Striogi
07-01-2011, 09:27 AM
A saga in communication... This started on June 16...
I think you might find this interesting:
I wrote this to GW this morning[the 16th]. I'd really like people to share this around - It's kind of long, but I think worth reading. Like the open letter video, I think that the more that people talk about it, the more likely GW will listen.
---
My friends, I think you need to get your house in order, and update your company policies in regards to the way business is done on the internet today.
I've been content to sit and enjoy all your online services, the new models, the new Codices and Army Books (well, struggle against them is more accurate, I suppose), and try to divine what GW is up to based on the evidence presented by my own observations. That said, today I ran into the very very last straw.
"The very very last straw?!" you say with some consternation and worry, "Not another customer bailing on us?! Whatever shall we do??" I can practically see the terror etched into your faces as you consider the massive impact on your bottom line of this one customer deserting the Games Workshop brand.
Fortunately, I'm not abandoning the brand, the game, the hobby. I'm sure you're greatly relieved.
So you ask, "Then why the email, Scott? Why are you spending your limited, invaluable, non-refundable time trying to communicate to us?" Well, let me tell you.
It's your digital online policies that have driven me to this point.
Allow me to give you a scenario; it just also happens to be a true story:
I'm currently running a 40k campaign (https://docs.google.com/document/d/18VswrN30wWkUBkSlJA0lFr_8u4wqbQgli7BDBtQH8oc/edit?hl=en_US&authkey=CJjamJ4I) in one of your hobby centers, I'm doing it for the fun, and to give some of the younger folks some experience other than "move models, roll dice". To that end, I wanted to get everyone to have good-looking counters for my Planetstrike map, and I think, "hmm... painted closed bases will look great - I should make sure everyone has that. OK!" so I go to my favorite website, www.GamesWorkshop.com and navigate to the Paint and Tools > Bases section and look up the 25mm closed round bases (http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?catId=cat470008a&prodId=prod1690013). "PERFECT!" I say, "Now all I need to do is copy the part code out and post the information to the Facebook Group Event I'm using to manage the campaign!" ...and I can't highlight the part number.
Wait, what?
I mean, I knew from a while ago that you guys had included some little web-trick to prevent us poor fanbois from copy-pasta content from your website (this I learned when I was trying to illustrate some point to another online community, discussing the finer points of Tyranid background (story glory?!)), but I didn't realize it extended to the FRACKING PART NUMBERS so that I could TELL CURRENT CUSTOMERS WHAT TO ORDER. So yeah, I manually typed out the part numbers into Notepad, double checked them by eye, then copy-pasted them back into the search function JUST to make sure I got it right - cause I'm that guy...
The really sad part is that your attempts at protecting your Intellectual Property by blocking Copy-Pasta is nothing short of MORONIC because a tech-savvy guy like me could just go and view the Page Source and copy it out of there (why didn't I? because it would be easier to do it by hand than to take the time to isolate the part number from the source page). Or use the right-click > Select All function and get what I want half the time anyway. Blocking independent retailers from using images? Also not too bright - it's not like it's hard to save an image and post it, or find an older image online somewhere else - hell, as long as people aren't hot-linking (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inline_linking) and stealing your bandwidth, I should think you would WANT photos your gorgeously and painstakingly designed, beautifully painted, carefully posed and lighted products anywhere on the web they could possibly be. Better than the alternative - poorly shot, poorly painted models clogging up the internet or online retailers websites devoid (http://www.thewarstore.com/TheGWInternetOrdersPolicy.html) of your uniquely (http://www.frpgames.com/cart.php?m=product_list&c=774) branded (http://www.firestormgames.co.uk/warhammer-40k) products.
Look, I understand you put a lot of time and money and resources into producing high-quality images, fun background, cool universes. You feel you need to protect that, sure. But you also need to get out there. Your PR people are ALWAYS going on about how unique, how great, how cool these models are. White Dwarf goes on for pages about how it was the look of the models that brought this and that long-time gamer in, that it was the deep background of the universe that kept them coming back for more. I read these things, then look at your behavior online, how you treat independent retailers and I scratch my head, wondering where the disconnect happened.
Here are a couple more things to consider:
1. Community building; The internet is very much all about building communities these days. The Web 2.0 revolution is leaving you guys in the dust. The Webcomics industry, for example, has seized on this and capitalized on it very well. They realized some time ago that allowing people to engage in their fandoms and hobbies, allowing people to share experiences, to is going to expose people to new ideas that may not have run across it otherwise. In view of the fact that GW does not support a forum, hundreds of forums and thousands of blogs have sprung up to fill the void.
