Gw dropped specialist games because they were taking sales from the main games, it's that stunning kind of logic which is applied to all their business decisions.

Mid 2000s they had a virtual monopoly in the miniatures area, they ditched popular games people still wanted to play and a host of companies moved in to take advantage.

Now the games sector is growing but gw is shrinking, they did it to themselves.

The official word I got from them after emailing them and asking why, was those games weren't turning a profit anymore. Indeed, they are the masters of shooting themselves in the foot.

As a person who used to work for GW for a long while, lots of specialist games like Mordheim, Blood Bowl, BFG, etc, were put on the backburner and in-all-but-name discontinued for one main reason: a player could collect around 10 or sometimes less models and play the game for years. To play Warhammer Fantasy or 40K, one has to buy dozens of models to barely even start the game.

Though their business decisions have been quite questionable, I tend to agree with them on this one. Why not focus on the profit generating games? The thing that was a bad decision was actively discouraging playing specialist games in their stores, because it actually alienated a good many people.

Strangely enough, Space Hulk was still paraded around quite often.

I can honestly say I've never seen jibe spelled as jive in a dictionary.

I still play Starfleet Battles and most people in gaming stores don't even know what that is. When I saw the mechanics for X-Wing I thought the movement system was brilliant. Came with everything you need to make playing without a hex map easy. Considering there are a few people like me who, despite the difficulties such as availability of product and players who have heard of it, still play a game like Starfleet Battles I would imagine that the player base for a game like X-Wing would continue to play this game well into the middle of this century.

yes....the true THINKING mans game! SFB!!

Just don't show the rulebook to new players until after their third game or so. It tends to frighten them off.

So some general reflections gleaned from this thread:

1.) A lot of the question seems to stem from whether or not the game is a wargame or a boardgame. Wargames like 40k rely on constant rule updates and new materials to generate interest and profit.

2.) The question of new players is significant and both options have advantages and disadvantages. New material is easier to advertise, but too much material leads to a potentially high startup cost that can discourage new players. This part of why GW has to introduce new rules etc... They get to introduce starter sets that encourage and excite new players.

3.) As I already mentioned, a lot of this also rides on house players and store players. Store groups with tournements and buy ins need new materials to support them; house groups can put X-Wing in a box next to Arkham Horror and decide the evening of without any updates.

4.) Based on this, I'd guess that FFG adds a Clone Wars or Episode VII campaign setting that is compatible, but also stand alone. It helps neutralize the consequences of new material while keeping the advantages. This is what Pathfinder ACG does, as well as Descent or other successful games.