Gundam fans are getting a tabletop game

Gundam Chat! The new tabletop game based on the Gundam The series was recently announced by Bandai Spirits, the toy arm of the Japanese multinational entertainment company Bandai Namco. That is in addition to the highly anticipated gathering of cards, namely Gundam Card Gameexpected later this year. Although not many details are available, the Gundam Discussion game will use a new line of five-centimeter-high Gunpla miniatures based on characters from the iconic Mobile Suit Gundam franchise, connecting mecha from various series to assemble on the table.

For the uninitiated, Gundam pioneered the subgenre of giant robot anime that has since become one of Japan’s biggest science fiction franchises. First released in 1979, the TV series Mobile Suit Gundam (created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Sunrise studio creative team called Hajime Yatate) has evolved into a national publication with a series of tutorials, books, and miniatures called Gunpla , which has reportedly sold more than 500 million units worldwide. All together, sales of Gundam related products total approx $925 million worldwidenearly double from five years ago. Banda Namco’s newest Gundam director, Hiroshi Sakakibara, said in a special for the franchise’s 45th anniversary that his goal is to expand Gundam’s recognition and presence around the world – and when Gundam Discussion not mentioned in that report, it seems that the tabletop game is part of that idea.

However, like many IP games that have been released recently, it seems that way Gundam Discussion is backing itself up a lot on the nostalgia-based, hype-focused laurels built up over the past 45 years of publishing. Currently there is very little information on what this tabletop game will do. The company announced that “Each unit can relate to their unique characteristics, allowing players to enjoy events that follow the original story, or different to the events of the world. Mobile Suit Gundam series; thus providing both a fun and a different combat experience. “The trailer for the game shows Gunpla’s actions, both on small lights and a square, multi-colored hexgrid with several ten-sided dice.

Importantly though, Bandai Spirits isn’t asking for money, yet. The company’s statement says that detailed regulations and specific products will be revealed later, at which time we will begin to see pre-orders. Will it end up being more of a board game, or something like the smaller board games that are growing in popularity? We will know more soon the Gundam Discussion website.