Games Workshop's recent price hikes combined with their OZ embargo started me strongly questioning my loyalty to the company. In addition to that the player community seems to be heading in an a diametrically opposed direction to a hobby focus (razorspam, wolf wannabes, etc.).All of that adds up to a shift in my focus away from 40k to other miniature wargames.
Don't get me wrong, I will keep playing 40k with the armies I have, but I am no longer buying Games Workshop product. I have enough Vostroyans, Grey Knight, and Necromunda gangers to keep me painting for quite some time.
What would bring me back into the GW fold (even with the price increases) is if the company would a) release all army books and rules as PDFs, b) provide frequent, consistent, and effective FAQs and erratas and c) offer an online army builder similar to that which is available for Infinity. In fact, the army builder could be readily built by one or more hobby enthusiasts at no cost to GW, if GW would only loosen some of the IP around their rules.
On a final note, I am entertaining new names for my little hobby blog. Ideally, the new name would include 23lines but it doesn't have to. I will also be redesigning the main graphic as it has frankly gotten a bit dusted and dated in the three or so years that this blog has been kicking around.
So please, post comments with suggestions of the new name or just feel free to rail against or defend GW in specific or 40k gamers in general!
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5 comments:
Good for you. I am doing the same thing. I have more than enough 40k to last me a life time, and I've been getting into WM/H pretty heavily.
Only way I'm buying GW now is used/trade, and even then, I only need a few things to round out my last army.
For me, GW needs to stop treating its customers like the enemy. It is ridiculous how confrontational GW is with their independent retailers and this new southern hemisphere embargo is stupid.
I also wholeheartedly agree about the rules and FAQs. It seemed like they were on top of it for a while, but now I'm not so sure.
You hit the nail of the head! GW is confrontational with their retailers and seem to take a dismissive stance with their customers.
Actively managing their rulesets would go along way to fixing the game and publishing the rules online (even excluding the fluff and artwork) would go a long way to substantiating their price increases.
So is your name now Lessgrim Dark?
Free rules would go a long way to improving 40k. Imagine how that would change the hobby! 40k wikis, free 40l army builders, etc. More importantly GW could release new units with new rules, without having to re-publish a codex.
for the players it makes it easier to enter the hobby. As it is right now, entering the hobby costs you about 90 bucks, and thats just for the rulebook and a codex! No models. GW recognize that your key product line are models and stop charging us for the rules, then I can swallow the price increase just fine.
No way... Now I am SuperXtraMorgrim Dark!! Pretty much describes my disposition towards GW at this point.
I totally agree that the cost barrier to entry with the rulebooks alone would keep folks from the hobby.
Yeah good on you bloke,
I'm just getting back into the hobby after years away from it and this douchery by G-dub has come at a bad time. Basically, I was getting all pumped up on new releases, old models and the fluff surrounding this 'universe' when they come out with the latest set of trade rules restricting sales.
General price rises don't overly bother me, it costs what it costs and I'm sure there is little we can do about that, but restricting global trade to Aus is what has really rubbed me the wrong way.
My gaming group and I (All 26-27 years old) don't give a f**k about the 'hobby centres' and for that to be a sole justification to ruin everyone else's party because they want to make 100% extra markup from us is a really shitty stance to take.
Those of us who want to go there, hang with the red-shirt bros and do the fanboy thing probably spend enough to make up for the lack of Perth based sales I would have gone with anyway (as due to the price I would only be buying half the shit).
I also think I have probably spent more than most investing a ton of coin in BULK cities of death, planetstrike and WhFB terrain for my own tables as well as 3 armies in 40k, 2 in Fantasy and a whole bunch of specialty games/side projects purchases.
If I had to buy it in the store (which I find awkwardly confrontational) I would likely have one army and would have contributed less to their overall capital (I have bought everything at almost full UK RRP, meaning they have made the money they have HAD to out of me at least).
Using sites like Totalwargamer and Wayland games has also helped me to get my girlfriends son (11) into both the 40k and WHFB scenes as he actually has enough money to buy decent sized competitive armies in both systems, as opposed to either having armies too small to play well (eg. 500-1000) in both, or just sticking to one system.
Again, they have managed to get 1500pts in each out of an 11 year old, who was able to pay for it all himself through money he earned and now will probably be a lifelong fan of the games.
If the Aussie RRP was more sensible, they would have a much larger audience, a bigger fan base and in turn a stronger, loyal client base.
It's so dumb.. They shit where they eat and they deserve to have everyone lighting up the internet with some harsh critical assessments of their business ethics.
F**k 'em.
Red
F1rst Blood.
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