April 16, 2003 (SEATTLE) - WizKids, LLC, the Seattle-based maker of the best-selling Mage Knight(tm) and MechWarrior(r) collectable miniatures games (CMGs), has once again received top honors from the United States' leading comic book retailers.
This week the company was named 2002 Game Publisher of the Year, and its HeroClix(tm) CMG named 2002 Game Product of the Year by the GEM Awards, presented by Diamond Distributors, the nation's largest comic book and game distributor. The honors are voted on directly by retail store owners, and are considered highly accurate gauges of both popularity and sales performance.
"These are two very brilliant GEMs for our crown," said Martin Stever, WizKids executive vice president. "It's clear that our games are as big a hit among comics fans as our other games are among sci-fi and fantasy adventure fans."
Stever cited the company's extensive retail outreach program, banner year for sales, and its great partnerships with Marvel and DC Comics as keys to its success. "We also had terrific support from Diamond all year long. They have a terrific staff that is a lot of fun to work with."
WizKids' innovative viral marketing uses community-based volunteers, called "envoys," to administer between eight thousand and ten thousand in-store game play events per month. Stever said that these events are essential in getting customers involved in its games. Its HeroClix lines, for example, license DC and Marvel comic book heroes as collectable miniatures that can be battled against each other in tabletop games.
"Everyone wants to see Superman save Lois Lane, or the Hulk(tm) smash everything in his path. With HeroClix, they get to act it out right in their own homes and offices," said Stever. "These products are great fun, and we're very happy to receive this recognition."
Diamond Comics Distributors is the world's largest distributor of English-language comics and related merchandise.
WizKids is a Seattle-based game developer and publisher dedicated to creating tabletop games driven by imagination. Its Mage Knight, MechWarrior and HeroClix CMGs are among the most successful games on the market today, and have sold tens of millions of figures worldwide. For additional information, visit www.wizkidsgames.com.
(c)2003 WizKids, LLC. All rights reserved. Mage Knight, HeroClix, MechWarrior and WizKids are trademarks of WizKids, LLC. Marvel and all related characters and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of Marvel Characters, Inc., and are used with permission. (c)2003 Marvel Characters, Inc. www.marvel.com
The DC Bullet and all DC characters, names, logos, and distinctive likenesses are trademarks of DC Comics. All artwork and text featuring DC Comics' characters and related indicia (c) 2003 DC Comics. All rights reserved. www.dccomics.com.
