Yesterday I announced the continent (Asia) for the next Wingspan expansion and showcased a bird card from the expansion…many months before I’ll officially reveal this major product. Why now?
I like examining publishing decisions related to timing and anticipation. For context, the standard method for Stonemaier Games is to (a) produce a product we love and ship it to fulfillment centers, then (b) announce and unveil the product, then a few weeks later (c) accept preorders for the product and ship it to customers, with the retail release to follow a few months later.
I’ve been a little more loosey-goosey with expansions, though. While I conceal new games behind mysterious code names on our progress chart, I list expansions there as, for example, “Tapestry expan. 3”. Also, in early 2020 we decided to go ahead and announce Wingspan Oceania many months before the full announcement, as we saw it as an opportunity to contribute to the wildfires raging through Australia at the time (we donated $1 per preorder launch notification to WIRES, a wildlife rescue organization. Our total donation was $7,439 USD).
So that brings us to Wingspan Asia. This expansion is currently in production alongside the Nesting Box, with the expected arrival of the product at fulfillment centers–and thus the announcement and ensuing preorder–in early Q4 2022. That’s 3 months away at best. So why now? And why reveal a card too?
I really started thinking about it after a conversation with my book publisher friend, Todd Sattersten, who happens to be a big fan of Wingspan (he even playtested this expansion). Todd and I often debate the right time to reveal a new product, and he made a great point about the value of giving people a little reminder every now and then that there’s something exciting to look forward to. Anticipation through repetition.
The other factor that I’ve been aware of for a while but have never implemented at Stonemaier Games is the strategy Wizards of the Coast uses to tease new Magic the Gathering sets. They always have a specific reveal period–usually 2 weeks–where they talk about the design process and showcase cards. But months before that, they often reveal one or two teaser cards, which I’ve found to be really fun. I’m okay with not knowing more at that point and just whetting my appetite for the future full reveal.
My major hesitation with trying this method was that by revealing a little bit, I would get flooded with questions about the expansion that I’d prefer to answer during the full reveal. This isn’t my first rodeo, and I appreciate how info-eager people are about Wingspan.
My minor hesitation is that Wingspan fans would see this as an opportunity to provide suggestions for Wingspan Asia (despite the expansion already being in production). Elizabeth is very active in the Wingspan Facebook group and on BGG–she sees fan suggestions on an ongoing basis, and we even invite people to suggest birds on this form whenever they’d like. As with all our products, Wingspan Asia went through a rigorous proofreading and oversight process. Ultimately, to offer visual clarity to Wingspanners that Wingspan Asia is already in production and is thus not open to additional feedback, I took a photo of the teaser bird card instead of using a digital image, and that seems to have helped.
Of course, there’s also the charitable opportunity. For every preorder launch notification request we receive via this signup form, Stonemaier Games will donate $1 to a charitable organization that benefits birds in Asia. Among the organizations we’re considering (we will likely choose several) are BirdLife International, Animals Asia, and Flight. The other benefit this method provides is that we can better predict how many units of Wingspan Asia and the Nesting Box to send to our fulfillment centers in the US, Australia, Canada, and Europe.
The plan is that I’ll reveal another bird each month until the full reveal. I wanted to leave that possibility flexible in case this approach backfired and somehow angered Wingspan fans, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. This is meant to bring joy and hope, something to look forward to.
What do you think? Do you like this method for expansions? I’m much more open to this for expansions than I am for completely new products, as expansions are a known entity. A new game absent of details will quickly lead to accusations of “hype,” so I’d prefer to wait to reveal them until the products themselves are ready and final.
Quick reminder: Today’s book club livecast will be on Facebook at 1:00 Central, with the topic of “Make It About Them.” Also, a fun chat I had late last year with Game On Tabletop just posted on YouTube; you can check it out here:
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26 Comments on “Why We Started Teasing Wingspan Asia Now”
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[…] of the Nesting Box and Wingspan Asia. For Wingspan Asia, we gauged demand from distributors and customers alike. This was a massive investment for us, but we try to avoid accepting your hard-earned money up […]
So, will we be able to see all the new mechanics when pre-orders become available this year?
The method we use is that about a month before the preorder opens, we’ll reveal everything about the product. We’ll start with the rulebook, then we’ll focus on different components, abilities, etc in a daily design diary for 10 days. The preorder follows a few weeks later, then shipping a few weeks after that.
when will it be released in Italy?
That’s up to Ghenos to decide, but probably in early 2023.
definitely cant wait for this expansion, as well as other expansions from other continents.. especially africa!! gotta love those ostrich art on the card…
I love the strategy as it reminds me it’s in the works.
Especially since it’s a picture of the printed card, which tells me it’s already likely in production.
So 4 continents so far.
North America
Europe
Oceania
Asia
Looking forward to birds from:
Africa
South America
Antarctica
Can’t wait to see what’s in store for us!
I think an Antarctica expansion is pretty unlikely, considering the bird population isn’t terribly diverse. What I think is more likely is revisiting earlier continents with additional birds, possibly covering two continents together. The obvious pairings would be the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa/Oceania. For mechanisms, I think something about migration, maybe?
Antarctica is a continent, so it is indeed a region we hope to cover in a Wingspan expansion (even if it’s smaller than the others).
