Heroquest remake by Hasbro - The BIG discussion thread

[Blayze]

I just had a reply back from one of the staff at Poromagia about trying to find out the EU distributor.
They didn't know, but did confirm that they weren't shipping to the UK because of Brexit.

The Zavvi orders are likely going to be a disaster.

[Kurgan]

if you are unhappy with the system, for what ever reasons, there will be plenty of people willing to buy it from you on eBay and likely for more than what you paid

Returning the brand new, un-opened box back to Hasbro, so they can re-sell it at retail standard prices harms no-one and it sends the message that the original buyer was not satisfied with the product. I think communication and feedback with Hasbro from its fans is super important at this stage, personally.

What will those of us who sacrifice our refund to do an unboxing (for the good of other potential buyers) do with our game? Either we'll like it (and keep it) or most likely gift it to another close friend or family member. I don't plan to tape it up and march it over to the local gameshop so they can sell it for $299 or whatever if that's what you're asking. I wouldn't be surprised if there was an Inn member or three who decided to sell it off to another member, and that's cool.

... sorry I feel the editorial rage rising... the need to stand on a soap box. Forgive me... (Werewolf Curse card appears for some reason)

Last chance to get awaaaaaay (skip to the next post)... you were warned!

Why would I want fans to pay MORE for a product they want? Or why would I want the company who made the product make LESS profit if I thought they deserved it for a quality release? If I think it sucks, I'm going to deny them my money and let somebody else worry about it... better luck next time. I'm imagining it'll be good enough but we'll see (hence the unboxing... I care less what the minis look like, and we've known that for about a year, than the text content).

I'm sure there is a school of thought that a "scalper is not really hurting" but actually "helping" fans by providing a product they want, at a price they consent to pay. What's wrong with that? But to me it seems like there is a desire here to protect the company (Hasbro) from losing money, but not fans from being gouged on a product they were going to buy anyway by artificially limiting supply further. That to me doesn't cast the scalpers in such a benevolent light especially if their excuse is that its not their fault if customers are ignorant of their options. Everybody has to make a living, right? But surely there are better ways.

It's not just corporations that can be greedy, after all. And yes, free competition means I can re-sell my product at a lower price than the other guy is re-selling it for and undercut him and so on. In the end, regardless of what I write, people will do what they are going to do.

is it really scalping if you sell the only copy you receive after you decide it isn't what you wanted? Not in my estimation. A scalper buys as many copies as he can to turn a fatty profit. A consumer is entitled to sell their own property at will.

Legally speaking, 100% true to the last part, ethically... that's a matter of debate. Simply re-selling something you don't want isn't scalping.

Again, returning the property to Hasbro means you get your money back (and simultaneously register your displeasure as a customer). The only motive to keep it and go to the bother of re-selling it is the deserve for profit. Making profits is not illegal or immoral either, but I get sad the effect it has on the community spirit from scalping that afflicts the "geek community" with stuff like this, if you will.

To avoid misunderstanding: *I* use the term "scalping" to refer to eating up the supply (buying products you literally don't want) and then selling it at a markup, which could take on a mass scale or not. I despise it because it is a way to make it more difficult for actual fans of a product to get it (the scalper is only interested in the profit and helped created the "shortage" in the first place, and take advantage of the "desperation" even if this is a luxury good we're talking about in the end). Why could it be "bad"? So fans end up paying more for the product and Hasbro/AvalonHill/Milton Bradley/the designers/etc. don't see anything extra from it. I had hoped that Hasbro wouldn't make this a "scalper friendly" collector's product but instead make it more like the original game, a mass produced product intended for retail.

We're not talking here about something that's three decades old and not available in most countries, but a brand new product that is about to come out, with people already sitting on multiple copies, for one reason or another. If certain individuals are going to sweep the store shelves clean just to re-sell it at a higher price, that's even worse, let's hope it doesn't come to that either.

But if you* want to give your copy away or sell it at cost to another fan, who am I to judge?

* here meaning the generic "you," throughout my post, not singling out anyone on these forums, of course!

But yes, I can't stop you from tossing your cop(ies) into a wood chipper or using it as chew toys for your pets (careful of the small parts), never mind selling it for $3000 on alibaba, even if I think that's extreme (even crappy)... but I won't give out any medals for it either. Those will be reserved for those who donate their copies to a children's hospital, let's say.

I don't try to throw the term out willy nilly. Certainly if you're tired of a product and it's still in serviceable condition, selling it is certainly less wasteful than chucking it into the landfill. Re-sale isn't scalping per say, just the buying up of stock and the markup by third parties who never intended to enjoy the product for what it is to begin with. But if you bought twenty copies, I am not saying you have to give away all of them to friends to make me happy. People took it personally the last time I pontificated on scalping, so I want to make it clear this time I'm not out for blood, just sharing my thoughts and I hope you can see the reason behind my opinion.

