Article: Games Workshop woes
- Thread starter Chern Ann
- Start date
Inquisitor.
I\'m eye-balling one or two of those 54mm minis. If I\'ll ever paint them is a good question with a dubious answer. lol
Oh, I don\'t hate GW. But I still think they\'ve been very foolish. Hoisted by their own petards, so to speak. And yes, I would mourn GW\'s demise, we would lose many really great minis unless another manufacturer got hold of the moulds. I don\'t care too much about who makes the minis I want.
Infidel Castro
New member
Modderrhu, I\'m a 28mm man lol
james sequeira
New member
the wargaming store i work in has not had great gw sales.where as our fow and warmachine order have gone through the roof.we are ordering crazy amounts of fow and thats just for our mail order.
as a lotr play i dont have anything bad to say about it but the people who do play it are younger like under 16 and the price raising did not suite them.
i hope gw learn from this and lower there prices im sure they will sell more.but they have dug there hole as a money hungry company
as a lotr play i dont have anything bad to say about it but the people who do play it are younger like under 16 and the price raising did not suite them.
i hope gw learn from this and lower there prices im sure they will sell more.but they have dug there hole as a money hungry company
kittykat23uk
New member
I thought that GWs view of the LOTR range was that it was always going to be a short term project whilst the films ran their course, with limited support once the hype ended.
If they thought any different then I\'m sorry but they were being rather naiive.
In Norwich, GW still holds the monopoly over people who game as it is the only place that I know of that regularly runs demo games to get people involved. There is a distinct lack of intrest amongst the local gaming community to wargame with anything other than GW Minis.
In my view, GW puts out very little that interests me from a painting point of view and with so much choice now, the only times I\'ll by a GW model is if I really like it and will paint it up for the Golden Demon comp.
If they thought any different then I\'m sorry but they were being rather naiive.
In Norwich, GW still holds the monopoly over people who game as it is the only place that I know of that regularly runs demo games to get people involved. There is a distinct lack of intrest amongst the local gaming community to wargame with anything other than GW Minis.
In my view, GW puts out very little that interests me from a painting point of view and with so much choice now, the only times I\'ll by a GW model is if I really like it and will paint it up for the Golden Demon comp.
Dragon Forge Design
New member
I think its basic.. GW is not the only game in town any more. For years there was no good alternative than GW.. now we have
Warmachine, Confrontation, Starship troopers, Warlord and even Flames of War..all popular games which have to be drawing people away from GW. In my opinion none are really any cheaper..hell some are more expensive.. but it is an alternative. There are only so many gamers out there, even with new blood coming in.. the pie just more pieces now.
I think stopping the discounters also hurt GW sales to retailers.. why should GW care if a store makes less.. GW volume out the door is still the same or was actually higher.
Warmachine, Confrontation, Starship troopers, Warlord and even Flames of War..all popular games which have to be drawing people away from GW. In my opinion none are really any cheaper..hell some are more expensive.. but it is an alternative. There are only so many gamers out there, even with new blood coming in.. the pie just more pieces now.
I think stopping the discounters also hurt GW sales to retailers.. why should GW care if a store makes less.. GW volume out the door is still the same or was actually higher.
Ebonbuddha
Active member
I understand what you mean by character. That’s what got me into the GW hobby. I have in my \"painted minis case\" some classic GW gems; a dwarf mage, a few clerics, a dwarf mapper, a couple of drunken orc villagers, an alchemist, jabberwocky...etc...The list just goes on and on. That’s what got my money back then. And that’s what gets my money now. Only the manufacturers are Reaper, Dark Age, Warmachine, Rackham, Hassle Free...
No bashing, I swear...
In fact, I just picked up the Wood Elves Battalion. I had a $50 gift certificate from the wifey for Christmas, and with my usual 20% discount added to that I only paid $30 for it!
mentioning the discount leads me to my point. I have two local stores, but used to have three. The GW ONLY store closed down after only a year. Here in NY we are Notorious shoppers... we want EVERYTHING, we want it CHEAPER then anyone else is paying, and we want it RIGHT FRIGGIN\' NOW! A store that only offers one line of products in a place where everything is available all the time is just plain stupid! Now... the other two stores... one holds Official Campaigns and only allows official rules. The figures MUST be GW and must HAVE THE WEAPONS THEY ARE EQUIPPED WITH paid for in points. That means if you have a slew of marines painted with one type of weapon you can only \'run\' them as such. You would have to paint up another entire unit if you wanted to try a different weapon out! Did I also mention they have NO discount? They do, however, have other lines of figures available AND run games/campaigns for other companies as well (most notably PP).
