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| Let me lead you to the promised land!!! |
He said, "If you listen carefully to the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you." Exodus 15:26
(Translation obey me and my commandments or get bitch slapped peeps!)
The Lord might be your Shepherd but when it comes to toy soldiers it's God money who you have to worry about it seems. This is going to be a bit of a weird sermon, mainly because it's on Wednesday, but also because rather than playing Devils advocate or poking a bit of fun at people... I'm being deadly serious. By now most of you will have heard that unsurprisingly Games Workshop are at it again with their annual price hike shenanigans. Look we all knew it was coming, and only the bloody stupidly optimistic among you thought it wasn't... sorry if that's you, but hey I'm telling it like it is today. What many of you may not be aware of is just how painful it is going to be for some of you. It's bad, Biblically bad, forget Sodom and Gomorrah!
So I'm going to lay down some ten commandments of my own:
- Thou shall play many other Games and forsake Games Workshop.
- Thou shall make for yourself many toy soldier idols, made of metal, plastic, quality resin not Finecast and throw down with them and playeth fun games and worship thy hobby again.
- Thou shall not misuse or utter the name of those who must not be mentioned (Games Workshop).
- Thou shall remember and keep the Sabbath day holy by Reading Frontline Gamers Awesome Sunday Sermons!
- Respect your wallet and fellow gamer.
- Thou must kill in many devious and imaginative ways in all the other game systems you were previously too afraid to try.
- Thou must commit adultery. Go on become a games whore, it's far more fun.
- Thou shall not bitch, whinge and moan about thee price increase while still buyething their crap! Especially if thou buyeth their Stormravens!!!
- Thou must not give false evidence to your fellow gamer and defend their price increase, for if you do thou shall be called schmuck and nincompoop.
- Thou must not be envious of your neighbour's miniatures. You shall not be envious of his wargames nor his D20's, nor anything that belongs to your neighbour... just buy it yourself!!!
So there we have it. I want absolutely no moaning, or whinging to be directed towards me here with regards to Games Workshops continued price gouging. I don't want to hear it, especially if you're planning on still buying their product. While I feel really sorry for those of you who have stayed loyal to Games Workshop over the years, who stood by them while they did dumb-ass things. You genuinely deserve better, but by now you must, I mean positively MUST know you aren't going to be treated any better than this.
Don't anybody tell me that it's to do with inflationary pressures or other such bollocks either. Games Workshop have proudly boasted for the past three years now that they have slashed their wage bill, by making people redundant and massively cut manufacturing costs by shipping some production to China and using cheaper, and in my opinion inferior quality raw materials. So they've been slashing their running costs (wise business practice) and inflationary pressures aren't as high as the increases we're starting to hear about. Simply put we're now talking solely about price gouging and it's that simple. I feel sorry for the staff members in their stores and the countless Local Game Store owners who will be the ones dealing with this at the sharp end. So if you think Games Workshop is now too expensive, play something else, there's plenty of stuff out there. Yet again Games Workshop will be driving disgruntled customers in the waiting arms of Privateer Press, Corvus Belli, Wyrd Miniatures and now Fantasy Flight Games... who with Dust Warfare might be the biggest winner in all this. Peace out!
PS. Only 9 more followers required before I start the giveaway for the Bushdio stuff, so if you want to start a new game and fancy some free to help you along get pimping my Blog out people!!!
Cut ties with all abusive relationships. There is no reason why this cannot apply to our hobbies. I love the IP, the novels and the speciality games but I have long let go of the years in fantasy and 40k in order to enjoy my hobby once again. Gather your friends like I did. Show them the options in front of you all and try them out. This hobby is not solitare, it requires others to play. Convincing a slew of people to put away the 'hammer' and invest in another game is to your benifit.
ReplyDeleteI will miss my time foraging in the ruins of a fantasy city with my warband, running my Warriors up the field with the ball (for once) and crusing the void with my fleets, but those games have long been abandoned.
"Ourselves" (As no-one else is likely to concern themselves with our welfare!) - Royal Naval Toast for Wednesday
I wrote this last year in May:
Deletehttp://thefrontlinegamer.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/are-you-in-abusive-relationship.html
and quite frankly it's getting more and more relevant by the day. My entire Blog has been about showcasing the wonderful products that are out there and being produced by other people. I shall continue my one man mission to enlighten people as to other companies product. Speaking of which, I have a review to finish off for tomorrow.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteYeah, I'm done complaining about GW. They can get the Eff out and take their money-stained collection of wife-beater t-shirts with them. I'm moving on and creating my own damn Sci-Fi game:
Deletehttp://them42project.blogspot.com/
If you feel the same way, come give us a look. We can use all the creative people we can get.
