How much player crossover does FFG have amongst its titles?

By Eyegor, in Star Wars: Destiny

I discovered FFG through X-wing. I thought long and hard about jumping into Armada but have decided to let it pass. I've been a fan of RPGs over 30yrs now but haven't picked up any of the FFG RPGs (yet) because the likelihood of me having an opportunity to play more than once or twice is very small. Now with SW:Destiny I can't wait for my first dive into the CCG pool. My son dabbled with Yugi-Oh and Pokémon but nothing too crazy.

So back to the title question. Does FFG experience a lot of crossover amongst its various titles (especially within the SW license) or are card players distinct from minis guys who are distinct from RPG gals and so forth? If you like LotR do you not like Star Wars? What about Dust or the military mini guys. Do they play Armada too? Does FFG/Asmodee have any numbers on this?

The main reason I ask is for the health of the company. If new titles and game styles are expanding the customer base then great. But if you are trying to sell more and more games to the same core group of players that becomes diminishing returns. I am sure there are some games in the FFG catalog that are no longer profitable or near orphans but so far those losses can be absorbed because other lines have more than enough profits.

Not in the gaming industry but I have first hand experience of a manufacturer who saw sagging sales and thought that the answer was an ever diversifying product line looking for new customers. This ultimately led to high prices and decreased quality across all lines of production; even the ones that had sustained the company for decades. Maybe it was too late but if instead of expanding they had refocused on those products and practices which made the company successful in the first place it may have changed things around. Truth is we will never know.

I was around for both the heyday and eventual dissolution of TSR but only as a customer. (Anyone remember Dragon Dice?) Likewise, I rode with Steve Jackson games through the rise and fall and the slow recovery since. Again only as a loyal customer.

By all accounts FFG is healthy and growing and with Disney's help has access to one of the most lucrative marketing properties of all times. I hope it goes on forever. That being said, without new customers and superior products dark days may lay ahead. So again, what does the numbers show? Does anyone know?

Edited by Eyegor

I'm a huge FFG fan. Although I'm not able to invest in many games as I used to, I still play multiple FFG. I am currently playing the Star Wars LCG, will buy into Destiny, and am interested in other FFG games if there is no investment due to lack of funds. No, I currently don't invest in any other none FFG games at this time. I hope that answer helps. :)

Edited by JediGeekGirl

I would have to say alot from my own experiences.

Many of the minis players cross over into the other miniature games, and most LCG player at least dabble in a second title. There is crossover between the two groups as well.

Most if the SWLCG players I know also play one of if not all three of the Star Wars minis games. And I very much think that is FFG's intent. They don't want one product players if they can have 2, 3, or 4 product players.

But there has always been concerns over canibalization, specifically as it comes to smaller markets like the LCGs. The thought being that there are only so many LCG players and that each time a new title comes out player flock to it at the detriment of the others. Now that is certainly true for some but does discount those players that are specific to a certain IP.

Ultimately I do think Destiny is a CCG as opposed to an LCG for a number of reasons, one of which is not wanting to draw too heavily from that LCG player well one too many times. But that just my opinion.

By all evidence FFG is doing extremely well and is seeing continued growth. To my knowledge there are no numbers, that we have access to at least, that would tell us how many unique players play FFG games overall and how many different games they do play.

Edited by ScottieATF

X-Wing was recently listed as the biggest miniature game, even bigger than Warhammer 40k. From what I understand a miniature game being bigger than 40k is kinda like a ccg being bigger than MTG, so I'm not worried about the health of FFG. They seem to be doing well.

Cross pollination does occur, although it's not universal. It's a bit more likely between types of games (card game players are a bit more likely to play other card games than miniature, etc), but not a hard rule. I know people who play just one game and stick to it, although the more common practice is that people play a couple of different games. Personally I'm into Star Wars LCG, Armada (more casual) and Imperial Assault (for the campaign). I have played Conquest, but stopped after the first expansion (personal bandwidth issues), and I'm in the same boat with Thrones. I expect to at least try out Destiny in the hopes of liking it, but I wont guarantee that I'll stick with it for the long run yet. The blind buy aspect will probably leverage heavily into that decision.

For myself, I seemed to naturally always carry to LCG's. I play X-Wing as a boardgame, (I've already boughten all the ships I'm gonna want from that game). LCG's I played GoT and Star Wars, dropped GoT, got into Conquest, eventually dropped Star Wars, then picked it back up again upon hearing the end of conquest, and have since gone back into limbo with Star wars LCG. Conquest is in limbo for me now too, I think the dissapointment of knowing it's discontinued combined with my excitement for Destiny.

I'm eagerly awaiting Destiny, been playing Ashes while I wait for it, (as both LCG's for me are in limbo).

I too, work in a manufacturing company and have had the oppisite experience with diversification. We've gone into different product lines and have untapped new customer bases and are excelling better than ever. But of course we pride ourselves in our quality, none of our existing lines were sacrificed for the new ones. We invested slowly and grew the new lines over the course of a number of years. Without diversification we wouldn't be excelling like we are. Our company is healthier than it has ever been. So diversification is not bad, if done correctly.