The smaller MORE SUCCESSFUL store that has been around for 30 years doesn\'t give a rats ass about \'official\' anything, has only held one \'official\' GW sponsered campain ever, and lets players use whatever they want as WH or 40K figures. Reaper Dwarves, I-core minis, Racham goblins... Whatever! I\'ve even seen people using stuff mounted on other bases from other games. The owner of the store, who WISELY gives discounts, doesn\'t care about anything except that his customers are enjoying themselves.
I\'ve watched games being played at both locations, and although the larger store can have as many as five games going on at once, the folks at the smaller (two tables, barely) store look like they are having more fun. At the \'official\' store people are very quiet when taking their turns, just pointing and rolling dice, and everyone looks very serious most of the time. At the other place, it\'s like a madhouse. Everyone yelling and arguiing about what unit can do what, or telling old RPG stories about the time their level 63 Uber-wizard took on the dark lord himself... it\'s a wonder they even finish a game at all! But, they look like they\'re having fun, and they always come back. The guys at the other store come back... when it\'s their regularly scheduled table time or campaign battle.
Oh, BTW, the place that allows people to use ANY FIGURES THEY WANT sells about twice as much GW as the larger more organized store. I think GW could learn a lesson from that. It\'s about FUN, and putting limitations on a group of individuals who are known for their creativity is like biting your own ass.
When I look at the #2 and #3 points above, it makes me wonder \"what are they thinking?\" Those two policies seem to be in complete conflict with one another. Only an old loyal customer (ie, one that already has invested waaay too much money on GW crap to walk away) would continue to pay the outlandish prices!
see, no bash... no rant... just a little heads-up to our \'friends\' over at GW.
In fact, I just picked up the Wood Elves Battalion. I had a $50 gift certificate from the wifey for Christmas, and with my usual 20% discount added to that I only paid $30 for it!
mentioning the discount leads me to my point. I have two local stores, but used to have three. The GW ONLY store closed down after only a year. Here in NY we are Notorious shoppers... we want EVERYTHING, we want it CHEAPER then anyone else is paying, and we want it RIGHT FRIGGIN\' NOW! A store that only offers one line of products in a place where everything is available all the time is just plain stupid! Now... the other two stores... one holds Official Campaigns and only allows official rules. The figures MUST be GW and must HAVE THE WEAPONS THEY ARE EQUIPPED WITH paid for in points. That means if you have a slew of marines painted with one type of weapon you can only \'run\' them as such. You would have to paint up another entire unit if you wanted to try a different weapon out! Did I also mention they have NO discount? They do, however, have other lines of figures available AND run games/campaigns for other companies as well (most notably PP).
The smaller MORE SUCCESSFUL store that has been around for 30 years doesn\'t give a rats ass about \'official\' anything, has only held one \'official\' GW sponsered campain ever, and lets players use whatever they want as WH or 40K figures. Reaper Dwarves, I-core minis, Racham goblins... Whatever! I\'ve even seen people using stuff mounted on other bases from other games. The owner of the store, who WISELY gives discounts, doesn\'t care about anything except that his customers are enjoying themselves.
I\'ve watched games being played at both locations, and although the larger store can have as many as five games going on at once, the folks at the smaller (two tables, barely) store look like they are having more fun. At the \'official\' store people are very quiet when taking their turns, just pointing and rolling dice, and everyone looks very serious most of the time. At the other place, it\'s like a madhouse. Everyone yelling and arguiing about what unit can do what, or telling old RPG stories about the time their level 63 Uber-wizard took on the dark lord himself... it\'s a wonder they even finish a game at all! But, they look like they\'re having fun, and they always come back. The guys at the other store come back... when it\'s their regularly scheduled table time or campaign battle.
Oh, BTW, the place that allows people to use ANY FIGURES THEY WANT sells about twice as much GW as the larger more organized store. I think GW could learn a lesson from that. It\'s about FUN, and putting limitations on a group of individuals who are known for their creativity is like biting your own ass.
When I look at the #2 and #3 points above, it makes me wonder \"what are they thinking?\" Those two policies seem to be in complete conflict with one another. Only an old loyal customer (ie, one that already has invested waaay too much money on GW crap to walk away) would continue to pay the outlandish prices!
see, no bash... no rant... just a little heads-up to our \'friends\' over at GW.
