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Annual look at the year to come - 2023


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2 hours ago, JoMac said:

I'm with you Mr. K...Only WW2 for me 🙂

I hope there is more than the three of us...😉

Anyway, I have read somewhere that titles not featuring US forces don't sell well. I'm really wondering on what facts this assumption is based on, as there are very few Combat Mission titles NOT featuring US forces (Afghanistan and Red Thunder if I'm not mistaken), which makes few data for comparison ?

WW2 wargamer popular wisdom tends to designate the German forces as a good seller, not the US ones. As a matter of fact, the original tactical games (SL and ASL) were based around the Eastern Front, with the US forces only appearing in later modules.

I would be very interested to have Steve comments over this "only US forces sell" assumption!

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3 minutes ago, PEB14 said:

WW2 wargamer popular wisdom tends to designate the German forces as a good seller, not the US ones. As a matter of fact, the original tactical games (SL and ASL) were based around the Eastern Front, with the US forces only appearing in later modules.

...in the seventies and eighties, sure.

If you take a look at the Slitherine releases anytime recently, you'll note that the Normandy games far outstrip the Eastern Front ones.

It was indeed a sales tactic to stick an SS officer on the cover (Up Front is the most blatant example), or as many swastikas as you could physically fit into the game (Eastern Front Tank Leader, among others).

Fashions change. "Miniature wargaming" used to shorthand for "napoleonics", but now means Warhammer 40,000 by default.

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11 hours ago, herr_oberst said:

Dang... I was hoping the BOARs would be the chink in the armor that finally got us Space Lobsters...

Soviet antitank boars 👍

On a somewhat related note... Come on Steve. You know you want this.

September 1942. Pz.Rgt. 201 and StG.Abt. 177 push toward Stalingrad.

TWxFoP.png

Edited by Artkin
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56 minutes ago, PEB14 said:

I hope there is more than the three of us...😉

I used to be a pure WW2 guy but with CMSF being the first CM2 game i took the plunge and jumped into the more modern stuff...

Today i still prefer WW2 but i find the more modern titles as a nice compliment and i would very much like to see things like...

- A close to today China vs US game...Starting with Taiwan perhaps.

- A modern(ish) US vs North Korea game. (korea war 2)

But on the top of my list...

CM Barbarossa or CM Case Blue 😍🥰

 

 

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16 hours ago, Battlefront.com said:

I've been at this game development stuff for a very long time.  It never ceases to surprise me when we're surprised.  We put in a LOT of effort into avoiding "rabbit holes", but we can't avoid them completely because everything is a potential rabbit hole when you get right down too it.

Yeah, I'm in game development as well. Quite usual thing.

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On 1/31/2023 at 7:11 AM, Aragorn2002 said:

Please give us the other nations for the NATO module for CW too. Many of us are dying to know.

On 1/31/2023 at 7:16 AM, Battlefront.com said:

I'll get some sort of discussion about the details going soon.

Steve

I'm one of those dying to know, so I'm really looking forward to those details! 👍

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5 hours ago, domfluff said:

...in the seventies and eighties, sure.

If you take a look at the Slitherine releases anytime recently, you'll note that the Normandy games far outstrip the Eastern Front ones.

It was indeed a sales tactic to stick an SS officer on the cover (Up Front is the most blatant example), or as many swastikas as you could physically fit into the game (Eastern Front Tank Leader, among others).

Which still indicates that Germany sells... 😉

Normandy is no exception: it features the German forces (including SS).

BattleFront was really courageous to release CMFI, as I don't believe that WW2 in Italy is a popular subject. No iconic battle, no gigantic Panzer struggles...

 

5 hours ago, domfluff said:

Fashions change. "Miniature wargaming" used to shorthand for "napoleonics", but now means Warhammer 40,000 by default.

For sure they do. The younger public hasn't the same tastes as the previous generation. Interest for the Napoleonic campaigns has faded, as does interest for WW2. But I remain convinced that, as far as WW2 wargames (in the broad sense) are concerned, German centered topics are better seller than US centered ones, especially when they deal with iconic battles: Normandy is the best example, but Stalingrad or Kursk are excellent ones either...

Edited by PEB14
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7 hours ago, domfluff said:

...in the seventies and eighties, sure.

