Topic: GW not doing so well?

[phonecall_of_Cthulu]

Ebay isnt a problem. Think about it, where do the sellers get there stocks from? GW.

If anything ebay is helping alittlebit, if people cant afford minis straight from GW they can buy them from ebay for less. GW still sees the money. If those people cant afford GW and theres no ebay then half of those people wouldnt buy warhammer all together.

No kidding!  And even Ebay stretches the paycheck a little sometimes...  Yeah, I know there's adult gamers out there who have plenty of time and money to devote to the hobby.  But I, a highschool teenager, am often short on both (not to mention the fact that I'm not interested in dropping my other hobbies just for 40K). 

As for LOTR and such, I think going into that was a mistake altogether.  I'm not a big fan of movie merchandising in the first place, but still...  They should have had the forsight to realize that once the hype of the movies went down, so would their sales.  Just imagine what 40K COULD be like today if GW hadn't wasted time and money on LOTR...

[The Reborn]

We all know they could be doing so much better, and it starts with good customer relations.   They really owe a lot to the guys who run their stores, without them a lot of gamers would pack-in the hobby.
In my darker, more anarchic moments, i wish a decent competitor would emerge to give them a scare...a new product, new models and rules systems.  Not to mention a fully-updated errata for rules queries and anomalies.  How hard can it be, really?

Ah, here i am carping about them again....bloody hell.  GW, play ball and belt-up, eh?  Oh, and show us the bleeding Eldar errata too, you've had since bloody November...i could've written it for you 50 times since then......

Get off your arses!

-Reborn.

[sigh oh sigh]

Makes you wonder, what with the poor quality of WD, the poor quality of rules/armies books never being written very well, etc,:

The rules relatively simple and fun as hell.  The armies are unique and interesting.  The rate at which erratta is released is completely ridiculous but even without it the game is still excellent.  if you are really being candid in this statement why would you ever play the game?

[Felix Faustus]

'Cos he remembers the days when GW actually made an effort? *reminises* ahhhh 1990's...only started the games but still can remember the quality. Besides, its our job as gamers to graon, gripe, whinge, maon and generaly act moody with the hobby! 

[[dixon]]

Makes you wonder, what with the poor quality of WD, the poor quality of rules/armies books never being written very well, etc,:

The rules relatively simple and fun as hell.  The armies are unique and interesting.  The rate at which erratta is released is completely ridiculous but even without it the game is still excellent.  if you are really being candid in this statement why would you ever play the game?

Because it used to be a fair bit better.  White Dwarf was a decent gaming magazine in the past, the rules are arguably better or worse depending on who you talk to - either streamlined and nice or dumbed down and childish.  Errata has always been a problem for GW, at least now they aren't making us buy Chapter Approved hardbacks to get it though.

You'll find that most people aren't dissatisfied with the game itself, but GW's attitude towards the game - which to older player is 'market to the kids and get them hooked for life,' as evidenced by the simplistic rules, flashy pictures and catalogue appearance of White Dwarf, and the near constant pandering of Space Marines.

[The Reborn]

You'll find that most people aren't dissatisfied with the game itself, but GW's attitude towards the game - which to older player is 'market to the kids and get them hooked for life,' as evidenced by the simplistic rules, flashy pictures and catalogue appearance of White Dwarf, and the near constant pandering of Space Marines.

Thanks Nubis, you said it more eloquently and succinctly than could i.

It did used to be so much better....there was a family feel about GW that has become more corporate these days.  I am an old fart who can recall my early playing days...20 years ago....and then, GW were great, not as big globally, but fun...you know?

I admit, i was being candid, totally so.....and i do think about jacking-it all in some days too....but ultimately, me and my mates, opponents and others all enjoy it too much to give them the bloody satisfaction.
Think about it SOS, if everyone that had a gripe (legitimate or otherwise), left the game, GW would think they were doing everything right.  If you found a turd floating in your coffee, would you take a bite, or complain to the staff?  Exactly.  We voice concern online, hoping the powers that be will read some of it and even (fingers crossed), listen and take it in....maybe even act upon it...

