Seriously, Sometimes I feel like GW's release schedule is like breaking up with a girl and finding out two weeks later that she got a boob job lost 10 pounds and finally got rid of that annoying laugh.
What in the world am I talking about? Well, unless you have been living under a rock for the last few days you'll know that GW just announced models for Thundercav and several Tyranid enteries. The following are my thoughts on the whole thing.
The business side of things:
Tyranids Came out in Jan 2010, Space Wolves came out in Oct. 2009! Lets see what else came out in 2009. "The Blind side" won all sorts of oscars, The iPad wasn't even out yet and Apples newest was the iPhone 3G.
Seems like a long time ago, doesn't it? Well, thats because IT WAS! It was almost 3 years ago for the Wolves and easily 2 for the Nids. Who does a supplemental production line 2-3 YEARS after the release? should we expect Alcon entertainment to realease behind the scenes clips from "The Blind Side," no? How about Apple, should they release some new and improved screen for the iPhone 3G? NO! And why wouldn't these companies release those products? BECAUSE THE WORLD F-ING MOVED ON! Seriously, even George Lucas and his Billion dollar franchise of Star Wars can't bring something back from the dead (Phantom menace 3d still is phantom menace). Seriously GW, I 100% understand a 'delayed release,' but in all honesty it should be no more than 6 months after the real ease of the codex. Why you ask? Because 4-6 months is about the time when peoples' excitement over their new shiny stuff starts to wear off (most products are this way, not just models). It also coincides very well with your current release schedule of 1-2 new codices every year. If you followed this wisdom then just as people were getting bored with their current build you would release a second wave and WAMMO! people are excited about them again. This has the added benefit of not being enough time for players to figure out that the codex sucks or to be invalidated by another (newer) codex (cough GK cough)
For goodness sake GW you say that you are a model company... Act like it! Get your crap together with reasonable release schedule! 2-3 years for a second release?! Are you crazy!!!?
Now, here is the thing, people will still buy the models. Im sure some will even replace their lovingly-made conversions. But by doing this release this late you have severely weakened your income potential, particularly in the Tyranids release. You made beautiful models that will do nothing but sit on the shelves.The Models:
Tyranids- In all honesty the Tyranid models are amazing! they are very dynamic and are just asking to be painted...Too bad it will take some major changes in 6th edition to make me even think of playing bugs right now. They just suck too bad and I am knee deep in GK right now.. Still though, the models look great almost to the point that looking at a well painted Tervigon will almost make me vomit a little. lol
Thundercav- I know everyone is going to yell at me for this, but I think the wolf models are a bit boring. I like the shields and axe on the riders, but the wolf is leaving me a little bored. They look nothing like the Canis model in that there is little to no "Spave Wolf," markings and no cybernetics/armor on the beast at all. Im not saying it need to have power armor encased all over, but this was a little weak.So what are your thoughts? Is GW smart to release these models 2 years after the codex dropped? What are your thoughts on the models themselves.
Duke
So dumb. Worst move they've made so far, but I think they've just gotten too big for their own good at this point. Everyone thinks they are all about control but frankly the company seems like it's totally out of control at this point. Too bad cause I really like their models and products but it's great for the third party vendors and other paint companies who will get people like me trying new things because GW is so flaky now.
ReplyDeleteZab
I would call it an epic fail. they will still make mo ney from the loyal customers and new players. I will be adding some Thunderwolves to my Maxmini versions I bought and converted.
ReplyDeleteThey are slowly pricing themself into a corner with price hikes and bad release schedules are going to hit their bottom line somewhat.
I am just amazed that when the frenzy of knock off wolf riders appeared that they didn't get at least Forge World to make something while they worked on plastics....I guess they assumed the storm shield of GW legal would hold out.
Don't get me wrong guys, I want to support GW. I want to sing their praises, but this just makes no sense to me at all. I wish a GW rep would contact me to clearify why they did things this way. It is just so hard for me as a business person to wrap my head around the"why," of this release schedule.