Wis you the best of luck with the project SandWyrm. I do keep an eye on it from time to time... just a little busy with my own stuff right now, so I'll not be contributing massively.
Delete"I will miss my time foraging in the ruins of a fantasy city with my warband, running my Warriors up the field with the ball (for once) and crusing the void with my fleets, but those games have long been abandoned. "
DeleteThey may not be supported by the manufacturer, but there's still communities out there playing them if you have a rummage. And there's nothing to stop you just throwing down with the perfectly good rules. And, the best bit, if you dig around, there's other companies producing compatible models so you can still freshen up your armies. Just have a look at the number of fantasy football ranges out there...
I wholeheartedly agree Fiendil. There is nothing stopping people playing with discontinued games at all. The only issue you might face is a lack of fresh blood to play. But honestly ask yourselves this question, how many of you play the same people over and over again anyway?
DeleteBack in the day - many many years ago - I was an avid Games Workshop fan. I played WFB, WH40K and Epic and spent a small fortune on my hobby without every exploring another games company or manufacturer. Then two things happened. The prices started to rise and I got tired of the arms race whenever a new edition of the rules came out. I spent a few years in the wilderness but when I got back into wargaming it wasn't GW products that I was buying.
ReplyDeleteI'm not fervently anti GW, I still like some of the stuff they do, but I spend my limited disposable income carefully and I don't like being ripped off. The link between value and quality was broken at GW years ago IMHO and my money has been spent elsewhere as a result.
I was trying to work out the other day when I last brought any Games Workshop product. I think it was last year when Finecast was released, to do my comparison articles. Prior to that I'm really struggling, it was probably the 8th Edition WFB rulebook. Haven't brought any mini's for armies off of them for a very, very long time. I'll get the 6th Ed 40k rulebook, because I like rulebooks.
DeleteThey'll always have a place for me, as long as a regiment kit is cheaper than a Gaspez Arts Blood Bowl team.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, how's Dystopian Wars play? Looks interesting. I know you'll know.
Problem is, they're rapidly pricing themselves ahead of the guys in garages making much better minis and selling them for less.
DeleteCheck out this one, for instance:
http://defiancegames.com/index.php/shop#ecwid:category=1831024&mode=product&product=7831674
Awesome looking, AND cheap. This is the future. Instead of one big company providing all of our minis, we'll choose our playing pieces from hundreds of small manufacturers who concentrate on specific miniature lines.
Strategically, GW is just handing them business. If the company understood the threats they face, they'd base their pricing on providing more quality for less money than the boutique guys can. Because they can leverage their manufacturing and distribution advantages that way.
Von I have no problem with anyone having a place for GW... as long as they don't bitch and moan about price hikes, Failcast etc. etc. etc.
DeletePeople should know what they're getting by now, and as such if you continue to pay the price, sorry I have no sympathy for you anymore. Before I used to listen and nod my head knowingly... now I'll just say don't want to know, you're paying the dosh, you're the mug!!!
As to Spartan Games Dystopin Wars, well I own a fair few fleets, and I've reviewed them all appart from the French. If you're ever up this way my good man there might be a Kingdom of Britannia fleet kicking around with your name on it. ;)
@Sandwyrm, my father would like me to tell you that what you are talking about is actually the past. What you've described is the world pre-GW hegemony.Are they pricing themselves out of the market? Every year I hear people say that's it they quit... but they never do. Mugs will always be mugs and GW can rely on them to come back time and time again. Will some people switch? Yeah probably, but it's never enough to make a massive dent, and they seem to been able to bring in more than enough fresh meat to keep on going. Do I think there will be more space for other companies now? Yeah, but lets not kid ourselves GW will remain the big boys for the foreseeable future.
I feel sorry for the people who still rely on gw to enjoy their hobby, but I'll admit this changes very little for me. The turning point already came a few months ago when I bought a limited edition, hand-casted Grand Mother from Kingdom Death for about the same price as a Zoanthrope I bought a little earlier. There is a difference in size yes, but the Zoanthrope's ribcage was fused together, it had terrible air bubbles all over and it just doesn't feel solid. I fear the tail might snap in half should I ever handle it less than very gentle, it's that wobbly. The Grand Mother on the other hand was a quality product.