-Reborn.

[spiderbite]

I've been playing 40k since high school and I'm sure I'll keep playing no matter what happens. I'm okay with how things are right now. Sure, I'd love to have FAQs/errata done quicker, but that doesn't hinder me from playing at all. Back in the day (late 80s early 90s) you pretty well needed a subscription to White Dwarf to keep up on all the rules updates, and I found that pretty annoying. Every month there was new rules and troop types being pulled out. I like the way WD is now, reading about all the battle reports, tactics, mini previews and such.

[Jonik]

BUT, they themselves then said they know what's wrong, "bad habits etc"

*cough*lordoftherings*cough*

when will their contract end?!
-Leo

You'll be pleased to know the GW are now currently trying to get the rights for The Hobbit. (or so I've been told by dad, who read an article somewhere...)

[Jaerin]

I'd honestly like to see GW take a big hit in the wallet.  Maybe then they'd drop the ridiculous prices a tad.  The game is great but I can honestly say I'd spend MORE money on 40k if it was cheaper.  Why?  Well, I could fill out my Eldar to my satisfaction and then start on another race (which I'd then want to fill out as well).  It's much easier for consumers to justfiy things box by box when they're $20-$40 instead of $40-$60.  Sorry but I'm not buying that blister of one little metal guy for $25 bucks and I'm going to think really hard before I buy a box of 5 plastic guys for $40.

If they dropped prices a tad I could say "well heck I could buy 2 more squads instead of this new computer game" quite often.  As it stands I'll generally go for the computer game.

[Spirit of Kurnous]

the problem with GW is they still think of themselves as the only major player in this market, buw now theres alot more competition than there used to be - mongoose, privateer press, rackham etc etc  GW has never really had competiton so has never had to be competitive to get its customers.  now suddenly theres alot more on offer, and alot of the systems are miles better as its mainly gamers still involved in the process instead of thinking of shareholders.

[FunnyTom]

You'll be pleased to know the GW are now currently trying to get the rights for The Hobbit

If they decide to make a movie of the hobbit then that wouldn't be such a bad idea, but if they are gonna try and go it alone then I can see another "defenders of the shire" flop coming.


Jaerin, I'm inclined to agree with you that the very high prices charged by GW are hurting their bottom line due to customers feeling thoroughly ripped off whenever they have to pay about twice as much as you would for an equivalent lump of plastic/pewter from their competition (or at least compared with model planes etc).

the problem with GW is they still think of themselves as the only major player in this market, but now theres alot more competition than there used to be - mongoose, privateer press, rackham etc etc  GW has never really had competition so has never had to be competitive to get its customers.  now suddenly theres alot more on offer, and alot of the systems are miles better as its mainly gamers still involved in the process instead of thinking of shareholders.

I think that is true to some extent, but haven't there been a whole bunch of WW2 mini games out for a while?  I guess that they cater to a different audience, whereas the guys you listed are largely gunning after the same genere as GW.

[Winimperial]

Like many others have stated, I'd relly like to see GW get a big sack in the face. They don't realize that there are other rising major competetors out there like Warmachine and others. Every time I walk into a GW I have to seriously think before buying a 5 man cheap plastic squad for $50 when I can buy Halo 3 for the same amount of cash. theyre really got to learn to meet the demands of consumers before its to late and people start dropping the hobby by the masses.

Lets face it. LOTR was a big mistake. GW screwed themselves over. They probaly thought to themselves "well gee we can make a killing off these things when the movies are out" "But what happens when the movies are over and we're still stuck with production until 2010?" " I don't care we'll have the money when the movies come out and we'll deal with that later" Shoot first, think about it later.

Me personally, I'd like to see GW come out with a WW2 type genre tabletop game. Theres an unbelievable amount of WW2 facsination out there that would draw lots of games to to it and from there those gamers could possibly branch out to Warhammer and W40k. There is currently a WW2 styled tabetop game, Flames of War. But its on an epic scale like 40kepic. The models are small and akward to paint and theres a lot of them. the only problem I can see would be not being able to add more things to it. After all, you can't go back in time and give the 3rd Reich a new type of tank.

