Want Fries With That?  
Aahz talks to Mark Tuttle about chase figures

While in Las Vegas to attend Games Expo 2007 I had the opportunity to sit down and talk to HorrorClix Brand Manager Mark Tuttle about many things.  One of which was the Marvel Zombies and, more generally, his thoughts regarding chase figures in both HeroClix and HorrorClix.

Just a week (or so) before the Expo, DC HeroClix: Origin had a prerelease and there were once again four chase figures in the set, creating controversy all over again.  I didn't really want to get into the "controversy" surrounding the Marvel Zombies themselves, but I did want to know whether I should be prepared for similar events in the future.  So I opened by asking if he thought the Marvel Zombies was a successful event for WizKids.  His answer was a resounding YES.

The Marvel Zombies were successful on multiple fronts: revitalizing player and retailer interest in HeroClix while generating it for HorrorClix., slowing online sales, and generating press interest in WizKids, HeroClix and HorrorClix,

Generating Player Interest-

Less than half of the WizKids staff, and none of the sales force, was made aware of the Marvel Zombies before Supernova's pre-release.  People were genuinely shocked and surprised to find these figures in their boosters.  Large numbers of people online simply refused to believe they were real.  People were talking about HeroClix again and in a way they never had before. As for retailers, most were very aware of how many boosters/bricks/cases of a new release to order. WizKids' "job" is not only to sell them this amount, but to get them to order even more.  It's called "upselling" as in "Want fries with that?".  The chase figures were a way to do this.  Sales spiked the very day after the prerelease.  Same thing happened with Origin.  Suddenly people were buying more than their usual amount of boosters and retailers were screaming for more.  In other words, it worked.  Twice.

Online Sales-

This one really confused me: how, on earth, could chase figures hurt online retailers?  Well, the premise was that if online retailers knew about the Zombies, then they'd be able to overorder Supernova.  But since it was a surprise, the local game stores were able to get a jump on the online sellers.  People wanted these boosters now and the only to fulfill that need was in local stores. If that doesn't make a lot of sense to you, I'm sorry.  But it didn't make a lot of sense to me either.  Mark clearly believes it was beneficial, though.

What did make sense, was his justification of the one Zombie per 100 boosters distribution as a way to foil online sellers.  If the allocation was one Zombie per case (48 boosters) than the online sellers would boost their prices to gouge the consumer since they could guarantee the presence of a Zombie in each case.  Without that guarantee, they could not do so without pissing off the 51% of their buyers who did not receive a Zombie.  Additionally, singles dealers could simply start opening a case, stop when they find the zombie, and move on to the next case, leaving the remaining boosters in each case to be sold as sealed boosters to Zombie hunters who would continually be disappointed.

Generating Press Interest-

The weekend of the Supernova prerelease was also the first time that players got to see a little game called World Of Warcraft CCG.  EVERYTHING in the game press was about WoW in the weeks and months leading up to its release.  Every other game was virtually ignored.  But the following Monday morning WizKids was flooded with press calls wanting to know what was going on with HeroClix and what this "HorrorClix" game was.  You can't buy the type of coverage HorrorClix received as a result of the Marvel Zombies.  They truly rocked the gaming world.

So, it's safe to say that the HorrorClix Brand Manager is a big fan of chase figures.  What does this mean for HorrorClix?  Well, it means we'll probably see them.  It also means we probably won't know about 'em until release day itself.  This will be good news for many, but terrifying for others.  To the latter, Mark assured me that any possible chase figures in HorrorClix would be much less rare than those in HeroClix.  He didn't discuss specific numbers and I didn't push, so don't bother asking me.  WizKids is aware that there are a certain number of HeroClix players who can be counted on to buy a case.  The same is true for HorrorClix, but that number is much smaller.  Therefore, any chase figures in HorrorClix would be more focused on "rewarding" players who make a smaller purchase.

For those wondering, I also asked about the possibility of crossover figures being released in HorrorClix rather than in HeroClix.  Mark's only reply was that enigmatic smile that his forum posts portrays so well.

 

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