If you include the subantarctic islands this increases the number of species. The diversity on the continent of Antarctica itself is low (the peninsula is where you are going to find the majority of species, the ‘main’ continent has virtually nothing). For example, of the 18 penguin species, only 4 of them actually are Antarctic penguins – the other 14 nest on subantarctic islands or other continents.
Releasing details early seems to be beneficial in the tabletop world from generating hype to building community – its also a creative endeavor that benefits from feedback.
In terms of your strategy to release details as a slow-burn to pre-order, you have a few known quantities to back into:
1) Wingspan has a massive audience; even if the slow burn doesn’t resonate with everyone, it’s likely to resonate with someone
2) The fans of Wingspan are incredibly varied in their relation or entrance to the hobby; for example many bird / nature enthusiasts entered board-gaming through Wingspan – they are going to be excited about more birbs!
3) Stonemaier has several community building locations for fans of their games; you have a real time feedback loop on what Wingspan fans want, making you incredibly agile in your ability to test varying strategies.
4) The risks on sharing details is small; Wingspan has hundreds of cards, showing 3 will not remove the excitement of opening day, and as you mentioned, its an expansion! We have a relationship with the base game – a shared language in terms of the components, we know what a birb card looks like, so nothing is spoiled there!
5) Lastly, you have the physical copy of the card; its the real deal! I was thinking today about crowd-funding and how some of these companies who have been hit hardest by shipping / logistics concerns have had to stretch the excitement for their games well beyond their planned marketing strategies. They often have to rely on other means to generate or sustain interest, as the physical copies are usually not completed!
I imagine there are more than these elements to take into consideration; Stonemaier and Wingspan seem to have a special combination that would make this type of strategy popular.
Now personally – show me 1 card, show me 20, I am ALL IN on seeing information to know a game I love is getting more content. Keep ’em coming! :)
This is an excellent list, Abagail–thank you for compiling it! I look forward to sharing more birds soon. :)
[…] Games teased the next expansion, Asia, for Wingspan, although it won’t be available for several more […]
Since the expansion is in production and the details aren’t widely known yet, it makes sense not to solicit suggestions right now. More generally, after a game or expansion is released and widely available, are there types of constructive feedback that are useful (and the inverse)? For example, if someone has a rough experience learning a new game because of a specific piece of a rulebook, is it valuable to provide information about that experience as constructive input into future printings? (Or, perhaps, is that only truly useful after a decision to update the rulebook?)
Really love the single-card teaser approach, looking forward to the next one!
Shawn: That’s a great question. Really, any sort of constructive feedback after someone has played a game or expansion is super helpful–I read a lot of comments from gamers on our Facebook groups and BGG. The most helpful feedback is when the person provides a specific example and why it did/didn’t work for them (both types of feedback are helpful–the things we do that people want us to continue to do, and the things that leave people feeling confused or frustrated).
I’m super excited about the next expansion, and the way you’re showing it makes it even more exciting. I think it’s a great idea, and at least I don’t have any problem with that, as I take it as a promise. Otherwise, there can be times where you don’t know absolutely anything about it, they tell you that something’s gonna launch, but they don’t tell you anything else; that has happened to me with some movies or TV shows and after not getting any news I quickly forget about them, so go on! I’m looking forward to buying this expansion as soon as it reaches stores here in Mexico.
Hello Jamey! As it is custom, I will be the discordant voice.
I never buy games (or expansions) when they are released. I have more than enough games to fill my needs so I see no benefit on buying something during its first wave.
Waiting for later releases usually comes with two perks: lower prices and updates/fixes caught after release. Waiting even more may increase the chance that a special edition with expansions bundled is released.
How does this relate to your article? In my case, and I may be in a very small group, when I learn about a new expansion for a game I was planning on buying, I delay the purchase of the base game. Why? Because many times, with a new expansion, stores offer bundles or sales on base games.
So, by announcing an expansion earlier, you increase the time that I am not willing to buy the base game.
Other than that, I do not see any harm on announcing products early to increase the anticipation and provide fans with appreciated content.
I’ll believe it when I see it, Marco. :)
I love it!
Yeah. Big fan of this approach. Just because one person may get grumpy not knowing everything all at once after a tease, doesn’t mean loads of others won’t enjoy the ride. I think you’re playing to the percentages here, Jamey. We waited many years for many other things, films being one big example, and people just build anticipation and excitement. I don’t see why it can’t be like that in games too. Just gotta hope things deliver I suppose and we don’t get loads of a average Dino movies!
Also very happy with your approach here, and really happy to hear about the continent and the birds. It would be even better if you revealed a bird each week rather than monthly…
As we get closer, I may consider revealing 1 per week, but for now I don’t want to convey that we’re ramping up to the full announcement, as it really is 3 months away at the very earliest.
That sounds a good plan, increasing our excitement the closer we get to the release date. In Jamey we trust!
I like this approach in this instance. There are very many Wingspan fans who will certainly be buying this expansion and as such are immune to ‘hype’ because they have already made their decision. Seeing a series of cards will be a nice reward for the fans of the game and I’m sure will bring weeks of pleasure and anticipation for the expansion.
Very glad you gave us something early. The FB group is a Farley from how active it used to be, so this will give us new things to talk about!
I really enjoyed this approach. My first reaction (before I even read it) was to send the article to my sister who is my main wingspan opponent. She was excited because she has a peacock and has lived in Asia so we both got very excited.