legal device for self-
protection? Is TSR suing these people (gawd, I hope not!)?
--
Alan Wexelblat
ARPA: W...@MCC.ARPA
UUCP: {ihnp4, seismo, harvard, gatech, pyramid}!ut-sally!im4u!milano!wex
"Please don't dominate the rap, jack
If you got nothin' new to say."
r...@warwick.uucp
>There is a line of (very good) FRP supplements put out by a company calling
[paraphrase of original: the Role Aids supplements claim to be usable with
AD&D, and say that AD&D is a trademark of TSR `use without permission']
>My question is: Why do this? Is it some sort of legal device for self-
>protection? Is TSR suing these people (gawd, I hope not!)?
>
I understand that TSR have successfully sued Mayfair Games, the producers of
the `Role Aids' products. Newer editions of the suplements no longer bear the
message about the TSR/AD&D trademark.
This was reported in The Dragon, and in Imagine & White Dwarf in the UK.
I don't remember the date.
- Russell
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