ReplyDeleteSince then I bought a few models from many companies (helped in no small part by the big discount Maelstrom did recently and your blog) and in almost every way gw just doesn't survive the comparison.
This is the thing:
Delete1) GW do not make the best miniatures (I've got a box of swag from Studio McVey today that is simply out of this world).
2) GW don't make the most cost effective miniatures anymore.
3) And they certainly don;t make the cheapest.
4) They're games are piss poor too.
Previously the problem was that other companies games never put the pieces together in a compelling way. The game migh have been good but the miniatures sucked or vice versa. Or they were just blisteringly incompetent like Rackham. Thing is that is changing now. We have companies churning out miniatures far in advance of the crap GW have been peddling for over 15 years now. We also have games that beat them hands down in almost every respect... and people are putting the two things together in fantastic product that needs to be played by hobbyists. GW hobbyists just need to get over the fact that there is better stuff out there or they'll live to regret it.
Speak It Brother, Speak It.
ReplyDeleteYou know I will brother eriochrome!!!
DeleteWhen I first got into the Hobby, nearly every gamer I knew played 40K, the rest played WHFB. Now our group has expanded our minds to include Warmhordes, Malifaux, Infinity (Yay!), Heavy Gear Blitz, Anima Tactics, Dystopian Wars, and Firestorm Armada. Those are just the ones I know about off the top of my head, and we keep picking up more systems all of the time. I'm glad GW is hiking their prices up again. I hope they double their prices. I want even more gamers to play with. :)
ReplyDeleteGO COLORADO!!!
Jordan that is totally the attitude we want around here. I'm willing to open my arms and welcome any GW refugees. I'll take care of them and make sure I help them find the game for them. By the way I play every single one of the games you mention!!! ALso did Krull arrive yet?
Deleteif this makes lots of people in my area quit and try other games, then great. otherwise i have no choice but to continue to play 40k at my local GW, regardless of price increases.
ReplyDeleteDud, you have to step up to the plate and convince people sometimes. I got fed up of waiting and just turned up one day with different stuff and said "we're playing this. You'll enjoy it... or else". Funny thing is they did. Once people sample the greener grass and smell the fresh air, get a taste of freedom they rarely go back. I know so many gamers who were staunch GW gamers and then after literally one game of something else were complete converts its untrue. Genuinely when people realise the games they've been playing for years aren't as good as many other peoples products I find the GW diehards are the ones who really jump in head first. It's like they want to make up for lost time.
DeleteObviously I meant dude not *Dud*... although if you prefer Dud that's up to you! =P
DeleteI gave up on the unnamed evil when they started the codex creep with both 40K and WFB and when they decided to kill their specialist game range. I don't like the rules for BFG, but I do enjoy using the models and Mordheim / Necromunda were always fun games to play.
ReplyDeleteIn the event, I ended up trading all of my GW models for Infinity one, casting GW back into the hell pit in which it spawned.
That's a good man. THere's a Sunday Sermon coming this week that will hopefully explode a few myths about GW stability... but for now I'll bide my time and bite my tongue.
DeleteI stopped buying about three years ago when I picked up Warmachine. While I miss playing with my marines and such I have found a new use for them playing Tomorrow War rules. Very nice set with no associated miniature range.
ReplyDeleteIt provides the best of both worlds, I don't buy GW anymore and I can still use the figures I have to play a solid ruleset.
Yeah Tomorrows War isn't too bad. Not played enough of it to judge it properly or fairly though. I think the trouble with GW is the cost of their mini's rather than their games being poop though... although their games are poop. If you have a load of their stuff already though you're right, Tomorrows War would be a good use for them.
DeleteOne of the slogans of the game club I'm starting up here in Long Eaton Nottingham is "Catering for the more independent taste in tabletop wargaming!" We'll be playing Mantics Kings Of War, Warpath and their various boardgames; On The Lamb Games Brushfire; Gangfight Games and their Blackwater Gulch western skirmish game; Tor Gaming's Relics and Battlefronts Flames Of War.
ReplyDeleteWe've even got Andy Hoare running some games of Rogue Trader rpg once a month. Once we get established I'd love to have a go at Infinity or Warmachine (what do you call it again, Frontline?)
It's a very exciting time for wargaming as a whole and the sooner more people realise that this excellent hobby does not (and has never) centred on just one company, the better it will be for everyone.
Anyone interested in joining the War & Peace Games Club please check out http://jonathanpeace.blogspot.co.uk/p/games-club (hope it's okay to link).
