Games Workshop Stock Plummets By 24 Percent

ccggenius12

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Sep 30, 2010
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Muspelheim said:
I've always felt the Tyranids were the least evil faction in that universe. They just want to eat new and exotic things, and become all that they can be with the new genes they nibble along the way.
I'd argue for Orks. They're equal opportunity soccer hooligans, as likely to kill you as kill the filthy xeno that's trying to kill you, and THEN kill you.
Or Necrons, they come to earth with a simple dream, to destroy all humans. Is that so wrong?
Sir Shockwave said:
...Although your statement does leave out the Sisters of Battle, who are currently bed buddies with the Tyranids in terms of how much GW cares about them (it's been reported that the 6th Edition book is WORSE than the book they had 5th Edition. Hopefully they can pull an Imperial Guard sometime later, or they may die out altogether).
Don't let the power armor fool you, I'm quite certain that those breasts have convinced Matt Ward that they are xenos, because that would explain so much.
 

Kotaro

Desdinova's Successor
Feb 3, 2009
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Not surprised. They continue to jack up the prices on miniatures that continue to drop in quality.
This is why I don't play Warhammer.
 

Sir Shockwave

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Jul 4, 2011
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ccggenius12 said:
Muspelheim said:
Don't let the power armor fool you, I'm quite certain that those breasts have convinced Matt Ward that they are xenos, because that would explain so much.
Also while I'm here, the two armies dominating 6th Edition right now are Tau and Eldar. The combined Taudar Leaf Blower lists are even more of a problem.

And now you've mentioned this, report to your local Commissarat for immediate blamming for attempting to insult one of His Holy Institutions X3

(Actually, it's been strongly implied in many places that Matt Ward is into sexist snuff flicks. Wat X3)
 

Beetlebum

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Oct 14, 2011
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Gw itself has claimed in the White Dwarf (overpriced propaganda magazine) that they do not see the gaming, painting or modelling side of the hobby as the most important. It is, in their eyes, a collection hobby. Basicaly they are telling their customers 'Just buy our stuff and be happy with everything we sell you.'

40K is dominated by flyers and large models, so large its becoming silly (And impossible to model dynamically). All new codex make the old units suck and force people to buy new boxes. Fantasy is a sad joke, the hobbit an expensive one. Specialists games are unsupported and the most praised new models are terrain pieces. They sell boxes with two possible units in them and price them as such, but you can only make one of the two units.

Even their plastic glue doesn't melt plastic together anymore, just sorta pastes it together for a short while.

The best thing GW has done recently is to give Fantasy Flight Games the licence to make 40K RPGs/boardgames.

And I actually like the hobby, sorry for the rant.
 

ccggenius12

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Sep 30, 2010
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Sir Shockwave said:
And now you've mentioned this, report to your local Commissarat for immediate blamming for attempting to insult one of His Holy Institutions X3
I can see how the wall of internet between us could lead you to believe that I'm of the Imperium. I would just like to take this moment to rectify the situation by going on record as stating that I am, in fact, an inordinately well spoken Greenskin. I'm quite certain if the others find out that I can read, or am capable of speaking without a Cockney accent, I will be torn asunder; my limbs grafted to a squig and my teeth traded for fungus beer. Of course, I'd probably live, but being a toothless torso is far from something to aspire to.
 

Mangod

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Feb 20, 2011
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ccggenius12 said:
Sir Shockwave said:
And now you've mentioned this, report to your local Commissarat for immediate blamming for attempting to insult one of His Holy Institutions X3
I can see how the wall of internet between us could lead you to believe that I'm of the Imperium. I would just like to take this moment to rectify the situation by going on record as stating that I am, in fact, an inordinately well spoken Greenskin. I'm quite certain if the others find out that I can read, or am capable of speaking without a Cockney accent, I will be torn asunder; my limbs grafted to a squig and my teeth traded for fungus beer. Of course, I'd probably live, but being a toothless torso is far from something to aspire to.
Oi! Ladz! Get tha' zoggin, humie-talkin' git! WAAAGH!!!

Beetlebum said:
Gw itself has claimed in the White Dwarf (overpriced propaganda magazine) that they do not see the gaming, painting or modelling side of the hobby as the most important. It is, in their eyes, a collection hobby. Basicaly they are telling their customers 'Just buy our stuff and be happy with everything we sell you.'

40K is dominated by flyers and large models, so large its becoming silly (And impossible to model dynamically). All new codex make the old units suck and force people to buy new boxes. Fantasy is a sad joke, the hobbit an expensive one. Specialists games are unsupported and the most praised new models are terrain pieces. They sell boxes with two possible units in them and price them as such, but you can only make one of the two units.

