Asmodee and Fantasy Flight "merge"

[40kGamer]

I had never paid much attention to Asmodee games as I drifted out of board games years ago but the recent acquisition 'ehem' merger with fantasy flight caused me to take a look. I was surprised at their sales turnover prior to taking in FFG and the fact that they are a part of the Eurazeo Capital group which is quite large. I wonder if we may see any effect from this in the overall wargaming market or if its just business as usual.

French interim Financials pdf link

http://www.eurazeo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Eurazeo-CA-T3-2014-FR.pdf

[Mr Mystery]

Can't say I'd heard of Asmodee before this.

Shall look into them.

[40kGamer]

Can't say I'd heard of Asmodee before this.

Shall look into them.

I hadn't heard of them either. Apparently they are big in the board game side of the world. I would imagine they may have plans to expand their market since they picked up Fantasy Flight.

[40kGamer]

Took a moment to look into the Eurazeo > Asmodee > Fantasy Flight situation a little more. Eurazeo is the giant investment company that has over 4 billion euros in assets. As of this year Asmodee games is on track to come in with just under ~200 million Euros of Sales making it a little bigger than GW although it is has not competed in the same niche market until now.

Asmodee incorporating FFG could have a significant impact on the gaming market. FFG should benefit from access to more capital and better structure allowing them to actually hit their release dates. The largest complaint with FFG is that they never hit their release schedule and when things go out of stock they are ages replacing them. For example, at the moment in the US it is almost impossible to find the early X-wing minis. The Falcon, Slave One, A-wings and Y-wings are all in short supply right at the cusp of the Christmas holidays. Plus the scum and villiany release is already late and may not even make it out prior to Christmas. These problems points to either supply chain/management issues or a lack of capital. Either way Asmodee could fix these issues over the coming months.

Being in the corporate fold could also allow FFG to push farther into the tabletop gaming market. Star Wars Armada looks great and I am very excited for its 2015 release. What if they decide to do a ground assault game in the next few years? That could be awesome, and Star Wars is one of the few 'universes' that can compete with 40k head on.

FFG is also well positioned to ride the Star Wars wave for years. With 6 films planned and the first one already wrapped they stand to reap big dividends. Depending upon their licensing agreement (which I'm guessing is pretty solid) they will have new ships and story lines to explore as the movie universe unfolds. I am giddy with excitement to see how this all plays out. Any community thoughts?