[tryanotherone - smurfernating]

Back in the day (late 80s early 90s) you pretty well needed a subscription to White Dwarf to keep up on all the rules updates,

Wasn´t that the reason why players bought the magazine in the first place and it was doing great (by the numbers it was published and quality IMO).

Now they have to add their own ads in order to justify its publication.

[Lazarus]

Posted by: Winimperial

Me personally, I'd like to see GW come out with a WW2 type genre tabletop game. Theres an unbelievable amount of WW2 facsination out there that would draw lots of games to to it and from there those gamers could possibly branch out to Warhammer and W40k.

Please, let GW concentrate on what they already have....they could certianly learn to do a better job of it before branching off to another game.

There is currently a WW2 styled tabetop game, Flames of War. But its on an epic scale like 40kepic. The models are small and akward to paint and theres a lot of them.

It's 15mm (epic was 6mm) and not hard to do. I'm fielding an Afrika corps army (Germans) and my 1,500 point list has only 9 tanks in it.....but that's because I'm fielding a panzerkompanie....a ll assembled and painted in one night.   

Lazarus.

[Armored Kangaroo]

Well as much of a mistake as lord of the rings might have been for GW I enjoyed it for the first two years and it brought me into the warhammer circle later, when the relatively small, Good hero favored skrimishes of LotR were not enough for me anymore. I also completely agree with the previous statements, If they lower there cost about by about 10-15 dollars per box, I would buy a lot more stuff.

[lapiaz]

well definitly they are not doing that good in my eyes .....
 just looking at my painting table...   going trough confrontation  3 different armies , INFINITY 4 different armies. UrbanWar 3 different factions...  and thinking about warmachine/Hordes   
 and that is a lot of money  that GW is not getting from me... or  from my group of players  who after years of collecting  got  saturated, fed up ,frustated or just outgrowth  the DarkGothic feeling of 40k put all their stuff on Ebay  and move on .....

 

[[dixon]]

The problem is that as it stands now, all of GW's competition is in a series of smaller companies all competing for the same disillusioned players of GW games.  The only way they'll actually pose enough of a threat to motivate GW to get better is if either one of them becomes similar in scale to GW, or if a significant part of GW's buyers stop.  Neither seems particularly likely right now.

[Jonik]

And, personally, I don't care for the other company's games really. The only one I would ever consider getting would be the B5 fleet combat one...

[spiderbite]

Back in the day (late 80s early 90s) you pretty well needed a subscription to White Dwarf to keep up on all the rules updates,

Wasn´t that the reason why players bought the magazine in the first place and it was doing great (by the numbers it was published and quality IMO).

Now they have to add their own ads in order to justify its publication.

True, but I suppose I was bothered by the fact that no matter what army you played you had to leaf through issue after issue to find obscure rules and additions just to play. Upon further thought, maybe a happy mix of both might be okay. I guess my point was that I like all the rules you need in one or two books as opposed to a stack.


p.s. I'd also like to say that (in my opinion) GW should ditch LOTR. I'm not saying that I think it's a bad game, and I personally love the miniatures, but they need to focus more of their resources of their core games.

[tryanotherone - smurfernating]

True, but I suppose I was bothered by the fact that no matter what army you played you had to leaf through issue after issue to find obscure rules and additions just to play. Upon further thought, maybe a happy mix of both might be okay. I guess my point was that I like all the rules you need in one or two books as opposed to a stack.

That´s the reason why we had the Chapter Approved books. I bought one once and thought it was pretty neat, however, I would not buy one every time. Perhaps GW should just collect the articles and publish them on their homepage every now or then.

I'd also like to say that (in my opinion) GW should ditch LOTR. I'm not saying that I think it's a bad game, and I personally love the miniatures, but they need to focus more of their resources of their core games.

Same here. Never played it but the minis look kind of good. Perhaps they should split it from the main company (GW) and make a LOTR subdivision or something.