The Day After (What if GW went Bankrupt)

[Azure_Dynamo]

The title says it all. What if GW went bankrupt. What would become of our Hobby?

My belief is that the Intellectual Property of Both 40k and WHFB is too valuable not to be picked up by another company.

I could be completely wrong though.

What are people's opinions?

[Denzark]

I think you are correct. The IP is too valuable.

However even if every single person on every forum who said they would stop buying GW did, it is probably a drop in the ocean, as GW has not made a loss yet.

Profits down in some areas, but not a loss overall. So I think this unlikely - actually what i could see first is a total withdrawal of bricks and mortar in a territory such as pulling back from Aus - save costs on shipping etc and let the internet boyz fight it out amongst themselves.

[Skragger]

Exactly Denzark - I see this as being a move closer to a more web based layout for GW. Its cheaper for them just to offer their product to us online, and make us order it direct from them, and pay the shipping!

[eldargal]

If it happens then yes, 40k and WFB will be sold off, probably individually. I would imagine the specialist games 'spin offs' like Necromunda and Blood Bowl would be bundled in with the pain worlds. Hard to see one company having 40k and another Necromunda.

But as Denzark said GW are a long way from making a loss let alone folding. Sales volume is up in the UK, its main market, and is stable in the US and Oceania (in spite of antipodean prices), it is down very much in Europe though, and has been for some years. Worst happens they close all their European stores and fold the sales figures into the UK (which they sometimes do anyway). I think it would make a lot of sense to dump the AUS wing of the company and just ship them stuff from the UK at UK prices, but it seems they are going to open a factory in Australia to service growth in Asia so clearly they won't be doing that.

[Mauglum.]

I would continue to buy stuff from all the companies I do now,(not GW) and welcome all the ex GW players to the wider table top wargames hobby!:D

AoA , KOW,No Quarter, StargruntII, Fast and Dirty, No limits, ChainreactionIII, MG42, Nuts, Full Thrust, NetEpic, Dirtside, Firefly,Chalenger II , Cambrie to Sieni, Aces High, Privateer, Bodycount, TSOTG, HOTT, Afterburner, Infinity, I aint been shot yet Mum,DBA DBM,Shako..and some other games a bit lower down the filing cabinet next to the cupboard with the 30 odd board games and 3d rpg games...
Nope I dont think we would notice if GW went under to be honest...;)

20 years and an open atitude to gaming and its suprising how many game you end up with at a club...fun times!

[MarneusCalgar]

If it happens then yes, 40k and WFB will be sold off, probably individually. I would imagine the specialist games 'spin offs' like Necromunda and Blood Bowl would be bundled in with the pain worlds. Hard to see one company having 40k and another Necromunda.

I agree with you... It´s going to see difficult to see GW go down, I think we maybe see it in a few years, but today is something just impossible.

But if it happens... No matter, as I am doing with Rackham´s Confrontation, I still have the minis and the rulebook so I can continue playing!!

[Lord Azaghul]

I agree with you... It´s going to see difficult to see GW go down, I think we maybe see it in a few years, but today is something just impossible.

But if it happens... No matter, as I am doing with Rackham´s Confrontation, I still have the minis and the rulebook so I can continue playing!!

Its actually not that difficult to imagine GW going under someday (not any time soon I imagine).

If they ever do I expect it to be a slow drawn out processing with many rapid price increases, crazy regional restrictions, and blant attempts to cut out the middle-man retailors/vendors….oh wait…


**
If the every fully go any future will all depend on the state of the game, my guess is that they will sell before bankrupcy - someone else will take over the modeling and the game design - shouldn't be an issue either way :P

[wittdooley]

But if it happens... No matter, as I am doing with Rackham´s Confrontation, I still have the minis and the rulebook so I can continue playing!!

Confrontation is such a great game! I'm hopefully going to filling some holes in my collection this weeked at Origins! WooHOoo!