Even their plastic glue doesn't melt plastic together anymore, just sorta pastes it together for a short while.

The best thing GW has done recently is to give Fantasy Flight Games the licence to make 40K RPGs/boardgames.

And I actually like the hobby, sorry for the rant.
I find it hilarious how GW actually sees White Dwarf as a source of revenue. Yes, really [http://thefrontlinegamer.blogspot.se/2013/05/how-can-you-tell-when-business-is-in.html#more].

As if refusing to support, and evetually killing Specialist Games wasn't stupid enough... [http://thefrontlinegamer.blogspot.se/2013/05/monday-musing-specialist-games.html#more].
 

scotth266

Wait when did I get a sub
Jan 10, 2009
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For all the complaining people do about the price of the minis, I'm actually more upset by the price of the books. I'm writing a large post right now one why the books (particularly the codices) are an enormous ripoff that deters new players from getting involved with the game.
 

Rastrelly

%PCName
Mar 19, 2011
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Basically, games GW sold licenses to be created after THQ fall clearly indicate that GW has no idea what they're doing.
 
Mar 26, 2008
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Raziel said:
I bet it didn't help that they capped the amount of figures non-GW stores were allowed to order. That led to several popular stores closing.
Actually, that's when they lost my business. Games World which sold their figures was a 5 minute drive away. The nearest Games Workshop is a 20 minute drive away.

Also, their paints are overpriced.
 

Atmos Duality

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rapidoud said:
If any of you people read any of the financial reports you'd know the company was doing pretty poorly before they started increasing prices.
Then they're obviously running their business very inefficiently and/or with some obscene overhead.
 

Denamic

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Aug 19, 2009
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I'm just surprised they still exist with their business practices. They're basically milking their core fans by now, completely alienating potential new customers. If they continue like this, they will die out completely before long.
 

Mangod

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Feb 20, 2011
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Witty Name Here said:
Second step would be to stock stores with default, standard armies that already come painted...
Let's not go down that road, it's what killed Rackham and their Confrontation brand.

(Didn't help that their prepainted plastic miniatures were covered in thick, flaky, and brittle paint.)
 

keiji_Maeda

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May 9, 2012
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Sir Shockwave said:
ccggenius12 said:
Muspelheim said:
Don't let the power armor fool you, I'm quite certain that those breasts have convinced Matt Ward that they are xenos, because that would explain so much.
Also while I'm here, the two armies dominating 6th Edition right now are Tau and Eldar. The combined Taudar Leaf Blower lists are even more of a problem.

And now you've mentioned this, report to your local Commissarat for immediate blamming for attempting to insult one of His Holy Institutions X3

(Actually, it's been strongly implied in many places that Matt Ward is into sexist snuff flicks. Wat X3)
aaaaand by "many places" do you refer to the "changer of ways" or /TG/ in general?

Funnily enough, a mate of mine and me picked up 40k at the same time, he rolls TAU and i roll GK or DA. And i've won 9.5 times out of ten. I think the TAudar complains are a bit overblown.
 

keiji_Maeda

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May 9, 2012
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Atmos Duality said:
rapidoud said:
If any of you people read any of the financial reports you'd know the company was doing pretty poorly before they started increasing prices.
Then they're obviously running their business very inefficiently and/or with some obscene overhead.
Also, the CEO (with a proven history of generating profit and bringing innovations to the brand) dropping (or being dropped, depending on who you ask) and replacing with a board volunteer isn't the wisest of actions.
 

Strazdas

Robots will replace your job
May 28, 2011
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I think the panic is premature, they still running a 12% profit, very much in the green here.
yes 3D printing will be the end of shops like theirs but that isnt moving in THAT fast yet. Also licensing and other stupid laws will allow them to hold a stranglehold for a while still.
 

Sir Shockwave

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Jul 4, 2011
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keiji_Maeda said:
Sir Shockwave said:
ccggenius12 said:
Muspelheim said:
Don't let the power armor fool you, I'm quite certain that those breasts have convinced Matt Ward that they are xenos, because that would explain so much.
Also while I'm here, the two armies dominating 6th Edition right now are Tau and Eldar. The combined Taudar Leaf Blower lists are even more of a problem.

And now you've mentioned this, report to your local Commissarat for immediate blamming for attempting to insult one of His Holy Institutions X3

(Actually, it's been strongly implied in many places that Matt Ward is into sexist snuff flicks. Wat X3)
aaaaand by "many places" do you refer to the "changer of ways" or /TG/ in general?