ReplyDeleteDuke
Has it ever occurred to anyone that, maybe, just maybe, this release has something to do with the chapter house studios lawsuit. Maybe GW realizes after losing to Chapter House, that unless they produce the models that are missing from their ranges, and in the future produce the models for new units in a timely fashion, that they won't have a legal leg to stand on, especially in US courts.
DeleteSource?
DeleteGW fell foul of international trademark laws unfortunately and didnt relase models fast enough. Then when they wanted to it was to late and couldn't release them ... due to the court case, when the court case was over they released them asap. suck it up, you all moaned "where are my wolves wah wah" now you get them you moan. seriously.
ReplyDeletebut it isn't over...
DeleteI'm not a GW rep
ReplyDeleteI guess none of you heard about the GW lawsuits against chapterhouse who produced non-GW versions or conversions for these models before games-workshop could. Most of the delay was all because chapterhouse breached GW copyright by producing and releasing planned models before GW could. If GW hadn't legally challenged chapterhouse on this it would have left them open in 2 ways;
1) chapterhouse might try to claim that if GW released versions of ... say the tyranid spore drop pod thing, chapterhouse might say "we made it first, GW is infringing on our ip".
2) It would leave GW open to 3rd party anything and everything you see in a codex/army book that isn't released being made and named probably at a lower quality than what we get from GW (no offense to the companies who make fantastic conversion pieces that really brighten the game up with variety).
So if you want to blame anyone, blame chapterhouse for grabbing a fast buck.
I guess you hadn't heard that GW lost that lawsuit.
DeleteI guess you from the future as the case hasn't got to court yet... The judge has actually told both sides to start making head way rather than keep jabbing at each other.
DeleteI was actually really happy to see that the thunderwolves didn't have bionic everything. Sometimes I feel like a sane model is designed and then it passes through the Department of Grimdark and comes out with 32 skulls, spikes on everything, and a massic bionic eye. Every now and then I just want to see a monster wolf that just looks like a monster wolf or a space marine sergeant who doesn't have a bionic eye.
ReplyDeleteAlso, you think us nids only waited two years? The flyrant first became an option in 3rd edition. We've been waiting for this since 2004. The iPod had a monochromatic display back then.
ReplyDeleteI see a lot of comments on chapterhouse, but I see no news releases that lawsuit has made it through the courts yet.
ReplyDeleteGW lost the lawsuit.
DeleteI say again. Source?
DeleteI've not heard that they lost anything yet. You saying it twice in a random blog without backing it up with hard data does not make it true.
Look it up yourself. Takes a few but you can find the relevant info on google.
Deletehere is a location to order the federal court documents:
Deletehttp://www.rfcexpress.com/lawsuits/copyright-lawsuits/illinois-northern-district-court/68828/games-workshop-limited-v-chapterhouse-studios-llc-et-al/official-court-documents/
or another source
http://dockets.justia.com/docket/illinois/ilndce/1:2010cv08103/250791/
I don't have the accounts to get the docket information but I see no where that this case has been settled.
The case has not been settled. It is going to trial. So why 'Chris' seems to think GW lost a court case that isn't even started properly yet makes me wonder.
DeleteIf GW wasn't afraid of losing the case or know that they have already lost before it started, they would not be in such an all fire hurry to suddenly release the offending models to attempt a last ditch effort to sure up their position. Either they have lost before its really started (which is what I can gather from info provided to me) or their so afraid of losing that they have had to rush out these kits all at once.
DeleteGW obviously has concept art and text that predates any Chapterhouse minis. If Chapterhouse actually tried to sue GW for infringing on IP rights it would be a joke.
ReplyDeleteIt always surprises me when people are surprised by this, I look at the Warriors of Chaos army book as the biggest example of delayed release. In the book it showed several pictures of the new Demon princes, yet it was over a year after that book came out that we saw the Demon Princes hit the shelves. GW releasing models long after the book does not really surprise me anymore...hopefully the mess with Chapterhouse will motivate them to release models for a new range quickly, ala Dark Eldar and Necrons, Vampire Counts. These seem to get the next waves quickly in comparison to previous armies.
ReplyDeleteCopyrights and IP law has several grey zones...I find it just a laugh that people are saying that GW didn't put out X because of the lawsuit. If they did, their lawyers was dumb if they advised them of this.