PS: our main slogan is: "Real Gamers Do It On The Tabletop!"
Cheers
JP
I wish you all the best with your club JP. I call Warmachine and Hordes HoMachine... because I think it sounds funnier than Warmahordes. I'm probably wrong and it probably makes me immature, but hey, who cares right? I play with toy soldiers.
DeleteLet me know when you're up and running and in need of Infinty demo's etc and I'll see if I can make it over there to run intro's for you if you want.
That's a very generous offer, sir and one which I may very well take up. Going to get up and running with lots of Mantic first then add in the rest over time. The ol' suck-it-and-see method :)
DeleteI was close with what I thought you called HoMachine, but it was a little white knuckle for such family viewing to post LOL
All the best
JP
Meh... I like doing intro games for people and getting them into other aspects of the hobby. I'm like a man polytheistic gaming missionary, bring the light of many cool games to the grim dark corners of the hobby where there is only one. :P
DeleteI am interested to hear your slightly risqué version of HoMachine though.
The way I've looked at it for years is that GW minis come with a 'big community tax'. It is very easy to find a tournament and local gamers who play the big GW games. Since they've been around for over 25 years and been arguably the most prominent minis game systems, there are more gamers who play these games. So when Joe Gamer looks at spending $150 for some minis for a boutique game or $400 for a GW game, part of the equation is always "will I get to play with my minis?" if the answer is in doubt, they'll likely spend more money to build up for the game they are confident they'll find opponents for.
ReplyDeleteThe sad thing is that this is a self-perpetuating system, and GW is sure to know it. If more gamers would be willing to try, invest and commit a group to playing these other games then it would break the cycle.
I started with WHFB, but personally I love to try new games. It just takes finding a group of people willing to also try new games and even willing to modify them to suit their own purpose. Last year our group modified Black Hat's 'Martian Empires' to suit large scale armies of 28mm for a VSF campaign, then we combined a couple independent rule sets like Screaming GI's, Chaos in Carpathia and our own ideas to make a WWWII game. I think a lot of people become too focused on 'official' rules: if your group likes something and agrees on it, then it's official!
Lots of good small company rules out there:
Modify Saga for fantasy to replace WHFB or by itself for great DarkAges skirmish.
Kings of War for WHFB
Modify Gruntz for 28mm (which they're working on) to replace 40k.
Empire of the Dead is a fun victorian steam-horror skirmish game.
For people who like the GW games, no reason they can't use other company minis.
Some GW minis I still like enough to buy, but they have competition, it's foolish to not look at the others and judge them for value.
I don't disagree. The way I used to look at the price of GW mini's here in the UK was that it was a 'tax' of sorts, but to keep the stores open. Only thing is those stores aren't what they used to be now, and quite frankly the price of hobby equipment and supplies at GW now seem stupid. £15.50 for a small pot of water effect? You what? I can go down to the model train shop and buy a pot twice as larger for half the price. Just massively out of touch.
DeleteAs for people breaking and playing different games... it's happening more and more. I walk into a number of gaming clubs round by me and I'm certainly more likely to see games of HoMachine, Mo'faux, Flames of War, Firestorm Armada, Dystopian Wars and in some even Infinity (despite the terrain demands) than I am WFB. There's no doubt that 40k is still king round these parts, but not by much in certain places and it's easy to argue that it's less than half of the market round here. I think the cracks are starting to appear.
There are a ton of good games out on the market, something out there for literally everyone. Of course not all games fit every gamer's playstyle, but there should be something in almost every scale to find and play.
ReplyDeleteI started playing GW games when I was about 8 years old, and have played WFB, 40K, Mordheim, Warmaster, BFG, even had the battle card game they came out with for a short while. About 3-4 years ago I decided to see what other games were out there, starting with Anima Tactics, and while I have played many games since then, there hasn't been a single GW game.
After actually getting away from GW I was amazed to find just how good some of the rules are for other sets. Anima Tactics and WarmaHordes didn't really fit my wife and my playstyle all that much but decently fun skirmish games, Kings of War was a good WFB alternative (not shocking considering who wrote the KoW rules) however it was/is still limited on official playable races. The list can keep going with many other games.
Players should be urged to explore other games, should be urged to use whatever minis they think look and fit their forces best, and generally it should be a GW hobby, PP Hobby, or any other form of niche title. Wargaming IS the hobby.
