MINIATURES GAMES NEWS
December 12, 2004
Wizards Launches Clone Strike Expansion
Anaheim , CA - With the introduction of Star Wars Miniatures several months ago, game publisher Wizards of the Coast is proving it is a "force" to be reckoned with in the miniatures game category.
At the Gen Con So Cal game convention Wizards launched Clone Strike, the first expansion to the Star Wars Miniatures game system. Attendees at the show were able to see and play the game at the Wizards booth and on December 4th the first official Clone Strike tournament was held at Gen Con and at locations around the country.
Tournament play is very important to Wizards of the Coast and its customers. Star Wars Miniatures Product Manager, Nathan Sherman, says, "Gen Con is a great opportunity for us to work with the players and get direct feedback from them on what they want to see and how the organized play works for them. This is a great testing ground for us."
The release of Clone Strike follows on the heels of a very successful campaign to market the original Rebel Storm miniatures game.
"The response has been excellent," Sherman says, "We have a lot of people who are coming into this as their first entry point into Star Wars games and they love it. It’s a great game, it's quick and it's easy to pick up and yet it has enough depth in it that it will keep you entertained for a long time."
Wizards' supply of the original game sold out in its first three months. Sherman attributes the strong sales to customer's positive response to the design of the figurines.
"Everyone is very pleased with the quality of the sculpts and the paint jobs that they have," he says, "The durability of them as amazing as well. You can take any one of these figures and band them over backwards and then straighten them up and they are just fine. It’s a huge bonus over metal-based figures."
Like the original Rebel Storm, Clone Strike is sold in starters and boosters. Again, there are a total of 60 figurines to play, collect or trade. The big difference is that Clone Strike miniatures are based on characters from Star Wars Episodes I & II. Now you can form teams of clone warriors and Jedi Knights to skirmish against battle droids and the followers of the dark side.
The Clone Strike starter comes with everything you need to play right out of the box. It also comes with two exclusive figures; this time General Kenobi and Jango Fett have been chosen as widely distributed "rare" figures. The Clone Strike expansion set also includes a preview character from Episode III.
Wizards' Star Wars Miniatures games are part of the D20 system. Sherman says sales of the miniatures have affected the sales of the company’s Star Wars RPG products.
"We’ve actually seen a resurgence in the role playing game," he says, "As a matter of fact we have sold out of the core book for the Star Wars Role-Playing game and have done a reprint that will be out in January."
Wizards of the Coast is working on another resource book that supports the Star Wars miniatures game. Ultimate Missions: Clone Strike will be released in February. The Star Wars RPG Basic Game box set will be released later in 2005.
© 2004 BigBox Games. All rights reserved.
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