ReplyDeleteBottom line is GW in theory cannot stop people from making things similar to theirs, as long as they don't advertise the product as theirs (use their names and such) also if it is within a range of being "different" from the item they are making they are legally able to do so. While not a lawyer myself I have had some law courses in college...there is more..the fact is the courts sent GW home with a message.
Simply they should have made the product and made their profits, instead (whatever reason) they mad bad buisness choices (and have done so of late) such as the "media blackout" of promotions of new product and so forth...
I love their game, I love the products they make they are of quality, the price may be a bit high but I am willing to cut what I buy to get what I want now. GW needs to change their management and decisions they are making or they will find that the 25th anniv they are celebrating may be a marker of decline instead of prosperity.
And, yes I used to work for GW. I loved the company as a whole, which is why I can say the above and be honest as I no longer work for them and moved on with my life. The company thought process is not what it used to be. We got customers excited about products, could talk about them and encourage the hobby. Of late they are going the opposite way...
It really does seem to be going the other way. GW used to make games like Necromunda and Gorkamorka because they were cool games. You don't see that anymore. We just get the occasional limited edition boxed game that's either awesome (Space Hulk) or a cynical attempt to cash in on the phrase "limited edition" (Dreadfleet).
DeleteI agree, they are going the opposite way. I loved the Fanatic line and frankly they could have kept that going and made nice profits off of it...instead other companies are producing "knockoff teams" now and are making the money instead.
DeleteI hear people say oh people already own enough models to play X...well, let's think....Necromunda models could be made plastic (hello imagine the IG and Inquisitorial options???) chaching! $...Mordheim the same thing, add some unique flavor to an Empire Army or somesuch....by putting something unique in the boxed sets would encourge people to buy them. Blood Bowl, repackage and make a cloth topper like Dreadfleet had, plastic teams, fresh new sculpts with options to pose and build, toss in a few new teams winner!. Forge World has spat out so many units they could fluff up the Epic line...no limits really....even Gorka could go alongside some revamped plasic ork stuff to add variety to their current sets...I could go on and on with tons of ideas...
Also with this economy GW should be more focused on "skirmish games" anyway, instead of the big money games...sure it is great to sell Baneblades but you may sell a handful, instead sell tons of smaller boxed stuff instead. There is other companies doing this and drawing some of GW's clients away. I know I've turned my head a few times to outside games and go look at them....
DeleteIf they did make Mordheim and Necromunda plastics it would be really easy to throw a few articles in White Dwarf showing the conversion potential of those models in the flagship games and give a ton of people who might never play any specialist games reason to buy a kit or two.
DeleteWith regard to the "we already have models" mentality. I'd love to buy a Blood Bowl team if anyone else around here had one. I can think of ten people off the top of my head who would run out a pick up a box of doomed hand-egg players. "Football" is a game played by the rest of the world with feet and a ball. ;)
On a related note, Battlefleet Gothic is awesome.
To everyone blaming Chapterhouse, it's GWs fault. They ought to have registered the copyright with intent to use. Simple as.
ReplyDeleteI actually thought the wolves were the best models in this release, both fenrisian & thunder (Just the wolves, not the riders).
ReplyDeleteEach to their own I guess.
True enough... It isn't that I don't like them, I do, I just wish they were a little more "space wolfy," But as you said, different strokes and all that.
DeleteDuke
Although I agree with the premise of this article, it needs to be pointed out that not everyone buys an army when it first comes out. Has it been a long wait for this stuff?..yeah it has but I bet that there are plenty of SW and Tyranid players out there that are excited that this stuff is hitting the shelves. Most players (i.e. consumers) are NOT competitive tourney players nor are they master converters, so I doubt that there will be much impact on sales because of the delay. It may in fact lead people to buy an 'older' army now that the models are available.
ReplyDeleteHere is my thoughts: You're right in that the 'basement gamer,' will still go and get his Tervigon, as will the purist Tyranids player but the same guys that are buying it now would have bought it then (or even at a 6 month delayed release). But now you are also now losing out on the competitive crowd who would have bought it then and didn't. You are also losing out on a lot of people who did make conversions for these models (Flyrant) and you allowed another third party production company to stomp all over your new carpets (Chapterhouse).