Yep wouldn't disagree with any of what you say Sunfyre... so I won't. :P
DeleteI have my issues with KoW and I've started to make up a few house rules to see if I can get it playing much better than it does. Right now it feels too clinical and bland for me. But with a few tweaks and fiddles it could actually be quite good.
I propose a slight amendment to your Commandments - GW Specialist Games (Blood Bowl, Space Hulk, Epic), having had all support abandoned by GW, are no longer OF Games Workshop and instead have been kept afloat by a cadre of dedicated fans. Thus they are permissible to be be played, enjoyed and discussed!
ReplyDeleteIn most cases the SG were of higher quality then the 'prime' GW games. Warmaster, Mordheim, even Warhammer Quest were/are simply amazing, but never truly given the chance to grow into what they could have been.
DeleteYou both might find this weeks Sunday Sermon interesting. I wrote it about 6 weeks ago now. In antici[ation that it would be this week or next that the price hike news might start to filter through... lets just say I have a certain amount of sympathy with both of your views. [)
DeleteStill happy with their product. Still buying.
ReplyDelete(Also, still posting this).
Ant I have no problem with people still being happy and still being willing to pay the prices. But if you whinge to me about it I'm not going to listen. Simple as that. Everyone knows what you get with GW and stupid annual price hikes are part of that formula. Either suck it up or move on. Not willing to listen to people complain and then go on back to paying their prices. It's that that I find annoying personally!!!
DeleteYou won't get any of that from me, I promise you. Toy soldiers are a luxury - if I can't afford a luxury product I don't buy it. It's not like GW are the world's only bread supplier. Hell, they're not even the only game in town for toy soldiers.
DeleteI just buy what I can afford when I want something. If I can't afford a GW piece this month but I have that toy solider itch then I might get a PP piece, or a SG piece, or a SP piece, or a CB piece (the list goes on).
I love the seeming majority opinion (or at least, the loudest opinion in the communities I frequent) that once you discover GW aren't a monopoly you immediately reach some kind of enlightenment and never purchase a GW toy solider again. Clearly, I am an unenlightened soul.
You can keep up your role as Moses, I'll take the part of Pharaoh (ironic, considering that you're a staunch atheist and I was nearly a priest) ;)
Ant I agree. And for many years while playing BattleTech and many other things I purchased both GW product and product from many other companies. However, for many people once they step away from GW that is it. No more GW. I think there is a reason for that though, and it's something that psychology could help explain.
DeleteYou see many GW customers are happy in their monogamous relationship with the company. They see it as a relationship, you only have to look at the language many hobbyists use in relation to Games Workshop... I mean the amount of times I've read the word betrayal in the last 24 hours to describe how people are feeling about GW is astonishing.
You see GW makes the hobby very, very easy for people. I for one think it's possibly their biggest strength. That and the amount of background that their longevity has produced. So people don't normally feel inclined to look elsewhere, so when they do it's probably because they are feeling 'Betrayed' or 'cheated on' some how. The shift comes from a place of anger. That as a motivating factor, coupled with finding a product that is arguably better and smaller companies that are able to listen and often communicate with you directly creates this 'never go back attitude'.
With me, my loss of interest in GW was just that, a loss of interest. I didn't feel betrayed or even angry, I just got bored with their stuff and went elsewhere. Then when something GW wise caught my attention, a new Wood Elves book, Mordheim etc I'd hop right back on because I was interested again. It's just that for me I'm not seeing much in the way of stuff that'll interest me. I'll pick up 6th Ed 40k because I want to see what it is like. Also as I don't play much 40k now I'll be able to judge as a game on its own as opposed to the transition that many will see it as.
As for Moses, well I see myself more like Brian. A true prophet and messiah!!! No he's not he's just a very naughty boy. :P
By all means feel free to be the Pharaoh, just watch out for your world crashing in about you! I hear it can get very messy. ;)
See you tomorrow for a game of you know what. I take it you want to be the gribblies? I might even have a spare one for you.
So the cats cannot fellow the Pharaoh ?
DeleteWhat a strange world
To be fair the cats never followed the Pharaoh, they were more worshiped by him as superior beings that could see in the dark. Obviously the Pharaoh didn't eat too many carrots and see any cats with a ball of wool. =P
DeleteYou bet your nano-augmented ass I want to be the gribblies.
DeleteYour point about the language betraying the psychology is spot on. People feel "betrayed" because they feel that GW owes them something as they've been faithful to them for so long. They don't grasp the truth - it's a commercial relationship.
