We contacted several of the largest game companies to get their reactions to WizKids' move to exclusive distribution to the hobby channel (see 'WizKids Goes Exclusive').  We asked Wizards of the Coast CEO Loren Greenwood whether his company was considering an exclusive distribution move, and his response was negative.  'No, we have no plans to move to an exclusive distribution model,' he said.  'We have a commitment to our distributors and core retailers, and we don't want to limit our contact with our customers.' 

We also asked Greenwood whether he thought that WizKids (or any other major company) choosing an exclusive distributor was good or bad for the industry.  'We can't speak for another company;' he said, 'however, this is not a move we believe would benefit our own business, our partners, or our customers.  As the leader in the hobby gaming industry, we have a deep and broad channel of retailers and distributors who work hard at helping us deliver our games to fans around the world.  We simply don't see a benefit to limiting our contacts within the industry.'

We also spoke to Mayfair Games CEO Will Niebling.  Asked whether Mayfair would consider exclusive distribution, he said, 'It's nothing that Mayfair has under consideration.' 

We also asked Niebling whether he thought WizKids' move was good for the industry.  'It's too soon to tell, but reading the interview (see 'Interview with Lax Chandra and Joe Hauck, Part 1' and 'Interview with Lax Chandra and Joe Hauck, Part 2'), I got the impression that one of the issues was they they wanted to reduce Internet discounting.  If that was one of the key motivating factors, for that aspect, it could be a good and helpful decision for the brick and mortar stores.'

Representatives of Upper Deck and of Publisher Services Inc. (which sells to distributors for White Wolf, Steve Jackson Games, Alderac, Palladium, and Margaret Weis Productions, among others) declined to comment for this article.