AinuLainour
New member
I, for one, love all of GW\'s games but I still agree with most of you and their financial choices and customer service. As a young gaming enthusiast, I feel that they need to reach out more towards newbies. When I go to participate in an event, I see kids come in every five minutes, the staff explains the game, the kids leave, and never return. I feel that upfront they could ask the newbie/kid if he/she\'s interested and give a free mini and a paintbrush. If the newbie wanted to paint it, he/she could buy some paints and primer and that gets GW $20-30 dollars(Canadian) up front! As being a 14 year-old my self, I think that they should expand on the Youngbloods format in GD\'s and in Conflicts so 14 year olds and under can participate against each other in the same categories as the adults, just with only pre-teens. They should also have a set age for staff members to follow with in-store painting competitions. Three times they have told me the age for youngbloods was fourteen and under, and then, when I arrive on the day of the contest I am told it is fifteen and I loose again to someone who they know is fifteen. The staff is unproffessional with in-store games and painting competitions and have always been disrespectful to me. I like GW, but the staff seems to only consist of unprofessional hoodlums.
i don\'t feel it\'s to do with the pricing that has got GW into trouble. when we all started off minis were not exactly cheap (ask your parents when they had to shell out for them)
Gw has tried to establish a specific brand or label for them, they have set up their core games and cut back the weird quirky stuff that made them a part of the fantasy world.
For a long time their were no companies that could stand up to them because they knew best about how to run a business and make the hard decisions. (some other companies were either run by the sculptor or just could not keep to a monthly schedule / or did not know about how to balance the books and such.....thus eventually going under)
recnetly there are two big competitors that seem to know how to put out a good product regularly and have a succesful game/world for the to be used with. these guys are paying attention to the business side of things aswell.
it does not help that GW have \'dumbed\' things down (a lot of their talent have jumped ship), they can be credited with starting us off in this hobby, but many have wisened up to what is going on.
GW held a shareholder vote last year on whether to drop the LOTR line completely.........it was quite close!
Gw needs to re-establish their brand and make things accesible again to the casual browser ( small boxed sets with a game inside) and once again show some pride in their product.
Gw has tried to establish a specific brand or label for them, they have set up their core games and cut back the weird quirky stuff that made them a part of the fantasy world.
For a long time their were no companies that could stand up to them because they knew best about how to run a business and make the hard decisions. (some other companies were either run by the sculptor or just could not keep to a monthly schedule / or did not know about how to balance the books and such.....thus eventually going under)
recnetly there are two big competitors that seem to know how to put out a good product regularly and have a succesful game/world for the to be used with. these guys are paying attention to the business side of things aswell.
it does not help that GW have \'dumbed\' things down (a lot of their talent have jumped ship), they can be credited with starting us off in this hobby, but many have wisened up to what is going on.
GW held a shareholder vote last year on whether to drop the LOTR line completely.........it was quite close!
Gw needs to re-establish their brand and make things accesible again to the casual browser ( small boxed sets with a game inside) and once again show some pride in their product.
I agree about the \"character\" comment. GW used to have the most characterful minis around. They blew every other company completely out of the water.
Something happened and they decide to go towards a darker and darker, more restrictive army focus.
I think the biggest problem is most likely businessmen and women is suits now make all the calls as opposed to gamers and hobbyists.
Something happened and they decide to go towards a darker and darker, more restrictive army focus.
I think the biggest problem is most likely businessmen and women is suits now make all the calls as opposed to gamers and hobbyists.
It was about a year or two ago now that i saw an adverrtisement on Australian TV that they were selling bi-weekly in newsagencys a GW Lord of the Rings Model/s with Paints, a paintbrush and a guide to introduce you into the game, showing you the rules Etc. I picked one up. $11.95 OZ was a really good deal for what i was getting.
I really enjoyed it.
For the past two years and still now i can go to a GW and see people who have begun their \'gaming\' because of these affordable fortnight models. The price remained the same, the models go nicer.
It was an awesome idea by GW, they would have made a lot of money and new gamers because of this.
Bring it Back....!!
Do more like them, 40k and fantasy
my two cents...
actually...it would be about my $1 now
I really enjoyed it.
For the past two years and still now i can go to a GW and see people who have begun their \'gaming\' because of these affordable fortnight models. The price remained the same, the models go nicer.
It was an awesome idea by GW, they would have made a lot of money and new gamers because of this.
Bring it Back....!!
Do more like them, 40k and fantasy
my two cents...
actually...it would be about my $1 now
hmmm... interesting forum to read through... A good friend of mine opened a store that was very laid back. He was open till the gamers were done, had space for 7 fully decked out 6\'x4\' tables, had a fridge of food for sale, offered 20% discounts to the regulars, etc.... Unfortunately he closed down 1 year after opening due to GWs raising prices and he had some issues with his wife throughout the year. Definitely the best gaming environment I have ever been in.