Most of the staff don't REALLY care what army you're building, nor do they REALLY think that the rate of returns on Finecast is normal. They're doing their job, and if you thought they cared then they're doing it well. You pay GW money and they give you product. You don't want their product, you walk away - Games Workshop won't be sending you texts asking why you don't call any more. When people feel entitled to things is when the relationship falls down. GW will do whatever they think will increase their profit margin, to think otherwise of any company is folly.
If they eventually price themselves sorely out of the market, they'll soon know about it. If anything, it's those who keep paying a price they think is too high that are the problem. I pay, because I am still happy. If you are not happy then you should not pay and eventually they will be forced to hear you. The money is the only voice anyone has in the corporate relationship and it should be used as such.
People who see toy soldiers as a necessity - they are the ones to be afraid of (as you rightly identify) and often they're the ones complaining loudly while using their money to tell GW "Honestly, honey, I'm fine. It's nothing.".
I agree Ant, I think the only difference between is that whereas you still think 40k is worth the money and effort, I don't. Ironically it's not even the miniatures that I don't think are worth the money, or indeed the fluff. It's the games. If 6th Ed 40k rocks the Casbah I'll be there. Right now I don't enjoy the games and the cost therefore is just way too much for a product I don;t enjoy!
DeleteMy abusive relationship article all those months ago was tongue in cheek, but now it feels even more pertinent if that's possible. Games Workshop don;t help themselves that much though do they? They try and create a sense of a relationship not only with their customers, but also between gamer and their armies. Great sales technique and very smart... but it is creating an eventually big feck off rod for someone to smack them in the back with one day.
As you say and as I intimated at the top of the article it's all down to God money. Vote with your green and they'll either have to adapt and listen or die.
Moses: "Ha! Let's see Gandalf do this!"
ReplyDeleteGandalf: "Lets see Moses stop a Balrog!"
DeleteI cannot tell a lie, I would kill to see a picture of Moses fighting the Balrog.
DeleteDo you know what I'd pay good money to see it too. Celebrity Deathmatch maybe?
DeleteIt's interesting, we have a hardcore 40k group at the club I've been trying to get to widen their horizons for years. Last year's failcast, ROW retailergate and price rises all being announced in one week sent stress fractures through their hobby and had them looking at other stuff like Warpath. I could see this year's massive increases being the final straw tipping them into ditching GW for good.
ReplyDeleteShame...
Ah well, plenty of new players for wm/h, Bushido, Malifaux, Infinity, Eden, Mantic, Heavy Gear and the rest ;-)
Yeah in the West Mids there were fractures starting at the end of 7th Edition WFB, caused primarily by the Daemons Army Book and rapidly followed up by Dark Elves and Skaven. It just finished some people off and got others disgruntled and looking around. Then 8th Edition tipped a load more over the edge. In stopped me playing any GW games really. Although I have played the odd game of 40k with some peeps I know who just play in the grim dark.
DeleteThen there came the triple whammy as I call it. the Rest of World embargo on discount sellers that screwed aussies, kiwi's and latin americans alike. Failcast, which despite what fanbois say isn't getting any better. then to compound these slightly annoying decisions came a pretty hefty price hike. That drove even more wargamers into my waiting arms for demo games of anything that had bugger all to do with Games Workshop.
So as I sit here 12 months on, waiting for the wails of despair and indignation at what looks like being GW's biggest ever price hike in the States, and possibly the rest of the world I wonder just how many more camels backs will be breaking. Then of course if they feck up 40k 6th Ed it'll send massive shockwaves through their business and the hobby. Genuinely is 6th Ed is crap I hope the other companies out there are prepared to accept a lot of new business.
As a French fan who read your nice blog
ReplyDeleteBeleive me or not the situation is worse in my country
Let s see the situation in Paris
There are 4 hobby GW center shops ..
And less than 10 shops who try to survive in selling 90% of GW ...
GW is the only compagny making translation for rules and books.
French fans are now lazier than in the 80' and 90'
I am in the miniature hobby since my first game of AD&D in 85
Let's back to the future ... in 89
http://www.solegends.com/citcat89/c891302skeletons-m.htm
All skeletons are different from each others ..
Diversity is now lost ...
That does sound grim. There have been some great French games over the years too though. I was bitterly disappointed to see Confrontation and Hell Dorado sink into oblivion. Isn't Infinity translated to French?
DeleteThis is an interesting topic actually. Would you mind emailing me to discuss it?