Funnily enough, a mate of mine and me picked up 40k at the same time, he rolls TAU and i roll GK or DA. And i've won 9.5 times out of ten. I think the TAudar complains are a bit overblown.
There was a Post here in this very thread with a White Dwarf quote. It's a good few pages back by now.
 

dl_wraith

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Dec 21, 2007
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My only surprise is that this type of decline didn't come sooner, as many ex-staff and ex-GW gamers have been predicting for years.

Back in the annals of history there was little alternative to GW's games and minis line (particularly here in the UK) certainly if you were looking to play sci-fi or fantasy themed games with good looking models and a large, cohesive system. Other mini lines seemed too scattered or simply didn't look as good. Sure, there were exceptions but in the main GW was arguably the best option unless you were a historical wargames player. GW rose in popularity due to excellent art values, solid rules system that were easy to teach and remember, and high-street presence.

These days there are many companies selling well thought out and expanded gaming lines where the sculpt quality rivals or beats GW, the prices are lower and the availability just as good. Games like Warmachine, Malifaux, Warpath and Anima are widely available in gamins stores and mini-boardgame hybrids like X-Wing, Star Trek attack wing, Heroclix and Dreadball fill the gaps where players don't have the time or money commitment to make to a full wargame system. Players have absolutely no reliance on GW's presence which means GW should be trying harder than ever before to maintain their top-dog spot.

GW doesn't enjoy the largely uncontested space as it once did and with their policy on continually raising miniature prices at every single change (from lead to 'more expensive to produce' white metal, then from white metal to 'more expensive to sculpt masters for' plastic and from plastic to 'more expensive to mould and produce' finecast) and rulebook costs with every new printing they are driving more and more players into the waiting arms of alternative games systems.

GW are creating themselves a perfect storm of failure slowly but surely. Forever rising costs, forever shrinking store support, poorly supporting well-loved products, forever tightening in-store rules and a traditional pursuance of policies that alienate of long-term players in the pursuit of seemingly younger and younger fresh blood will eat into their profit margin more and more. We all see it coming and it's only because of the strength and player investment built in the brand in previous years that stops it from faltering completely and quickly.

Ex-staff I've spoken to rarely have nice things to say about the company. Long term players in my neck of the woods have been slowly leaving Warhammer games for alternatives that don't suffer Codex power creep, don't give less for more money every year and don't make them feel straightjacketed in the way they play. The immediate future isn't looking great for GW but the fact remains it is a company that still contains passionate gamers, helps serves the needs of a stubborn community not willing to let the brand die and that still has the most recognizable and accessible high-street presence in the gaming world.

If GW don't learn soon their death would certainly not be a quick one. Don't write them off yet as they are still a behemoth of the wargaming world and let's face it, any change in direction takes a while for such a large creature to execute and killing them takes some mighty large weapons (or a gaggle of angry Slayers. Make no mistake - being ginger and short can really make you dangerous :) ).

Regardless of the truth of the matter the gaming community has long regarded GW as not really being a company that cares about 'the hobby'. I'm sure this would dismay many within the company because at it's heart used to lie a core belief in the gaming hobby. I'd like to think that this was still true. A strong customer focused GW benefits the tabletop gaming hobby in many ways so I hope they learn from this and change some of their more damaging policies. I certainly know a lot of players that would be happy to 'return to the fold' if GW just started cutting it's supporters some slack and started bahaving like it cared about it's playerbase rather than constantly appearing to throw sand in their faces (price hikes, dropped support for beloved products, staffing cutbacks, draconian in-store policies, seemingly ignoring regular players in favour of new faces in store yadda yadda yadda).

I'm an ex-GW player myself. I love Blood Bowl (which deserves to be a regular fixture in any FLGS alongside other board games) used to play a lot of Epic and Necromunda alongside non-GW favourites such as Battletech. These days most of my wargaming is quick and non-company specific games like Full Thrust (which I own three scratchbuilt fleets for). I still buy some GW materials for my RPG sessions and would be sad to see them fall too low.....despite believing that in some ways they'd deserve it if they did fall entirely from grace.
 
Jul 31, 2013
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Its a fault of their own making really. They've over priced their model sets and decreased the number of actual models you can make out of each one. Couple this with rules that require large numbers of troops to be competative and you can clearly see why it is 'declining in popularity'.

Simply put: Ordinary people are being put off because they are forced to pay more for less when they need even more than they used to in order to play the game = a decline in sales.