Interview with Matt Wilson
Posted by admin on Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010
I asked Matt Wilson of Privateer Press if he would answer a few interview questions. Here are my questions and his responses. Thanks Matt for your willingness to answer these.
How long have you been a mini game player? What game did you get started playing?
When I was about 12, I got TSR’s Battlesystem. That was my introduction to minis gaming. It came with hundreds of chits, so you didn’t even need minis, but it was the spark that lit my fire.
You’re quite an accomplished artist. How long have you been painting? How long have you been painting professionally? Where did you get your start?
I’ve been painting since about 1995…so I guess 15 years. I’ve only ever painted professionally…meaning, I started painting because I had to for the job I was in, which at the time was at AEG working on the Legend of the Five Rings CCG.
What made you decide to start your own game company?
I work better for myself.
The Iron Kingdoms RPG game hasn’t been in print for sometime now, but there seems to still be people playing it. Any plans for a new version, or reprinting the books?
We have released all of the books as PDF downloads through a couple of the online retailers of PDFs. Sometime in the next 18-24 months, we hope to complete a new IK RPG system that will reinvent our setting into a whole new RPG experience. At the moment, though, we’re focused on getting all of the Force Books and Hordes MkII done, so the RPG is in the que.
Warmachine took off quickly in popularity in it’s initial release. To what do you attribute it’s rapid success?
We made a very high quality product. We didn’t rush it to market just to get it out there. We took the time to make WARMACHINE a solidly developed game, released all of our factions on the same day, and then put a lot of hard work into getting the game out to consumers. It wasn’t a rocket that took off on day one. There’s a lot of work behind the success of the product.
Did you find it difficult to get started making your own game?
No. I’ve been making games for fun since I was 12 years old. Spent more time making games than playing them.
Does Privateer Press manufacture it’s mini’s in house, or are they created elsewhere?
All of our metal miniatures are made in our own factory. Plastics are produced overseas.
How has Privateer Press grown in the last 8 years (it’s been 8 years, right?) since it’s creation?
Actually, Privateer was established in 2001. The first products were RPG modules, notably, The Witchfire Trilogy. We started in a basement. Today, we’re a thriving, growing, well established company with a large catalog of minis and a growing menu of varied games.
In the current state of the global economy it seems that people are spending less all around. In contrast, it seems that the new MKII rules for Warmachine have sold pretty well. Do you think that it would have sold even more if the economy was not an issue? Did the sales live up to the projected rates?
MkII has launched far beyond our expectations and hopes. I have no idea if it would have done better in a more robust economy or not. Right now, we’re just thrilled to see all the new growth WARMACHINE is experiencing.
The initial announcement of the MK2 rules on the Privateer Press official forums seemed to cause a few players to announce they were leaving the game. Contrary, MK2 has also seemed to gain interest from players who may have overlooked Warmachine for one reason or another. Have the sales been mainly people already dedicated to the game, or are you seeing an influx of new players? Or both?
Rule #1: don’t base your opinions on what you read on forums. We’ve got over 30,000 registered users. However, 6 people can look like an angry mob when they sit there and post their negativity all day long. But they’re not representative of the group as a whole. You have to look past this, and when you have actual sales data, this is a lot easier to do. MkII is a huge success for Privateer, and both veteran and new players alike are enjoying the game.
The addition of Voltron in Monsterpocalypse is exciting! Did you watch the cartoons when you were younger?
Indeed! It was one of the first animes that I ever saw. There’s a very warm place in my heart for Voltron and getting the license for Monsterpocalypse was a dream come true.
Are they’re going to be anymore additions of famous larger then life licenses? Ultraman perhaps?
Can’t say right now, but anything is possible.
What do you see is the future for Privateer Press?
Hopefully doing what we’ve always done— getting bigger and better. The more we grow, the more we’re able to accomplish and bring to our players. Look at the original WARMACHINE: Prime compare to MkII. It’s essentially the same game, but everything about MkII, from the rules to the art to the models we’re making now, is even better. We’re always learning, always striving and seeking for new ways to improve the experience with our products. Despite what I said about not listening to forum negativity, we are first and foremost motivated by making sure our customers are pleased with our products. We hate letting people down and nothing is more inspiring than seeing our events filled with happy, enthusiastic players that can’t wait for our next book or new game to come out. So, that’s the future I hope to see for Privateer. Great games and happy gamers.
Grind seems to have been a hit. Are there any plans for more Board Games to be released?
We’ve got all kinds of games in the hopper, and definitely intend to do more board games.
Are there any plans for more fiction material set in the Iron Kingdoms? Novels or Comics, or cartoons, movies?
Yes. Yes. Yes. and Yes. Those things are slow to develop, though, and we aren’t yet at the point where any can be announced. But there is a lot going on behind the scenes.
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February 23rd, 2010 at 1:22 pm
The man on the street, TC.
Good interview!