On to the ranting... The LotR line had terrible rules, I didn\'t like the scale of the minis, and was bound for failure when you realize that there are 57 different versions of Frodo... Price increases on the plastic boxes. Something they swore they wouldn\'t do... I\'ve been playing GW games for 10 years now and I ever so recently stopped buying retail stuff all together even depstie the fact that I get a 20% discount from any and all stores that I want GW stuff from (the stores basically have to do this to keep people buying the product). Also... Almost all of the stores around where I live no longer support LotR, Inquisitor, Necromuna, Warmaster, Mordheim, or Epic. Which is unfortunate however necessary in order for the stores to stay in business.
I would figure that GW feels like the other miniature companies are leaching off their tutorials and free intro stuff a bit and so are cutting back on that. Atleast around here... There are no tutorials on any other game system to be found other than WHFB or WH40k. I\'m sure that this contributes to the lack of sales as well.
I am still debating opening a gamer friendly hobby store myself, however I am unsure as to whether or not I would be able to make it and I don\'t particularly want to end up bankrupt like my good friend did. Perhaps I will look in to it when GW straightens out.
On to the ranting... The LotR line had terrible rules, I didn\'t like the scale of the minis, and was bound for failure when you realize that there are 57 different versions of Frodo... Price increases on the plastic boxes. Something they swore they wouldn\'t do... I\'ve been playing GW games for 10 years now and I ever so recently stopped buying retail stuff all together even depstie the fact that I get a 20% discount from any and all stores that I want GW stuff from (the stores basically have to do this to keep people buying the product). Also... Almost all of the stores around where I live no longer support LotR, Inquisitor, Necromuna, Warmaster, Mordheim, or Epic. Which is unfortunate however necessary in order for the stores to stay in business.
I would figure that GW feels like the other miniature companies are leaching off their tutorials and free intro stuff a bit and so are cutting back on that. Atleast around here... There are no tutorials on any other game system to be found other than WHFB or WH40k. I\'m sure that this contributes to the lack of sales as well.
I am still debating opening a gamer friendly hobby store myself, however I am unsure as to whether or not I would be able to make it and I don\'t particularly want to end up bankrupt like my good friend did. Perhaps I will look in to it when GW straightens out.
funnymouth
Active member
i agree with all of the above points, and, in reality i think that the buisness problems that gw is experiencing stem from some combination of all of them. it seems obveous that the lotr line is doomed - i think the line is dandy but it just doesnt have staying power with the gamers who will buy the bulk of the minis, and its also too specific; its great materrial but most people want to express their own creativity.
aside from lotr gw has bigger problems - competition and creativity are near the top. there are many new companies with a fresh look at minis.
my personal pet peeve :flame: is their focus on increasingly large armies. if you want to play the game you need 1850 and up in most cases, thats a lot of minis, a lot of money, and a lot of R&F painting and more importantly an interesting enough line of minis to paint 60+ models. as a matter of preference i prefer things in the \"warband\" size range. because i am a painter and avid converter this makes more sense too - i can have fewer but nicer and more characterful models for each force which allows me to collect a wide variety of different pieces.
aside from lotr gw has bigger problems - competition and creativity are near the top. there are many new companies with a fresh look at minis.
my personal pet peeve :flame: is their focus on increasingly large armies. if you want to play the game you need 1850 and up in most cases, thats a lot of minis, a lot of money, and a lot of R&F painting and more importantly an interesting enough line of minis to paint 60+ models. as a matter of preference i prefer things in the \"warband\" size range. because i am a painter and avid converter this makes more sense too - i can have fewer but nicer and more characterful models for each force which allows me to collect a wide variety of different pieces.
The games aren\'t designed for skirmish style play though... that\'s what Specialist is for. Mordheim, Necromunda, Bloodbowl, Inquisitor, all of these games you can get away with 20 or less in a team. Bloodbowl probably requires the most since you need 11 players + replacements, but Inquisitor you only need 1-3 for example.
The main games are battle games. Pretty much always have been. The Fanatic/Specialist stuff was always for the weird and wacky earn cash and level up style campaign stuff.
The main games are battle games. Pretty much always have been. The Fanatic/Specialist stuff was always for the weird and wacky earn cash and level up style campaign stuff.
Ebonbuddha
Active member
Yeah Supervike. We both share the same love of ogres. And if someone makes a crack on our wives we will kill them.lol I mean the giant ogre and the Jes Goodwin stuff.