TheFrontlineGamerBlog@Gmail.com
I'd greatly appreciate it and I'd be willing to do an article on it and ask some industry types some questions on French gamers behalf.
The fall of confrontation :
DeleteThis is now a classic topic in miniature fan discution in France
... I can speak about it during hours. It is a kind of tragedy.
But what emerge is Rakham total responsability.
Fall of Hell Dorado :
This is easier, the game was sold to Cipher
The trouble is that it was brutal, and from my source Cipher is a tiny compagny. I dont know if they can manage expectation from 2 miniature games. And i dont understand what they want to do and why they buy the game ..
Conf'(as we said) Metal miniature and Hell Dorado Asmodé can still be found in destocking stores and in the second hand market.
Hell dorado is dead .. and will not rise again.
Conf' is still alive ... the market is really a collection market, some miniature can be found at 1.5 Eu when rare miniature can be exchanged at more than 20 ...
For infinity rules in French can be found .. but there is a huge difference from a commercial point of view between a complete translation and stuff that you have to download
I will contact you ... when i will finish to play games with my cat ;)
Thanks, much appreciated.
DeleteI couldn't care less about GW price hikes. I already have enough GW miniatures, in fact I've sold most of my armies and don't play GW games anymore. Why? The company has stopped innovating. They're just pumping all the money they can from their current IP. Everything they publish is just iteration, making their product "better". Which means better for them, as new rules only change what is the current must-have unit. An ddouble the size of armies.
ReplyDeleteIt's a company on the last part of the famous bell-curve. They are milking customers that have not moved on to other products. They are trusting teh momentum and visibility in the marketplace they have built over the years, no longer creating anything new.
What's positive is all the small games and companies coming out. The more people quit GW, the more customers these startups will have. Hopefully the hobby will diversify and people will become more willing to try new things. What's negative is some people will quit the whole hobby when they quit GW, so the total customer base for the industry will go down. GW is just an easy to use package for a hobby-company.
I agree with the OP. No whining allowed, just go and get a new game or hobby, even. Or pay up if you stil enjoy GW. I'm waiting the return of Confrontation with baited breath, myself.
While I think what you say is a commonly held belief amongst a certain subset of wargamers, I'm not so sure GW haven't got a long way to go before they reach the peak of that bell curve you talk about. I've been hearing people proclaim their demise for well over a decade now, and they just seem to have gotten stronger in many respects. I'll believe it when I see it myself personally. Still think they're here to stay for the foreseeable future, because many are too scared to try something else. It'd be nice to think they'll get a short sharp shock of a wake up call sometime soon though!
DeleteWhat is this "certain subset" you speak of? I'd like to know so I can add it to my credentials...
DeleteI just think they have stopped innovating and are trusting their product and target market to carry them on. Kind of like McDonalds. Refine the same old thing, add some week-long campaign now and then to stir things up a little. Obviously I have dropped out the target market long ago...
I'd say the little sub-set is diehard wargamers. Not diehard GW Gamers, but hobbyists in the broader sense. The sort of people who play 3, 4 or 5 games a week if they can and never the same game. =P
DeleteThose are the people that believe GW will fail because they play games enough to see their faults and to see the problems that most wargamers just don't come across. Those gamers see the faults and think eventually everyone will.
Is it that time of year again already? It seems to come faster every year.
ReplyDeleteSadly, GW is still the only company that seems to be able to get regular stock delivered to NZ. My local non-GW store hasn't had any new PP stock in almost a year, and won't be getting any until late June/early July. Admittedly, part of this is due to them moving soon, but c'mon. They complain that people are buying online, but do very little to get the stock into the store, which is what drove us online in the first place.
Personally, I'll be sticking with Warmahordes. I've been thinking about starting up a Troll force (the new plastics are niiiice). I'll also keep giving Infinity love (if only in small doses) as well as Malifaux. I'm also looking forward to getting my reward from the Blackwater Gulch Kickstarter project. I've been itching for some wild west action.
Hmm... perhaps I should ask my Kiwi readers to get in touch with me too. That could make for some interesting reading perhaps? Would you be up for contacting me as well, to have a chat about the hobby in New Zealand?
DeleteTheFrontlineGamerBlog@Gmail.com
Sounds good to me. I'll flick you an email before the end of the weekend.
DeleteYou know what would have been the icing on this article? A couple of links or examples of how for a reasonable price you can pick up a rulebook and TWO starter crews/armies/gangs/ for several different systems to convert other gamers to these other games ;-)
ReplyDeletePlayed my first game of Malifaux last night, great fun :-) Got Dropzone Commander on the radar and I'm hoping to fund Freebooter's Fate by selling off a variety of aborted or no longer needed GW stuff.
