Sunday, May 18th, 2014
A couple of days ago, Wizards of the Coast – publishers of the famous card game Magic the Gathering – published a press released on their website detailing a lawsuit the company filed in United States District Court for the Western District of Washington [State] alleging copyright infringement on behalf of Cryptozoic Entertainment and Hex Entertainment.
You can read the press release below, in it’s entirety. What do you think? Have you played Hex? Is it, as the press release alleges, a Magic the Gathering clone? Let us know in the comments below!
“May 14, 2014 (Renton, WA) – Today Wizards of the Coast LLC, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS), filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington against Cryptozoic Entertainment, LLC and its alter ego, Hex Entertainment, LLC (collectively, “Cryptozoic”), for willful infringement of intellectual property rights.
Cryptozoic develops and publishes the digital trading card game, Hex: Shards of Fate, a clone of the world famous tabletop collectable trading card game, Magic: The Gathering®, and its digital expressions, Magic Online® and the Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers® franchise.
“Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast vigorously protect our intellectual property. This infringement suit against Cryptozoic demonstrates that while we appreciate a robust and thriving trading card game industry, we will not permit the misappropriation of our intellectual property” said Barbara Finigan, Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Hasbro. “We attempted to resolve this issue, but Cryptozoic was unwilling to settle the matter.”
The suit includes claims for copyright, patent and trade dress infringement.
About Magic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering is the world’s best strategy game with more than 20 million players and fans worldwide. Through a unique blend of digital game play and face-to-face play opportunities in more than 6,000 hobby game stores around the world, Magic offers a robust gaming experience for its global community of passionate fans. For more information, visit magicthegathering.com.
About Wizards of the Coast, LLC
Wizards of the Coast LLC, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS), is the leader in entertaining the lifestyle gamer. Wizards’ players and fans are members of a global community bound together by their love of both digital gaming and in-person play. The company brings to market a range of gaming experiences under powerful brand names such as MAGIC: THE GATHERING, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, and KAIJUDO. Wizards is also a publisher of fantasy series fiction with numerous New York Times best-sellers. For more information about our world renowned brands, visit the Wizards of the Coast Web site at www.wizards.com.
About Hasbro, Inc.
Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) is a branded play company dedicated to fulfilling the fundamental need for play for children and families through the creative expression of the Company’s world class brand portfolio, including TRANSFORMERS, MONOPOLY, PLAY-DOH, MY LITTLE PONY, MAGIC: THE GATHERING, NERF and LITTLEST PET SHOP. From toys and games, to television programming, motion pictures, digital gaming and a comprehensive licensing program, Hasbro strives to delight its global customers with innovative play and entertainment experiences, in a variety of forms and formats, anytime and anywhere. The Company’s Hasbro Studios develops and produces television programming for more than 180 markets around the world, and for the U.S. on Hub Network, part of a multi-platform joint venture between Hasbro and Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK). Through the company’s deep commitment to corporate social responsibility, including philanthropy, Hasbro is helping to build a safe and sustainable world for future generations and to positively impact the lives of millions of children and families every year. It has been recognized for its efforts by being named one of the “World’s Most Ethical Companies” and is ranked as one of Corporate Responsibility Magazine’s “100 Best Corporate Citizens.” Learn more at www.hasbro.com.”
Tags: Copyright Infringement, Cryptozoic Entertainment, Hex, Hex Entertainment, Magic the Gathering, MTG, Press Release, Wizards of the Coast
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Friday, May 16th, 2014
Popular hobby retailer news website ICv2.com reported yesterday that YouTube sensation TableTop will launch an RPG spin-off series, after raising $1,414,154 on crowdfunding website Indiegogo.com. The successful fund raise will also fund a 20-episode Season 3 of the series, which airs on the Geek & Sundry YouTube channel.
Funding for the 36 day campaign ended on Saturday, with 22,210 backers pledging ($63.67 average per backer). In addition to the promised 20-episode TableTop season, the campaign also blew past the promised bonus goal of a spin-off RPG series at the $1 million mark. Backers continued to pledge to receive perk items from companies including Cards Against Humanity, Days of Wonder and Loot Crate. Game designers Mike Selinker and James Ernest also will be designing a downloadable TableTop: The TableTop Game for backers.