If Hasbro chose to make Remake HeroQuest a limited run product that was only going to be available to a select few, when they know there are tons of fans who want it (and most had no idea about the fundraiser until it was long over due to the lack of advertising), would only be aiding and abetting the scalper market which would seize on that untapped demand. In that sense Hasbro could rightly be blamed for the situation as much as the guys flipping them on ebay at exorbitant prices.

Happily for everyone (except perhaps potential scalpers)...

From all reports, this game IS going to retail and in short order, too. So unless you're desperate to pay $50 for Sir Ragnar with a beard, you'll get your opportunity to buy the game straight from Hasbro pulse or from some game shop (if not an actual retailer) at a cheaper price than anyone would reasonably sell it online. 99% of the content WILL be available to the masses, not just those who pledged, within a very short timeframe (the "unlocks" aren't even necessary to play the game, and the extra quests, how much do you want to bet those will appear in some form or another after some time, not that I'm saying I want them leaked...).

Re-sellers have all kinds of reasons why they jack up the price... they have to take time off of work to put it into a padded envelope and drive to the fedex store and pay taxes, etc. and their kids need to eat and that sick family member has medical bills. Again, who am I to judge? But if you just want a copy of the game at the cheapest price, this won't be the cheapest way for you to get it, unless your friend is giving it to you as a gift, in which case, be sure you send them a thank you note.

I care so little about those extras, I'm tempted to just give them away (to a "good home" of course), but like I said, that's what I'm thinking about, I can only try to influence others to do what I do, but it doesn't matter that much. Scalpers already have all their justifications ready and I can't change their lifestyle choices. As a HQ fan, I just want the game to be as good as it can be, which means I'm going to share and encourage others to share their likes and dislikes with the company who put it out to get our dollars... AND I'd want to encourage them in any way they can to make it available to the most people.

So I care more that fans can purchase the game system for a reasonable price (say $100 +tax) vs. people being able to obtain the Orc Bard for $80 in a clear plastic baggie from a random third party. I'm only throwing out those prices because let's face it, that's what a lot of "rare" minis go for these days, and it wouldn't shock me if that's what they go for. Hasbro could cut all that out by simply mass producing the things and offer them for sale, but that would upset all the people who pledged thinking they were getting something special, right? I never cared about any of the "extra" unlock material other than I was curious about the Stephen Baker quest book, but that's me. There are people out there that want every bit of it and I guess they'll "have to" fork over to the ones who were lucky enough to get in line ahead of them, no matter what.

There was talk on here (before they announced the UK sales which I guess is up in the air AGAIN?) where Inn members in NA were going to buy it and ship it to Europe, so I applaud the community spirit there. That's much more praiseworthy than somebody trying to fool someone online as to this "rare" new product and having them pay whatever it is they think it is worth just to have it.

With Hasbro bringing the game to the masses (as the legacy of HQ, and good business sense demands), these desperate fans won't have to rely upon the generosity of ones like me to get what they want though, and for that I'm grateful, unless I've grossly misunderstood their latest press.

[HispaZargon]

Hi everybody, just for information:

Stephen Baker has (virtually) inaugurated this afternoon the 16th International Games Festival of Córdoba, Spain. You can see his video here if you are interested (unfortunately, no additional info about the remake but good news for Spanish Community).

[Leathaface79]

Avalon Hill panel is on Oct 23rd 12:15 EST.

Avalon Hill Panel

Join members of the Marketing and Development teams for a look at the new and improved Avalon Hill. They discuss the upcoming delivery of HeroQuest to Hasbro Pulse backers and look to the future of the game system. Following this is the exciting reveal of a new game that breathes life into a decade old legacy, including a special surprise for viewers to be the first to get in on the action. Let’s roll!

https://hasbropulse.com/pages/hasbro-pu ... Qrd.LqpvWS

[Kurgan]

Saw Shadzar was reporting the same thing on twitch (thanks to both of you!), so Oct 23rd, 12:15pm Eastern time, they'll have a kind of live demo? Maybe we won't need our unboxing (or maybe we will, depending upon how extensive and "final" it is). So I take it this means we won't get it before the 23rd, judging by the wording there.

I'm not attending Pulsecon or whatever, so I won't see the footage until it gets posted for the general public.

[elvyler]

It says on the pulsecon website that it will be a live streamed event, so you should be able to watch it live from their YouTube page.

[Kurgan]

It says on the pulsecon website that it will be a live streamed event, so you should be able to watch it live from their YouTube page.

Oh, that's cool, especially if it's free, which it sounds like it would be via youtube.

[elvyler]

Oh, that's cool, especially if it's free, which it sounds like it would be via youtube.

Free is pretty subjective these days. Yeah, sure technically it won't cost any money, but they'll make you pay by sitting through countless irrelevant ads.

[Kurgan]

Yeah, I mean who doesn't want to know more about GI Joe & Transformers when all they came to hear about is HeroQuest? ;P

[Daedalus]

I hope the decade-old game to be revived is Heroscape . . .