Hello All:

We updated our new releases page today with a bunch of new Rittenhouse Archives upcoming sets. There have also been a few release date changes on Rittenhouse's schedule -- these are also reflected on the release page. Here's the link for anyone who wants to go there now:

http://www.nonsportupdate.com/notable.htm

What do you think of all of their upcoming releases? If you look at the list, it's astounding that over 35% of the upcoming release we list are from them!

Harris

I think Rittenhouse is doing a great job. Steve Charendoff (hope I have his name right) is rethinking the card market, issuing small 9 card preview sets and using unusual chase cards, such as sound cards, 2 autographs per box, etc. I don't know how he does it, the article in NSU about him said he was pretty much a one man operation. His approach to issuing so many different sets assures there's something there for everyone. I have no interest in the Farscape or Stargate series, but I do in the Twilight Zone, Wild Wild West and Babylon 5. I have seen complaints from collectors who couldn't afford to pursue all the chase cards, and from dealers who had collation problems, but these are problems we see with almost all card companies.

What I find interesting is that the majority of new releases this year are more or less evenly split between Rittenhouse and Inkworks! No new stuff from Skybox or Fleer or whatever they are calling themselves, which suggests they've completely dropped out of Non-Sport, and (from a cursory glance) only one new release from Topps!

I don't mind the supplemantary or preview sets that Rittenhouse does as long as they are not too highly priced (the Xena sets are reasonable, the Women of Voyager and Tsunkase overpriced)
I only hope that, once they have settled down with Voyager, Rittenhouse goes for the other series in the Trek franchise - I cannot be the only collector itching to see some new DS9 cards!

Ditto on the DS9 cards. I hope to see some new and innovative scifi sets.
Maybe Rittenhouse, Topps, or whoever has the license would consider a Star Trek 1967-1976 or Babylon 5 series 1 Archives sets. The inserts would be original commons, stickers, and wrappers.

No to rain on the pure and good enthusiasm of the card collectors, but, sadly, Paramount didn't offer the liscense to DS9, TOS or TNG. They only offered the Voyager line. I know SkyBox and Rittenhouse both requested full rights, but they didn't offer it. Perhaps they (Paramount) will later. I think there is still things that can be done with the other shows. I spoke to Paramount after the release of TNG Profiles, to offer my take (for what it's worth) on the Trek line. At that time, they commented it was one option they were considering. They felt it needed a cooling off period, that enough cards had been done and they may only offer contracts for new series as they come out, new movies. Obviously, that is the path they chose. I know Rittenhouse is a big TOS fan and I suspect, he would keep a line in for his interest in expanding the contract if Paramount allows it.

Hello: For those of you who keep up with such things, we've just recieved some more changes in product schedule from Rittenhouse Archives so we've updated our new releases area again. Go to http://www.nonsportupdate.com/notable.htm to view the complete schedule.

This time, it's just a few changes:

>The Xena preview set moves from Jan. to Feb

>Farscape In Motion moves to April (don't forget that we've extended the ending date for the Farscape In Motion contest until May 31, 2001)

>Hercules: The Complete Journeys gets added to June

>Star Trek: The Legend of Captain Kirk In Motion gets changed to Star Trek: The Original Series In Motion, 35th Anniversary Edition

>First Wave, the first full edition, gets moved back to August

Harris

Harris,
A quick 'Thanks" for keeping the Upcoming Release feature constantly updated. It's a valuable resource for me to have the information in one place instead of chasing it all over the 'net, or through phone calls to my distributor/the manufacturers. I check this feature at least once a week...I really appreciate the information and convenience.

We've updated the new release section once again with a new schedule we received today from Rittenhouse Archives. We'll be updating it once again in a week or so (once the new issue comes out) with some changes from the other card manufacturers. Go here to see today's revision:

http://www.nonsportupdate.com/notable.htm