My local game store has alluded to FFG or a distributor putting pressure on them not to stock 3rd party components (templates, tokens, ect.) or provided them as prizes, i dont know if that applies to official events or any events that the store runs.

Has anyone else heard of similar things occurring?

I've not heard anything, and third party templates and (most) tokens are perfectly legal in tournaments, so I doubt there would be any issues.

Note that third party bombs and obstacles aren't tournament legal.

5 minutes ago, thespaceinvader said:

Note that third party bombs and obstacles aren't tournament legal.

(and dice)

just to reiterate, this isn't about third party component use in tournaments, it is about their distribution as prizes or being for sale in the store.

2 minutes ago, eeen said:

just to reiterate, this isn't about thirst party component use in tournaments, it is about their distribution as prizes or being for sale in the store.

I guess it would depend on what the store is doing.

If they're handing out 3rd party stuff instead of the FFG stuff at Store Championships, that would be an issue. If they're giving away 3rd party stuff in addition to the FFG stuff, that may be an issue but I don't see why FFG would care much. FFG doesn't seem to get involved in Store Championships much, they seem to see them as feeders into Regionals and let the stores do what the stores want to do.

8 minutes ago, eeen said:

just to reiterate, this isn't about third party component use in tournaments, it is about their distribution as prizes or being for sale in the store.

Given that Cog O Two routinely have a stand set up at major UK X-Wing events, I have my doubts.

But then, I don't think I've seen a store where they sell 3rd party components in addition to x-wing stuff.

That sounds ridiculous to me, true or not.

I think the only thing that matters is, if some organized play system is being run by the store, that the rules of the format are followed. Those rules seem to explicitly state what is allowed and I don't recall seeing thing one talking about prizes.

Distributors are another matter. And really I'd question any distributor that did that. Ultimately, if people in your store want something, if you are a store owner, it's probably smart to try and get it for them. The distributor isn't paying for your lunch.

1 hour ago, thespaceinvader said:

Given that Cog O Two routinely have a stand set up at major UK X-Wing events, I have my doubts.

But then, I don't think I've seen a store where they sell 3rd party components in addition to x-wing stuff.

It's the norm in Poland. Noone bats an eyelash and trird-party tokens and templates and unofficial alt-art cards are standard prizes, apart from FFG kit contents.

6 hours ago, eeen said:

My local game store has alluded to FFG or a distributor putting pressure on them not to stock 3rd party components (templates, tokens, ect.) or provided them as prizes, i dont know if that applies to official events or any events that the store runs.

Has anyone else heard of similar things occurring?

It sounds like what you're describing is not the experience of many of the players here. I'd be really curious to know if it's coming from FFG or a distributor. Can you say more about where you're from? This is either a weird distributor acting like a jerk, or a potential harbinger of badness from FFG...

Many, many tournaments here in Vancouver have additional prize support from third party sources. With the basic kit contents, top 4 are the only ones who get something flashy. Adding two or three additional prizes just spreads the loot around, and a little further down the standings. Getting loot at a tourney can really whet the appetite for more X-Wing tournaments, so I can't figure why FFG would have an issue with it...

The only problem I could see FFG having would be if a store was giving out 3rd party components as prizes in place of FFG provided items, then trying to sell the FFG stuff.