Just understand the context of everything I'm about to say, know that I am a veteran 40k player. I've been playing since 3rd Edition. I first got into the hobby when I was 7 when my dad bought me a pack of Citadel era Space Marine Combat Cards. I still have the deck.
So keep that in mind; I love this hobby and I want it to be lovable.
Is Games Workshop evil or just plain stupid?
I honestly think they started out just good old fashion stupid and lazy. Apparently a large percentage of their profit came from THQ and Dawn of War royalties. (see http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/136515-Games-Workshop-Profits-Down-24-CEO-Happy) This is where they were lazy and just coasted off Dawn of War for a few years, and it led to them being stupid. GW at some point decided THQ would be around forever and that their flagship products, the tabletop games and models, were irrelevant to their profits and overall company strategy. Thus secondary games like Battlefleet Gothic, Necromunda, Inquisitor, etc? were allowed to die off.
Then came the defining moment. THQ goes belly up and that gushing fountain of money dries up. And this is when I think GW shifted from stupid to evil. And let me just say I'm using evil in the sense that I as a gamer feel betrayed. As an outsider, what GW has done is simply greedy. As a stock holder, I would no doubt love GW.
Basically as far as I can tell GW needed cash fast. They had already begun a large store expansion plan and were laying the groundwork for dozens of new stores. Thus the Apocalypse formations were introduced. Then in short order, huge models. Titans, Stompas, Knights, etc... large, expensive models with tempting rules that turned the tide of the game. But it wasn't enough.
They had to ensure a steady supply of cash. 7th edition comes out. Unbound armies are released. Now strategy is out the window and the winner of the game is whoever spammed a single model the most. Don't tell me you haven't noticed. Chaos Marine armies of just Helldrakes. Tyranid swarms of nothing but Zoanthropes. Imperial Guards with more Leman Russes than actual guardsmen. Knights come out and they slaughter everything with a simple tactics; the more Knights you buy, the better the army. The game has turned into a grab-bag of whoever spends the most money wins. Before, in the old days, new units were a plus, but a clever player could beat a more expensive army if the points were balanced.
Now a days I'm seeing slaughters at the tables. No more close calls. Victory point matches 0-7. Whole armies being boarded by a swarm of only a few models. I've seen two Knights take on and destroy easily three land raiders worth of Plague Marines. Not a single Knight was lost.
I myself played against the new Orks, and I slaughtered them in a victory point match 8-4. I play Space Marine Legion and at 2000 points I outnumbered the Orks, model-for-model.
And I think that brings me to what may be the most evil thing GW is doing. The new Codices are terrible. And it?s a very precise, specific terrible. The most used units, for example, Ork Boyz, are now worthless because of the rule changes. Previously built armies, ones players spent years building, are not worthless. But it just so happened the new Morkanauts are awesome. And it just so happens you can filed as many as you want in an Unbound Army. And it just so happens the Morkanauts are $105 a pop.
I think GW is deliberately making the Codicies bad to force players into Unbound Armies and force them to buy the single unit that?s worth it, which just happens to be the most expensive money wise.
And I as a veteran gamer view this as complete evil. Its greedy and it?s a sound business plan, but its evil. I've had two friends stop playing 40k all together because the rules just leech the fun out of it. don?t get me wrong, winning is always preferable to losing, but there was a time the outcome wasn't as fun as the match. An epic duel between HQs was its own reward, armies beating each other bloody was fun to watch and God bless the Orks and their always fun hijinks.
Now the games are bitter. People aren't playing to have fun, they're playing to win. And you win by spending money. Might as well throw piles of cash on the table and whoever came in with the most wins.
Now I hear the Space Wolves are being neutered in the new codex. Sagas are gone. Grey Hunters aren't as good.
But you know what is good?! A new $80 flyer! Buy four of five of them! It?s the only way to win!
So keep that in mind; I love this hobby and I want it to be lovable.
Is Games Workshop evil or just plain stupid?
I honestly think they started out just good old fashion stupid and lazy. Apparently a large percentage of their profit came from THQ and Dawn of War royalties. (see http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/136515-Games-Workshop-Profits-Down-24-CEO-Happy) This is where they were lazy and just coasted off Dawn of War for a few years, and it led to them being stupid. GW at some point decided THQ would be around forever and that their flagship products, the tabletop games and models, were irrelevant to their profits and overall company strategy. Thus secondary games like Battlefleet Gothic, Necromunda, Inquisitor, etc? were allowed to die off.
Then came the defining moment. THQ goes belly up and that gushing fountain of money dries up. And this is when I think GW shifted from stupid to evil. And let me just say I'm using evil in the sense that I as a gamer feel betrayed. As an outsider, what GW has done is simply greedy. As a stock holder, I would no doubt love GW.
Basically as far as I can tell GW needed cash fast. They had already begun a large store expansion plan and were laying the groundwork for dozens of new stores. Thus the Apocalypse formations were introduced. Then in short order, huge models. Titans, Stompas, Knights, etc... large, expensive models with tempting rules that turned the tide of the game. But it wasn't enough.
They had to ensure a steady supply of cash. 7th edition comes out. Unbound armies are released. Now strategy is out the window and the winner of the game is whoever spammed a single model the most. Don't tell me you haven't noticed. Chaos Marine armies of just Helldrakes. Tyranid swarms of nothing but Zoanthropes. Imperial Guards with more Leman Russes than actual guardsmen. Knights come out and they slaughter everything with a simple tactics; the more Knights you buy, the better the army. The game has turned into a grab-bag of whoever spends the most money wins. Before, in the old days, new units were a plus, but a clever player could beat a more expensive army if the points were balanced.
Now a days I'm seeing slaughters at the tables. No more close calls. Victory point matches 0-7. Whole armies being boarded by a swarm of only a few models. I've seen two Knights take on and destroy easily three land raiders worth of Plague Marines. Not a single Knight was lost.
I myself played against the new Orks, and I slaughtered them in a victory point match 8-4. I play Space Marine Legion and at 2000 points I outnumbered the Orks, model-for-model.
And I think that brings me to what may be the most evil thing GW is doing. The new Codices are terrible. And it?s a very precise, specific terrible. The most used units, for example, Ork Boyz, are now worthless because of the rule changes. Previously built armies, ones players spent years building, are not worthless. But it just so happened the new Morkanauts are awesome. And it just so happens you can filed as many as you want in an Unbound Army. And it just so happens the Morkanauts are $105 a pop.
I think GW is deliberately making the Codicies bad to force players into Unbound Armies and force them to buy the single unit that?s worth it, which just happens to be the most expensive money wise.
And I as a veteran gamer view this as complete evil. Its greedy and it?s a sound business plan, but its evil. I've had two friends stop playing 40k all together because the rules just leech the fun out of it. don?t get me wrong, winning is always preferable to losing, but there was a time the outcome wasn't as fun as the match. An epic duel between HQs was its own reward, armies beating each other bloody was fun to watch and God bless the Orks and their always fun hijinks.
Now the games are bitter. People aren't playing to have fun, they're playing to win. And you win by spending money. Might as well throw piles of cash on the table and whoever came in with the most wins.
Now I hear the Space Wolves are being neutered in the new codex. Sagas are gone. Grey Hunters aren't as good.
But you know what is good?! A new $80 flyer! Buy four of five of them! It?s the only way to win!