DeleteI understand delayed release schedules, but 2 years is, IMO, ridiculous. Is it going to "ruin," GW? NO WAY! but why would you leave money on the table? I would love to hear the reasoning from GW themselves on why they thought it was a good idea to wait two years or why they were forced to wait if they didn't want to (lawsuits, the sculptor was busy, etc.)
Duke
Great article Duke =) Didn't even read the comments hehe
ReplyDeleteReally nice article Duke. You covered almost everything I was going to write! Why it took GW so long to release these (and the Space Wolves kits) is beyond me. Just sloppy business practice. Most people who wanted these and the Wolves, has converted or bought similar models. I see them all the time.
ReplyDeleteI just can't believe they can't get this stuff out within 6 months of releasing the codex.
Alec
http://apocalypse40k.blogspot.com/
The original post here compares iPads with models. Yet cars would be a better analogy, as anything electronic has a half life of minutes.
ReplyDeleteSome cars like the Porshe for instance have been merely updated yearly for the last 50 years, the release of stuff for the tyranids is no different than simply updating the model collection. The models you already have are still working and functions as units on the battlefield and therefore still work and are 'current'. Unlike an iPad, you can't "move on" from the models in the back catalogue of GW because WYSIWYG means if you field a space marine with a heavy bolter, so long as its codex legal to do so, its still a space marine with a heavy bolter even though the model you were using was made 20 years ago.
It would reason then that, releasing a few more models for the Tyranids is simply adding to the collection of codex legal units. The question I would ask is if its in the codex why wasn't it available to buy originally? That would be like Magic releasing Dark Ascension and just showing you pictures of the cards and saying well if you make your own it can have these rules. Ridiculuous! If you want codexes to match each other on the battlefield then you have to have 1) a points system in the codex that fairly represents all teams, meaning that 1000pts of one army could in more able hands, defeat another army of 1000pts 2) Have all the models available to buy, because some people are rubbish at conversions and just want to choose an army they like. 3) Do not have synergies that ruin the game or make a mockery of the points system, or be ambiguous in the rules (some necron rules regarding the spyder for example were a hot internet debate for a little while).
This bings me to my main issue with GW. This is that unlike Magic there isn't a serious professional tour, or high stakes well organised official tournaments. This makes it simply a collectors thing, rather than a strategy board game with purpose. In the US it appears that there are more tournaments but GW have shops everywhere so this shouldn't be the case. Magic has a prize total of $200k for the professional tour, why isn't there this structure for GW? It could easily incorporate painting and battlefield prize winnings.
Someone down here tried to do a cash tournament that went over ok, but was an epic fail in many areas also, it never happened again.
DeletePersonally, I think it takes away from the hobbiest aspect of painting, sportsmanship and having fun. When money falls into the mix it becomes a job to some people and not fun for everyone else. So, you end up with a social clique of hard core players that think they are the Tiger Woods of gaming. A sad mentallity if you ask me.
I used to play in the Magic circles before the money thing started, as I saw it rise up and grow, I saw tons of douchebags playing for the $ chance, not as much about playing the game. Sure Magic fostered an enviroment to push their product to sell and also encouraged people to open up single card sales market.
I can also add this is very much agains the corporate philosophy of the hobby in GW's "red book".
Delete@Tasty: Glad you liked it, though the most fun is always in the comments ;)
ReplyDelete@Loken: Scooped! lol. All I can say is that I want it to make sense, but it just doesn't.
@Anonymous: An independent GT circuit would be nice.
Nice article.
ReplyDeleteI'm currently studying business and looking at how Games Workshop as a business acts is really interesting (but also frustrating!)
Although the decisions they make are quite strange to the public, I think some of them are effective. I previously had lost all interest in the two armies before the new releases.
But now with the new models-zing! Everyone's talking about it which is good for them, and will generate interest in the two armies.
I have no doubt that the new releases will sell, heck your right they might even get people interested in the armies again, my point is that delayed releases should be closer to the actual release and they would be MORE effective than they currently are.
ReplyDelete