"Was Inquisitor a Flop?" Topic

Just MHO, no data to back it up, but…

Large companies like GW don't generally go around making a product they hope will sell only a few units. They want mass sales, naturally.

This is a wargaming mega-corp, not a snobby boutique gourmet coffeeshop. They don't care if you understand all the nuances and so on, they just want to sell as much stuff to you for as much as they can get.

The whole idea seemed silly to me from the start.
Not my cup of tea, but then, I wasn't the target audience.

I think it would have done much better if it was based on the same scale as 40K. The actual game is pretty good though.

Flopin' like a mackerel.

Not sure if the audience was there. Odd scale put me off, and I thought it was gunna be like a large version of Necromunda, but w/o the gangs, and using special characters instead of flunkies…

I thought the whole game was designed to be more of the tabletop roleplaying game some of the fans wanted – with larger scale figures to allow their sculptors and the collectors a chance to show off their skills in modeling and painting. I've painted several of the figures and they are very, very nice. I would like to collect more, but then again – I have too many figures to paint as it is right now. I may get a few to add to my small collection, but only for showcase figures. The game itself is quite fun – and we do play it with the regular scale figures – a bit slow in parts, but it is still fun!

Back then, GW produced a line of fan-based games that were centered around the Warhammer and 40K flagships (Necromunda, Mordheim, Warmaster, etc.). I can't imagine how anyone would think that it was creating the next flagship. I saw Inquisitor in just about every store I visited at the time. Seemed pretty successful from that standpoint.

I recall a hobby store I used to frequent got in a bunch, found that the 40K power gamers weren't getting into it, and they promptly cut losses and dumped it. They told me the guys didn't want to pay that much for a few models, and without a point system to min/max they didn't bite. Me, I have it and it's not bad, but it's and RPG style, not a 40K style battle game.

Obviously, it was always meant to be a small game. But even then, I think it was a flop compared to almost all of GW other's secondary games.

GW never expects it's "third" game to become a flagship (with the possible exception of LoTR), but I don't think they expect a game to be as much of a niche thing as Inquisitor was. Right from the beginning, I was scratching my head over it, especially since it pretty much replaced Battlefleet Gothic in the lineup, which had in turn replaced one of my favorites, Mordheim. Back before the Specialist Games ranges, only one was really supported at a time, which thankfully they've gotten a bit better with.

A classic case of setting low standards and then failing to achieve them.

Of course they wanted it to be bigger. And, had the game been in 28mm, I totally think it would have a larger cult following to this day.

But 54mm, that simply didn't make sense, no matter how they tried to spin it.

I found the prices to be the ultimate obstacle. $30 USD for a single figure? No thanks. For that price, I could field an entire mech infantry platoon in 15mm, complete with vehicles, support weapons, and everything.

The game was interesting, but the prices were insane. I played a few games, but with my 28mm minis. Why buy them twice?

It might have worked if they had done it in 28mm. They could have sold the figures as special characters in 40k and for use in Inquisitor.

"It might have worked if they had done it in 28mm. They could have sold the figures as special characters in 40k and for use in Inquisitor."

and use 40K minis as scut troops(redshirts) and demons and background

It seemed to me that the rules were an afterthought. I think someone wanted to do 54mm 40K and that's how they could do it.

yeah, a flop. I agree.

Had it been 28mm, it would have possibly done very very well. In fact I am really surprised they have not yet repackaged it for the "one true scale."

I mean after the Dan Abbnet books who would NOT want to play such a thing?