I agree with you Scum, and wasn't trying to say anything bad about FFG. From everything I see they are doing it right. Of course, as players we gripe but that is natural. I don't have any doubt about the company in the short or medium term. I was more interested in using the variety of FFG titles as sort of a snapshot of the gaming industry as a whole.

Thanks everyone for your replies and keep them coming.

There is a lot of crossing over. My play group (which is over 10 people) plays/has played:

Imperial Assault

X-Wing

Star Wars LCG

A Game of Thrones LCG

I think we all agree that FFG does a great job of putting a lot of polish on their games, and never hesitate about if the game will be fun or worth the money or not, and typically only burn out on games because of time constraints or competition from other games, not on the health of the game itself.

We are eagerly awaiting Destiny and L5R. =)

X-Wing was my first FFG game, Imperial Assault is the one I probably spend the most money on, but I also have LotR LCG, Star Wars LCG, Descent 2.e, and Rebellion, off the top of my head. The old Decipher LotR TCG was my first great TCG love (which I been thinking about getting back into it with some friends), but I'm definitely planning on playing SW Destiny.

I basically own everything ever made by FFG that has the words Star Wars in it. And i play them all regularly. except maybe the LCG....i kinda gave up on that one

I got into X-wing currently its the only FFG game I play. But I am really excited for Destiny so I will know be a two title player. I wouldn't be surprised if they are more people like me, who never played any type of card game, rpg, or miniature game before X-wing and now will be branching out to other types of games.

I think the X-wing > FFG-RPG > Destiny crossover will be pretty big.

I was thinking that SW:Destiny doesn't take very long to play, I may be wrong but...have you ever been rolled(or perhaps did the rolling) 22 minutes into a tournament match and twiddle your thumbs for 53 more? Well now we can twiddle cards in between... even before or after an X-wing match.

But what are gonna do with all these dice?

n1Vj6Uom.jpg

I must admit, I'm a sucker for FFG Star Wars games. I bought into X-Wing, then Imperial Assault and Armada when they came out, then Rebellion, and now I plan on buying into Destiny. My question is not how will I afford it or should I concentrate only on one game, but who among my friends will be interested to buy into the game with me. I'm confident though that Destiny is different enough that I'll be able to influence different type of gamers.

But what are gonna do with all these dice?

n1Vj6Uom.jpg

I just realized there are 67 different dice but with 24-ish cards that come with TWO dice. So it's more like 91 dice if you collect and wanna play any deck at a tournament. Not counting sweet FFG swag dice or prize support...plan on having over 100 dice for the "Awakenings" series and then probably THAT many for each coming in the future.

I've dabbled with most of FFG's properties, from all of their different SW products, to their LCGs, to some of their independent board games. My intro to FFG was actually the BSG boardgame. Really I just need to settle on a product of theirs and pursue it, try to feel like I'm not just throwing money at FFG.

But what are gonna do with all these dice?

n1Vj6Uom.jpg

I just realized there are 67 different dice but with 24-ish cards that come with TWO dice. So it's more like 91 dice if you collect and wanna play any deck at a tournament. Not counting sweet FFG swag dice or prize support...plan on having over 100 dice for the "Awakenings" series and then probably THAT many for each coming in the future.

I am assuming the base set will be larger than the subsequent ones, but who knows.

I started with x-wing then the sw lcg and it steamrolled from there into net runner, Imp assault, and agot. I haven't been hooked by armada yet but rebellion is calling my name.

The FFG games I follow:

Android Netrunner

Battlestar Galactica

Elder Sign

Bloodbowl Teammanager (that game will be discontinued)

I used to buy Imperial Assault, but my playgroup prefered to play Battlestar Galactica and I fell behind on keeping up to date with the game once I was over 300$ behind I dropped out of it, tournament play wasn´t that great of a experience for me to keep buying the products.

I tried to get into AGoT 2nd edition, but there was no playgroup around my location that was interested in playing that game.

Games from other companies I keep up-to-date:

Doomtown Reloaded (now discontinued)

Dead of Winter (my playgroup has a couple of huge Walking Dead fans and that game presents a welcoming variety to BSG)

Games from FFG I plan on getting invested in:

L5R the Card game

Star Wars Destiny

And with me no longer following Imperial Assault, Doomtown Reloaded and Bloodbowl I´m currently thinking of adding Arkham Horror: The Card Game to that list.

I got into X-wing currently its the only FFG game I play. But I am really excited for Destiny so I will know be a two title player. I wouldn't be surprised if they are more people like me, who never played any type of card game, rpg, or miniature game before X-wing and now will be branching out to other types of games.

You're basically telling my story, mio amico. I dabbled in Malifaux and 40k, though half-heartedly, hit X-wing harder than a freight train, and from there was enticed to Destiny by FFG's dastardly marketing team. This will also be my first 'card game.'

Most of our locals play 2-4 FFG games, because they're so low investment to dabble in. Few of the locals are actually deep into any given game though, which makes tournaments hard to fire. Low emotional investment seems to follow low fiscal investment, something Destiny will hopefully buck by being a CCG.