Goodbye, HeroClix

I suppose it's only fitting that two months after my favorite comic shop closes, so too does the company whose games I once promoted there.

News broke today that WizKids Games, the company behind tabletop miniatures game HeroClix, was shutting down. Little explanation was offered by its parent company, Topps, but it was no secret that HeroClix sales across the last couple years could have been better. Rising oil prices forced the price of figures to jump several times, and as the economy slowed, players such as myself became less and less interested in buying boxes containing randomized playing pieces.

So while I was saddened by today's news, I was not shocked. The writing had been on the WizKids wall for a while now. The game, which debuted in 2002, seemed to take off in 2004 when WizKids released the Ultimates set. HeroClix hit its stride in 2005 during the releases of Icons and Fantastic Forces, which was when I coordinated tournaments at Jimmy Jams in Rochester. Those were some good times.

But after that, the game lost steam. Problems such as "power creep," where the average stats of new figures are noticeably higher than old figures, became increasingly evident. Old sets were "retired" in part to remedy this problem, but the move caused frustration among longtime players who suddenly found that their best (and most expensive) figures could no longer be used in official tournaments.

WizKids tried their best to keep the game going, incorporating quirky new figures and basing entire sets around beloved storylines. That did little, though, to stop the bleeding. And that's too bad, because HeroClix was a fun game supported by an enthusiastic community of players.

Topps says it will "pursue strategic alternatives" for the game, perhaps selling the system to another publisher in an effort to keep it going. But in this economy, I can't imagine many companies will be interested. The likeliest buyer, Wizards of the Coast, is having its own problems keeping the Dungeons & Dragons minis game alive. And the corporate credit crunch will likely preclude any medium-sized companies from bidding on the game. So barring some unforeseen development, this probably is the end for HeroClix.

I wish the WizKids staff all the best as they move on to their next endeavors. Thank you for all the fun and games you provided me and so many others during the last six years. I truly appreciate it.

May you roll critical hits in your job searches.