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Stern : Star Wars Fall of the Empire

So if I have this correct, it's not a licensing issue but a problem with exporting the Spike 3 generally. Isn't that a major issue for Stern?

I was told by a well know Stern employee that exports outside of the US make up nearly 40% of their sales, with Europe being the biggest importer outside the States.
 
Gonzo said:
So if I have this correct, it's not a licensing issue but a problem with exporting the Spike 3 generally. Isn't that a major issue for Stern?

I was told by a well know Stern employee that exports outside of the US make up nearly 40% of their sales, with Europe being the biggest importer outside the States.
Click to expand...
That’s providing that info is correct , odd of sterns dropped the ball on that
 
Gonzo said:
So if I have this correct, it's not a licensing issue but a problem with exporting the Spike 3 generally. Isn't that a major issue for Stern?

I was told by a well know Stern employee that exports outside of the US make up nearly 40% of their sales, with Europe being the biggest importer outside the States.
Click to expand...

Either way looks like they have messed this one up and hopefully they can remedy it asap to stop any financial impact
 
Very odd situation, particularly given the long wait for Spike three.

Was that post from Kaneda an official Stern document do we know?
 
Gonzo said:
So if I have this correct, it's not a licensing issue but a problem with exporting the Spike 3 generally. Isn't that a major issue for Stern?

I was told by a well know Stern employee that exports outside of the US make up nearly 40% of their sales, with Europe being the biggest importer outside the States.
Click to expand...
I still think it’s likely to be a licensing thing, Disney are weird like that
 
I have the same problem with star wars in the statue hobby i collect. Over past couple of years anything with the ip isn't allowed to be shipped to europe so i have to get statue shipped to my florida address and then shipped to uk to get round it.
 
Had it confirmed by Stern that it is licensing in Europe, The Middle East & Africa will not be getting the game as things stand.

I have also spoken to someone at Disney within the last hour and it seems to be an opt-in licence which Lucas Film have not yet decided to do in certain territories.

That said, Stern are still trying to engage and looking to gauge interest in different territories so are encouraging people to contact distributors to get an idea of numbers.
 
So reading between the lines, Disney licensing is regional as mentioned above.

I'm just awaiting confirmation but it does seem it's not a case that Stern have been denied the licence for Europe, but rather they can't or won't pay for it.

So the new game will be available in North and South America, Asia and Pacific which includes Australia.

Europe and Africa can't have the new Star Wars as things stand which is a bit of a stinker. We'd really need Stern to pay up the extra money on our behalf but there's no indication they will.

Stern are reminding people in Europe that Kong and Dungeons and Dragons are still available and claiming their next cornerstone will be available everywhere.

Scant consolation for Star Wars fans in Europe. Certainly their game reveal is going to go down like a wet fart this side of the pond.

They've encouraged buyers to contact their European distributors but the distros are in a bad position too because this will make a big dent in turnover.
 
it is all very strange, if Stern thought buying the EU licence and selling games here would make a profit I'm sure they would.

So logically they must either think they can't sell enough to turn a profit, or don't have enough cash to buy the EU licence without selling a load of US games first.

Along with getting rid of Jack Danger as a designer and talk of more (cheaper to develop) remakes...... dunno doesn't sound too good, especially when they have a big new factory.
 
kev a said:
it is all very strange, if Stern thought buying the EU licence and selling games here would make a profit I'm sure they would.

So logically they must either think they can't sell enough to turn a profit, or don't have enough cash to buy the EU licence without selling a load of US games first.

Along with getting rid of Jack Danger as a designer and talk of more (cheaper to develop) remakes...... dunno doesn't sound too good, especially when they have a big new factory.
Click to expand...

I do wonder if this whole "contact your distributor" malarkey is to gauge interest before they pay for the licence.

I suspect they may make it available here eventually if there is sufficient demand.

We'll see I guess.
 
It does just sound like a financial decision. If a tiny percentage of overall sales are in this region then they can weigh up the licensing vs the actual costs.

What they may not be factoring in there is the overall negative impact on the brand etc.

But... they are the biggest show in town so I guess they can just give us the two fingers if they want.
 
To be absolutely fair, I have heard today that the EMEA part of Disney just won't agree and it's not Sterns fault.

The only issue I have with that is, if true, why are Stern asking people to contact their European distributor to get an idea of numbers over a licence they can't get? It doesn't match up and seems like a waste of time.

Anyway, @banned member is speaking to a Disney CEO and going to try and apply some pressure.

Also I spoke to someone at Disney on Thursday who were sort of suggesting Lucas Film make the decision but should have clarification next week because LF 'weren't in the office'. To be fair, the person I spoke to is someone I know very well and doesn't work in licensing just for full clarity.

I suspect we will eventually get this title but significantly later than the rest of the world and we'll probably see other Stern releases before.

Either way it's a bit shyte really on such a big IP.
 
To be honest this is Stern's and not EMEA's fault

Stern took on the IP knowing they did not have the European market and hoped once it was built EMEA would be on board...

They gambled and they lost

Would you risk investing x amount of money knowing you won't be able to sell it to 40% of your market...
 
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