Frostmarrow
First Post
No. I'm insane!
[Games Workshop] Another Price Raise!?
- Thread starter JVisgaitis
- Start date
I can't go into a Warhammer store without getting a stomach ache. I was in one the other day and noticed a LOTR trebuchet in a box the size and weight of a box of cold tablets was going for $40 US. I could build a trebuchet out of basswood for approximately 30 cents. I could build a working trebuchet for $40.
Now, that's not to say GW doesn't make great products, because they do. I'm a big fan of their artwork, their minis and their terrain. All that is class stuff. But their prices are about 4 times what I am willing to pay. (I feel the same way about the DDM Colossal Red Dragon, going for $80 when McFarlane Dragons are going for $7-14 bucks and have awesome sculpts and paint jobs.)
But then, I'm the GM who's sent hordes of Dollar Store plastic dinosaurs after my players, so I may not be the best judge.
Now, that's not to say GW doesn't make great products, because they do. I'm a big fan of their artwork, their minis and their terrain. All that is class stuff. But their prices are about 4 times what I am willing to pay. (I feel the same way about the DDM Colossal Red Dragon, going for $80 when McFarlane Dragons are going for $7-14 bucks and have awesome sculpts and paint jobs.)
But then, I'm the GM who's sent hordes of Dollar Store plastic dinosaurs after my players, so I may not be the best judge.
carmachu said:
First off, you do not have to be disrespectful towards me. I ask that you please keep discussions civil and your emotions under check. Just because I say I like GW and their products doesn't mean you have to personally attack me. Likewise, its ok for you not to like them. With that said, here is my reply:
GW's recent drops in sales was due to the LOTR line fad passing, while GW continues to try and turn it into a third primary game system. Before that, every year the company has had nearly 20% growth every year. I don't agree with everything GW does, but they do have solid games with high quality books, miniatures, presentation and good rules. Warhammer Fantasy battle has gotten better with every edition and Warhammer 40,000 is a solid property that is only continuing to grow, though I personally don't feel that the rules are quite where they need to be for that game, I admire its setting and overall feel of its fast paced game play.
Overall, GW is still way less expensive then many hobbies. I do not have a problem paying for quality. I like nice books, nice figures, and good support. GW puts their money back into the company and its products. They improve their production qualities all the time and they have great artists, sculptors and writers on staff. Very few companies do all of that, and as well as they do.
Game systems are popular not because they are common, they are popular because a majoirty of people enjoy them and they are fun to play. Gamers are smart consumers and can find what they like in a system, the games that make it do so because gamers play them by choice.
LightPhoenix
First Post
phindar said:
This is along the lines of why I never got into any permutation of the GW games.
This was a long while ago... nine or ten years ago. A couple of my friends played, and they were relatively laid back about things. Then we went to our FLGS (Twilight, at the time) for a tournament. Even there, most people were pretty cool. However, I watched three people get told they couldn't play for not having painted minis... one guy only had a base coat, the other two were unpainted. This scenario was repeated numerous times as I watched my friends play, until we left for college.
Now, I was okay with the prices. After all, everyone has a hobby they spend their money on. However, it really seemed to me that the painting was as important, if not more so, than the game itself. I love games, but I'm not a painter, and while I would have played with people at the FLGSs, so many of them wouldn't play if minis weren't painted that it just never appealed to me.
Eh, anyway, that's my anecdotal story, and I know it's only applicable to me. I just wanted to share, because I had some time before stuff stopped centrifuging.
jdrakeh
Front Range Warlock
carmachu said:
Agreed, though, they do finally seem to have moved past dumping a game line or two every year. That said, moves to disallow certain minis and rules in tourneys is a great example of crap support -- these disallowances are made specifically to push new (not necessarily bettter) product while, in turn, they make 90% of older stuff worthless.
Now, if organizad play wasn't the cornerstone of GW commerce, this wouldn't be a big issue. But organized play is the cornerstone of GW commerce, and people get sick of investing hundreds of dollars in an army one year only to find that the way it functions in play may change completely by the following year (if it hasn't be cut altogether).
Or at least I did
I have greatly enjoyed the GW line of games. I've been a fan of WH and WH40K for almost 10 years now, and the only thing that stops me from indulging in my hobby is the COST. I've got several armies I've been working on over the years, and I'd love to flesh them out... but the cost is very prohibative. I'd hate to think what it would be starting from scratch now.
JVisgaitis
Explorer
Najo said:
That's what they tell the share holders, but that isn't the only thing cutting into their sales. When I was across the pond they told me that their target market is 9 year old kids who get their parents to buy everything for them. They have NO desire to foster a long term player base and actually told me that their player base recycles every 2 to 3 years as the kids that they have move on to something else. That is why they have the price increases because they don't care about existing customers. If they move on to something else fine, that's when the new crop of players is supposed to come in. Problem with that is a lot of kids today are playing MMOs and videogames for entertainment and GW isn't evolving. That's why they are dipping in sales. Add to that the price increases and long term fans are moving to other games.
Yeah, the editions get better every year and the 40K property is well done and has legs to continue development. As for support, they drop support for almost every game they come out with and only focus on the big three being WHFB, WH40K, and LotR. The company doesn't even have an official forum! How is that support? The whole reason they set up Fanatic Press was to support their games because a lot of people were upset that support was severely lacking (which it is). When is the last time we saw new products for Mordheim, GorkaMorka, Space Hulk, Blood Bowl, Battle of Five Armies, Warmaster, Epic, Man o War, Battlefleet Gothic, Inquisitor, Talisman, Necromunda, etc etc etc.
As far as I know, Fanatic doesn't do print products anymore, do they? If you mean support in the fact that there is a lot of web content and they recycle Army Books and editions like I change underwear, then yeah I suppose they do.
Don't get me wrong, I like a lot that GW does and they got me my start in this industry, but their pricing scheme really needs to adjust itself so they can survive. I have no doubt that GW is doing well for themselves, but if they aren't careful they'll be the next TSR. Frankly, I'd love to see it happen as I like their games but won't pay their prices.
JVisgaitis
Explorer
How much is a subscription to White Dwarf now anyway?
Similar Threads