People, your fans WANT to talk about it. They want to know that you're actually listening, that you're interacting with them. This humanizes your company, and even if there is the occasional troll or individual who spews hate and bile, they can either be banned or blocked, but ultimately, they are assuaged by the fact there is some way to have their grievances heard.
EVERY other game company has some kind of forum from the really old - Steve Jackson Games (http://forums.sjgames.com/), Catalysts' Battletech (http://www.classicbattletech.com/forums/) through the still successful - Wizards of the Coast (http://community.wizards.com/go/browse/forums), to the ultra-new - Paizo (Pathfinder) (http://paizo.com/paizo/messageboards), Mantic (http://www.manticgames.com/Forum.html). My god, even Fantasy Flight has a forum (http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_comunidad.asp) - you know, the makers of your RPGs and CCGs?? More importantly, the idea that there are Wargamers and Everyone else is an old model. Now, it's just Gamer. With so many options for us to engage in our hobby, gamers will naturally gravitate to companies that put out good products but communicate and allow communication in the milieu they understand - Web 2.0 and community building. WH40k fans may enjoy a good tabletop game, but then they may have a friend who likes RPGs more - what an opportunity for you and Fantasy Flight to work together to increase your marketshare. You've already started with Relic when making and promoting your computer and console games.
2. Digital retailing; Paizo has an excellent business when it comes to making their books available for digital downloads. Take their core rulebook (http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/v5748btpy88yj) as an example. It's available from any brick and mortar independent retailer for $50 and available as a digital download for only $10. "It's MADNESS!!" I hear the bean-counters screaming already. In fact, I've been hearing them scream it ever since I saw that in the first place. On top of the $10 for the download - their system actually allows me to manage it from anywhere in the world - I can download it on any computer I wish, even just a single chapter or two if I don't need the whole book. "People are gonna steal it! We'll lose money!" And yes, that will happen - but you know what else? More purchases.
There will be the curious - those who don't want to drop $50 on a hard copy they're not sure they want to invest the full amount on a game they haven't tried.
There are the convenience seekers - people like myself who want the digital version for quick digital reference when I don't have access to the book, but then go and buy the hard copy anyway because that can be more convenient than trying to download it and look at it on a smartphone or iPad or computer.
There are the collectors - people (also like myself) who feel better with the ownership of the actual book - they feel invested and know they have made the choice to own the more expensive item.
The bottom line? I bought two copies of that book - both the hard copy and the digital version.
This leads me back to webcomics. Their content is available for FREE! But if it's free, then how do they make money?! How are people like Scott Kurtz of PVP making their $50,000 goal on kickstarter in 3 days? How are people like Gabe and Tycho of Penny Arcade able to hold 2 massive conventions a year for their free comic? How are people like Ryan Sohmer able to fund a comic studio, a brick-and-mortar comic store and more, all from content they're giving away for free??
The answer is simple - and incredibly difficult. They understand that it's a matter of building community and capitalizing on their fan's desire to invest in that fandom, to own a piece of that, to display it and share it with others.
Games Workshop, my beloved friends,
Please stop hurting your community and your fans. Please start helping it.
We'll love you forever, we promise.
Sincerely,
Scott Aleric.
I think you might find this interesting:
I wrote this to GW this morning[the 16th]. I'd really like people to share this around - It's kind of long, but I think worth reading. Like the open letter video, I think that the more that people talk about it, the more likely GW will listen.
---
My friends, I think you need to get your house in order, and update your company policies in regards to the way business is done on the internet today.
I've been content to sit and enjoy all your online services, the new models, the new Codices and Army Books (well, struggle against them is more accurate, I suppose), and try to divine what GW is up to based on the evidence presented by my own observations. That said, today I ran into the very very last straw.
"The very very last straw?!" you say with some consternation and worry, "Not another customer bailing on us?! Whatever shall we do??" I can practically see the terror etched into your faces as you consider the massive impact on your bottom line of this one customer deserting the Games Workshop brand.
Fortunately, I'm not abandoning the brand, the game, the hobby. I'm sure you're greatly relieved.
So you ask, "Then why the email, Scott? Why are you spending your limited, invaluable, non-refundable time trying to communicate to us?" Well, let me tell you.
It's your digital online policies that have driven me to this point.