[sonicReducer]

GW would be bought out by Hasbro, this is a well known internet fact. They would introduce Lego DUPLO sized playsets that include
Happy Commissariat Training Camp
Super Fun Tyranid Spawning Pool
My Little Pony Rough Rider Squad
Space Marine Battle Aftermath Clean Up Game
Squig Farm
and many more exciting products to keep your toddler frothing at the mouth

^^,

[eldargal]

I'd so pay for Squig Farm.

[obs0l3te]

Ill tell you what would happen...
Meaningless crime.

[Denzark]

Good use of threacromancy there.

[odinsgrandson]

Yeah, this is an old thread. But there aren't that many threads in the Corporate discussion section that aren't too old for comments.

I'm a little surprised by some of the sentiments here:



But as Denzark said GW are a long way from making a loss let alone folding.

Perhaps other people have not been reading the same financial reports that I have.

They've been shrinking their company by paying out more in dividends than they made in profits. Also, the player base is shrinking (the prices are going up faster than the profits- also faster than inflation).

Sure, they're a long ways off, but these practices aren't sustainable in the long run.

[Marcus Scipio]

Yeah, this is an old thread. But there aren't that many threads in the Corporate discussion section that aren't too old for comments.

I'm a little surprised by some of the sentiments here:



Perhaps other people have not been reading the same financial reports that I have.

They've been shrinking their company by paying out more in dividends than they made in profits. Also, the player base is shrinking (the prices are going up faster than the profits- also faster than inflation).

Sure, they're a long ways off, but these practices aren't sustainable in the long run.

Not sure I wholly agree, but think the Hobbit will tell the tale. If they aren't able to capitalize on the renewed interest in LOTR think they may have to swallow a bigger loss then they would like....

In any event GW is no crazy growth company, but they can very easily plod along forever with their existing player base...

[Kiarr]

I do think its highly unlikely that this will happen as like other people have said they arent making a loss but if people did start buying then I think the shops would go first which in the long run I think would be very bad for the wargaming hobby as a LOT of people join the hobby through this route.

I also think that if this was to happen then most of the other wargames companies would also be at risk because the only real way it would is things like 3d printing or the potential that virtual enviroments may have (personally I think that all offices will be dissapearing to virtual enviroments in the next 30-50 years!)

I do think that if GW look at the bigger picture then they have a great oppertunity to expand themselves before this could ever happen - TV series I think would go down well, maybe a decently supported film of some kind (look at things like Iron Sky to see what CAN be done with a good idea and not a lot of money)

I do think that one thing that GW should have a good look at is the possibility for teaming up with someone to create games, at the moment THQ is in trouble and is looking for partners for Dark Millenium, GW studio could create ideas for both the wargame and the mmorg if it were expanded a bit.

I think GW failed to realise their potential when a certain company allegedly went to them to create a game based in warhammer and now have a mmorg with quite a few million subs....

[daKrovar]

this is where I think GW does miss the boat, I know many others have said this time and time again, but there is a potential source of revenue out there if only GW would take into account the views of the warhammer and 40K universe in regards to their rules. It may take such a turn of events for GW to finally realize that yes their business model is good for them, but the untapped potential out there if they would only listen could lead to a turn around in actual purchasing.

As every one knows a happy customer is a returning customer. Most people continue to support GW because of the gaming sstem they have released. As can be seen from their ongoing legal fights. Many people will buy the other products out there as they are cheaper and sometimes actually better sculpts.

If GW were to take the chance to create a viable rules set that gamers really enjoy and also include various groups in the playtesting of such rules set (by this I mean groups from all over the world) this could easily be their Holy Grail moment, the epiphany of all times or akin to finding the one ring.

[greendragon]

I'd buy it. I'd buy 40K and WFB. =D. All of it.

Course... I don't believe GW will EVER fold. Given their contracting and expanding status over the past 30 years or so, they close some, they open some.