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Shinobi7 acquire Conan rights


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Hmmm... It’ll be interesting to see what kind of response they get from their KS campaign.

I think Conan KS fatigue might have contributed to the multiple failures that Pulposaurus encountered trying to fund their C.R.O.M. (Conan: Rise of Monsters... ugh, really?) skirmish game with pre-painted minis. That, or the fact that the game was obviously not designed as a ‘Conan’ game with any fidelity to the original mythos. They were clearly trying to cram their existing  idea for a game into a popular license that they had managed to acquire.  

As a collector I’ll be very open to whatever Shinobi7 brings to the table, but I have my doubts. Without question I’m ALL-IN for whatever Monolith offers, ‘nuff said!

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  • 1 month later...

Fred Henry weighed in on BGG.

 

Quote
Hi.

I can't say that I am happy with that.
But I can't do nothing. That s the Cabinet's business.
I will not abandon Conan, because Conan is the DNA of Monolith. Nevertheless we have to think how to proceed. The issue is not about money (I don think it will harm so bad our business), it s all about principles and "partnership".

 

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I’m with @Fred Henry on this issue.

 

Being a Conan fanatic, I’d usually say that more product is better. However, I’d really hate to see someone as devoted to the character and his world as Fred is, being treated as just another notch in Crom’s bedpost. Monolith did an amazing job with this game and can claim a fair share of credit for the recent upswing in Conan’s popularity. They’ve made a dream come true for me by creating a fantastic board game which is quite faithful to one of my all time favorite literary characters (and authors), and they’ve introduced a lot of new people to the world of Conan. 

 

When Pulposaurus was trying to get their ‘C.R.O.M: Conan: Rise of Monsters’ game off the ground on Kickstarter, I had a lot of doubts. Not the least of which was that totally ridiculous title.  While the game creators seemed sincere in their intentions (it was clear that they had an earnest vision of a cool pre-painted mini-based skirmish game), it really seemed as if they were just slapping the Conan name on an existing idea simply because it was a recognizable IP which was readily available. I mean, it did not feel like the game had anything to do with the low-fantasy Hyborian world that REH had built. Perhaps in the late era Marvel comics, or TOR pastiches, we would see Conan leading an army against Thoth Amon at the head of a cadre of high-fantasy monsters, but.... c’mon. The multiple failures of Pulposaurus’ KS campaigns could be an indication of Conan-themed board game over saturation, or just a poorly structured campaign with an unrealistic price-point. Who can say for sure?

The danger as I see it is in diluting the brand, and further misrepresenting REH’s creation, simply to make money. 

I don't know much about the upcoming Shinobi game, and I’ll approach it with an open mind. On the other hand though, if handing out multiple licenses for similar products makes Fred Henry and Monolith feel slighted, that should be seriously considered by Fredrick Malmberg and Cabinet moving forward.

 

If the Shinobi game looks lame or derivative of Monolith’s game, I’d probably ask @Matt John S how I could let Cabinet know my feelings on the matter....

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  • 1 month later...

I'm quite disappointed with this development. I missed the Conan and Pantheon boat the first time around. 

 

Now I've had the opportunity to get all of Pantheon, I was hoping for Conan sometime in 2019. Looks like this is going to be seriously delayed now, or not even happening for Monolith. 

 

edit: I have just had a look at Shinobi's website. Does this mean that they'll have all the sculpts from Monolith to use? 

Edited by CabVol
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I do not work for Monolith so anything I say is speculation and my own (however wrong or right) opinion. I would posit a hard no on the sculpts, those are mostly likely owned by Monolith (and quite possibly even some rights owned by the artists) and they would have to extend a license to Shinobi. Why would they do that? It's possible if decent terms were offered, but given how tight the margins are on things like this it's nearly impossible that it would ever happen.

 

There was an earlier kickstarter that had Conan miniatures but it was pulled early with little information as to why. There is a rumor they have grabbed the rights to those molds. However, there is no evidence I've seen that these rumors are anything more than wild speculation.

 

Personally, even if Shinobi comes up with decent sculpts I have serious doubts about their ability to deliver rules with decent game play. Also I'm heavily invested in the Monolith product line at this point and would rather have that continue. The odds of me buying anything they offer are quite low.

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I’d like to say that I won’t be buying whatever Shinobi comes out with.... But, as a Conan collector, I might be unable to resist. It sounds like they are doing a miniature game first, and then later a card game. I’ll look at it all with an unbiased eye, even though I’m more than happy with Monolith’s excellent game.

Honestly, I have to wonder if Monolith will even make a big effort to get the license back after Shinobi is done releasing their products. It sounds like there is at least a bit of bad blood between Monolith and CPI at this point. 

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Yup @garbetsp. I’ve got entirely too much Conan stuff. A full collection of every English language Conan comic in existence, books, toys, statues, video games, board games, cards, etc, etc... 

I was actually happy that Dark Horse wrapped up their comics run, primarily because it never regained it’s footing after the execrable Queen of the Black Coast series (ugh, worst Conan comics ever!), but also because I don’t really want any more Conan stuff on my shelves. But, now that Marvel is back in the Conan game, I have no choice but to dive in. I hope it’s a return to the excellent quality of the earlier Marvel and DH efforts. 

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 5 months later...
2 hours ago, garbetsp said:

Ugh. 32mm 

 

S7 Conan Savage Legends

 

I'm out, want to save for the Monolith offering when it comes. I try to stick to 25-28mm only

 

I am pretty sure the Monolith miniatures are 32mm.

 

Still, not really sold on the Shinobi game. I would only really be in for the miniatures and we haven't seen any production models, and there just are not that many miniatures in it (although many of the digital sculpts do look great - I especially love the pose of Tascela; it seems to capture her attitude and character well).

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Be that as it may, Monolith refers to the miniatures in Conan as ‘32mm’.

Also, as much as I love the huge selection of miniatures in Conan, they cannot really be described as consistent when it comes to scale. Even just with the minis representing Conan himself there are big differences in height. Never mind the fact that the Villagers from the Corinthia Expansion tower over everyone! Lol. 

 

Correct or not, I see ‘32mm’ used as a descriptor of mini size quite a bit around the miniature gaming industry. It seems that there really isn’t an ironclad standard for mini sizing. Reaper Miniatures calls their various lines of minis 25mm. Games Workshop seems to use 25mm, 32mm, and 40mm as sizing standards. 

 

At any rate, regarding the new Shinobi7 (S7) game; I’m such a hopeless Conan collector that I went ahead and pledged for the game. The mini designs look cool enough. They aren’t breaking any new ground, especially with the main Conan mini - who really looks like he is based on a 90’s comic book rendition of Conan, as opposed to a literary one. I do like the design for Valeria, and some of the others look nice too. As for the game itself, I’d also say that it isn’t breaking any new ground. Seems like a very simplistic ‘dudes fighting on a board’ kind of game. There certainly doesn’t seem to be much excitement around the game over on KickStarter, as there was for Monolith’s Conan campaign. I wouldn’t be surprised if it doesn’t even manage to reach it's funding goal! We shall see. 

 

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