If you take a look at the Slitherine releases anytime recently, you'll note that the Normandy games far outstrip the Eastern Front ones.

The same is true for us.  CMBN crushes all competitors like a King Tiger driving over chocolate cream pie :)  Last time I looked at the numbers CMSF2 was by far our next best seller.

One thing I can say about Eastern Front is that it maintains a constant stream of sales slightly better than the rest of the lot (excluding above two).  Not necessarily a high level on any particular month, but over years it adds up to significant cumulative sales.

Every time I clarify that Eastern Front is not our most popular topic for CM I feel a need to remind people that I am an Eastern Front grog.  I've come to love working with Modern more day to day than Eastern Front, but my heart is still somewhere in Eastern Europe ;)

Steve

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5 hours ago, Dr.Fusselpulli said:

Yeah, I'm in game development as well. Quite usual thing.

You have my sympathies!  Fortunately time and "burned fingers" gives us a much better sense of unintended consequences.  We might still fall into a rabbit hole from time to time, but at least we avoid the rest of the warren.

Steve

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3 minutes ago, Battlefront.com said:

The same is true for us.  CMBN crushes all competitors like a King Tiger driving over chocolate cream pie :)  Last time I looked at the numbers CMSF2 was by far our next best seller.

One thing I can say about Eastern Front is that it maintains a constant stream of sales slightly better than the rest of the lot (excluding above two).  Not necessarily a high level on any particular month, but over years it adds up to significant cumulative sales.

Every time I clarify that Eastern Front is not our most popular topic for CM I feel a need to remind people that I am an Eastern Front grog.  I've come to love working with Modern more day to day than Eastern Front, but my heart is still somewhere in Eastern Europe ;)

Steve

Thank you for the information. I'm even surprised that CMBN remains your best seller, I thought the modern titles were.

Concerning the Eastern Front, I was very surprised by your choice to focus on Bagration as a first release. Economical choice perhaps, as you already developped a lot of German stuff for CMBN? I believe that Kursk and Stalingrad would have been sexiest (and thus potentielly better seller) than Bagration.

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3 hours ago, QuiGon said:

I'm one of those dying to know, so I'm really looking forward to those details! 👍

The Cold War guys are putting something together for you all.

Note that I screwed up and said "time forward", but that is incorrect.  I'll let them explain everything since I obviously can't be trusted with the details 😉  In my head I was remembering a very early design of jumping ahead to the early 80s, but there were too many equipment changes to make that viable as a Module.  Plus, we figured you guys would want BAOR more than a new flavor of Yank!

Steve

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1 minute ago, Battlefront.com said:

Fetch me a beer! 

New England breakfast ale? Now we maybe know why things are often dragging along with BFC progress!  (j/k)

~~~~~~~~~~

Your hand is at the tiller of the BFC ship and it goes where you think is best. Is your life-long buddy Charles a full-time programmer at another company and BFC is a side gig he timeshares his efforts to? Maybe you cannot confirm or deny. Is there a 2nd programmer under Charles' wing? Do you have life insurance on Charles? oh boy. 😄

 

 

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26 minutes ago, Lethaface said:

Is there even France terrain in CMFB?

Eeer.. What do you mean by France terrain? I mean, German and French terrains are quite similar, depending on regions... And Free French forces battled their way through Germany anyway...

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15 hours ago, Simcoe said:

I’m going to get the new module regardless but try a PBEM with a Soviet battalion using their best weaponry in 1982 vs Abrams and Bradley’s. If you’re playing the Soviets you are not going to have a fun time. 

Git Gud :D

This is actually a scenario in the current tournament and fwiw I'm having fun with it, as USSR & USA. So far my USSR forces aren't slaughtered.  

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16 minutes ago, Battlefront.com said:

Hey, that's cool, I can snap my fingers and make you do what I want?  Fetch me a beer!  Wait, never mind.  It would take you way too long to get it here.  I'll just have to be satisfied with your update.

Steve

Case of Australian beer, roughly 16kg in weight for 24 bottles. Make it a decent craft beer about $60 AUD for the case. Check shipping to east coast of the USA... +$264 AUD by air and receive within 10 business days. Probably going to arrive warm and works out to be $13.50 for each bottle drunk. Ouch. Saying that, this is roughly the price of a pint in many pubs these days. I also don't drink beer so not the best experienced buyer for you. :)

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