Baragash... I thought about it... but if people want to find that stuff they can use the System Files menu at the side, or just ask. I don't want to ram anything down people's throats. This was an article warning people if that after yet another predictable and totally expected price hike they whinge and carry on they'll get no sympathy from me or their fellow gamers anymore.
DeleteHere's a thing. GW Chairman and stockholder Tom Kirby is 61. He's nearly retirement age. And the company is doing everything they can to generate short-term profits, with no visible eye to the medium-term damage they do to themselves. Coincidence?
ReplyDeleteI would probably agree, except he was doing similar things 20 years ago!!! No i think Kirby is running the company as always with a two year plan in mind. That's exactly why they squandered all the money that the LotR boost gave them.
Deletethe truth is here :
ReplyDeletehttp://investor.games-workshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/2011-Full-Year-Report-and-Accounts-full-25-July.pdf
"2010/11 has seen satisfactory performance, driven by improved gross margins and good cost control leading to a healthy cash inflow.
Although sales were down in the first half, Games Workshop delivered improved results in the second half as the focus on customer service
training for Hobby centre managers and investment in new product development started to feed through into results."
And some sentence are incredible
"The reaction of customers and staff to Citadel Finecast has been overwhelmingly positive. The level of detail achieved in this material is
truly incredible. To make this more visible to our customers when making a purchase, we have introduced a new recyclable clam pack
design to replace the traditional blister packs. Given the popularity of the new resin range, we will replace the majority of the metal
miniatures in our back catalogue gradually over time. We have fully provided for the metal Hobby centre stock in this year’s accounts."
Can i say LoL ?
Which French philospher said there is nothing so grand as self delusion? Or word to that effect... whoever it was I think it applies to that statement!!! lol
DeleteI think I'm done with Games Workshop now. It's sad because they've provided me with so many good times over the years but they just seem so out of touch now.
ReplyDeleteHow can they justify more price hikes when companies like Mantic are offering viable alternatives for so much cheaper as it is?
They can justify it because people still seem willing to pay it. lol.
DeleteBusiness is all about what people are willing to pay. Long and short of it is that there are enough people out there who still think GW's product is worth it. Maybe it's because they haven't come across other companies products... or maybe it's because they're actually happy with GW. Only they truly know, but it certainly seems that GW feel safe in continually pushing this particular envelope for some time yet.
What? A sermon on a day other than Sunday? My world has turned topsy-turvy!
ReplyDeleteOn to an actual comment!
I haven't bought any GW related stuff in years. I 'quit' 40K shortly after the release of 3rd edition, and WFB shortly after 6th (though I did really enjoy the skirmish rules in the 6th ed. rulebook), though I got pulled back into both for a short while when I was gaming with some friends who got really into it. I might still buy the odd codex or army book if I like the army enough, but I doubt I'll ever actually play again. I would love to get games of Epic going again though. It's not that I hate GW, I just find their decisions maddening, and it's depressing to me. Like an old relative I used to love, but who's gone completely senile now. Oh well. At least I can get a GW fluff fix from Fantasy Flight Games.
That's where I'm at with GW right now. It just saddens me a little to see the direction they're heading in. But hey, I chose to get off of the GW train, and they didn't force me off. Like you my GW fix comes from FFGs and BL now.
DeleteNot much to say that hasn't already been said to one degree or another, but...
ReplyDeleteGood point well made. The annual price rise has as I understand it happened every year now for about the last 10 and shouldn't be news to anyone. The thing to remember is that GW's business plan is to constantly recruit new people into the hobby, for whom whatever the price may have been the year before won't matter: They'll either like the product enough to want it, and have enough money to buy it, or they won't. GW will then have them for the 1-3 years it takes for them to realise that what they enjoy about the hobby they can get for higher quality and significantly less money elsewhere - by which time GW will have taken on several new recruits to compensate.
Opening doors for other businesses is never a bad thing, and it's a pleasure to see that so many other games are being enjoyed right now. I don't feel the need to get involved with them at the moment; I've got enough stuff on and I've barely even touched wargaming for months. But I think when I move to a different area (on the cards for Summer at the moment) I might try a club, some different games, and try and get some more people into it. Now that I don't work for GW, I might be able to manage it without feeling like I'm trying to drag £100 out of them to get started!