A post-campaign update touted two records that it broke: most funded digital series on any crowdfunding site, and most funded campaign in a day (for Indiegogo), with $261,000 pledged on the first campaign day (which also happened to be International TableTop Day).
The campaign, had it been on Kickstarter (and actually been a physical release), would have earned TableTop the #9 spot on our recently updated Top 10 Tabletop Game Kickstarters chart.
In a post-campaign video, host Wil Wheaton thanked all backers and promised that Season Three would debut later this year, with the RPG spinoff arriving early next year. The RPG show was described in the video as “in the TableTop style” with Wil and friends playing a season-long RPG campaign. The series “will follow a group of players and their characters through multiple levels, challenges, and possible character deaths as an entire campaign is played out over the course of a year.”
Tags: Crowdfunding, Felicia Day, Geek & Sundry, ICv2, Indiegogo, Season 3, TableTop, Wil Wheaton
Posted in Blog, Board Games, Card Games, Featured Post | 1 Comment »
Thursday, May 15th, 2014
Earlier this week Wizkids updated some of the details on Attack Wing: Dungeons & Dragons, scheduled for release on October 1st of this year.
These days it’s super rare that a game catches my interest and holds it for so long, especially through development, but Attack Wing: Dungeons & Dragons is something that I’m really looking forward to. In case you haven’t been following it, Attack Wing: Dungeons & Dragons uses the FlightPath mechanics that were previously seen in Star Wars: X-Wing and Star Trek: Attack Wing. As players we’ll get to control dogfighting dragons, while also having forces on the ground waste our opponents with! Dragons, giants, and spell casting elves? Sign me up!
Some information and preview pictures of the starter set were originally shared at the Gama Trade Show, but WizKids passed on the final solicitation information recently. The Attack Wing: D&D Starter Set will include three pre-painted plastic dragons (Red, Blue, and Copper) with bases and pegs, three maneuver dials, cards and tokens. It’ll retail for $49.99.
I’m pretty psyched that there looks to be more than a couple expansions scheduled for launch. I can’t wait to see how they’ve handled the new ground element, which is something entirely new just for Attack Wing: Dungeons & Dragons.
The Green Dragon Expansion Pack will include a pre-painted Green Dragon plastic miniature with base and pegs, a maneuver dial, cards and tokens. It will retail for $24.99.
The Sun Elf Wizard Expansion Pack will include a pre-painted Sun Elf Wizard plastic miniature with base and pegs, a maneuver dial, cards and tokens. It will retail for $14.99.
The Frost Giant Expansion Pack will include a pre-painted Frost Giant plastic miniature with base and pegs, a maneuver dial, cards and tokens. It will retail for $24.99.
The Sun Elf Guard Troop Expansion Pack will include six pre-painted Sun Elf Guard Troop plastic miniatures with bases and pegs, a maneuver dial, cards and tokens. It will retail for $24.99.
The Hobgoblin Troop Expansion Pack will include six pre-painted Hobgoblin Troop plastic miniatures with bases and pegs, a maneuver dial, cards and tokens. It will retail for $24.99.
The Dwarven Ballista Expansion Pack will include a pre-painted Dwarven Ballista plastic miniature with base and pegs, a maneuver dial, cards and tokens. It will reatils for $14.99.
The Wraith Expansion Pack will include two pre-painted Wraith plastic miniatures with base and pegs, two maneuver dials, cards and tokens. It will retail for $19.99.
That about does it for the first wave. I’ve heard that the second wave will have things like a black dragon and some angels.
I’m not sure what the points for each figure will look like, but the idea of piloting a red dragon, a black dragon, and a band of hobgoblins seems pretty neat to me! Let me know what you think in the comments!
Tags: Attackclix, Clix, Dungeons & Dragons, Miniatures, WizKids
Posted in Blog, Board Games, Dungeons & Dragons, Featured Post, Miniature Games | No Comments »
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