Allow me to give you a scenario; it just also happens to be a true story:
I'm currently running a 40k campaign (https://docs.google.com/document/d/18VswrN30wWkUBkSlJA0lFr_8u4wqbQgli7BDBtQH8oc/edit?hl=en_US&authkey=CJjamJ4I) in one of your hobby centers, I'm doing it for the fun, and to give some of the younger folks some experience other than "move models, roll dice". To that end, I wanted to get everyone to have good-looking counters for my Planetstrike map, and I think, "hmm... painted closed bases will look great - I should make sure everyone has that. OK!" so I go to my favorite website, www.GamesWorkshop.com and navigate to the Paint and Tools > Bases section and look up the 25mm closed round bases (http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?catId=cat470008a&prodId=prod1690013). "PERFECT!" I say, "Now all I need to do is copy the part code out and post the information to the Facebook Group Event I'm using to manage the campaign!" ...and I can't highlight the part number.
Wait, what?
I mean, I knew from a while ago that you guys had included some little web-trick to prevent us poor fanbois from copy-pasta content from your website (this I learned when I was trying to illustrate some point to another online community, discussing the finer points of Tyranid background (story glory?!)), but I didn't realize it extended to the FRACKING PART NUMBERS so that I could TELL CURRENT CUSTOMERS WHAT TO ORDER. So yeah, I manually typed out the part numbers into Notepad, double checked them by eye, then copy-pasted them back into the search function JUST to make sure I got it right - cause I'm that guy...
The really sad part is that your attempts at protecting your Intellectual Property by blocking Copy-Pasta is nothing short of MORONIC because a tech-savvy guy like me could just go and view the Page Source and copy it out of there (why didn't I? because it would be easier to do it by hand than to take the time to isolate the part number from the source page). Or use the right-click > Select All function and get what I want half the time anyway. Blocking independent retailers from using images? Also not too bright - it's not like it's hard to save an image and post it, or find an older image online somewhere else - hell, as long as people aren't hot-linking (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inline_linking) and stealing your bandwidth, I should think you would WANT photos your gorgeously and painstakingly designed, beautifully painted, carefully posed and lighted products anywhere on the web they could possibly be. Better than the alternative - poorly shot, poorly painted models clogging up the internet or online retailers websites devoid (http://www.thewarstore.com/TheGWInternetOrdersPolicy.html) of your uniquely (http://www.frpgames.com/cart.php?m=product_list&c=774) branded (http://www.firestormgames.co.uk/warhammer-40k) products.
Look, I understand you put a lot of time and money and resources into producing high-quality images, fun background, cool universes. You feel you need to protect that, sure. But you also need to get out there. Your PR people are ALWAYS going on about how unique, how great, how cool these models are. White Dwarf goes on for pages about how it was the look of the models that brought this and that long-time gamer in, that it was the deep background of the universe that kept them coming back for more. I read these things, then look at your behavior online, how you treat independent retailers and I scratch my head, wondering where the disconnect happened.
Here are a couple more things to consider:
1. Community building; The internet is very much all about building communities these days. The Web 2.0 revolution is leaving you guys in the dust. The Webcomics industry, for example, has seized on this and capitalized on it very well. They realized some time ago that allowing people to engage in their fandoms and hobbies, allowing people to share experiences, to is going to expose people to new ideas that may not have run across it otherwise. In view of the fact that GW does not support a forum, hundreds of forums and thousands of blogs have sprung up to fill the void.
People, your fans WANT to talk about it. They want to know that you're actually listening, that you're interacting with them. This humanizes your company, and even if there is the occasional troll or individual who spews hate and bile, they can either be banned or blocked, but ultimately, they are assuaged by the fact there is some way to have their grievances heard.
EVERY other game company has some kind of forum from the really old - Steve Jackson Games (http://forums.sjgames.com/), Catalysts' Battletech (http://www.classicbattletech.com/forums/) through the still successful - Wizards of the Coast (http://community.wizards.com/go/browse/forums), to the ultra-new - Paizo (Pathfinder) (http://paizo.com/paizo/messageboards), Mantic (http://www.manticgames.com/Forum.html). My god, even Fantasy Flight has a forum (http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_comunidad.asp) - you know, the makers of your RPGs and CCGs?? More importantly, the idea that there are Wargamers and Everyone else is an old model. Now, it's just Gamer. With so many options for us to engage in our hobby, gamers will naturally gravitate to companies that put out good products but communicate and allow communication in the milieu they understand - Web 2.0 and community building. WH40k fans may enjoy a good tabletop game, but then they may have a friend who likes RPGs more - what an opportunity for you and Fantasy Flight to work together to increase your marketshare. You've already started with Relic when making and promoting your computer and console games.
2. Digital retailing; Paizo has an excellent business when it comes to making their books available for digital downloads. Take their core rulebook (http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/v5748btpy88yj) as an example. It's available from any brick and mortar independent retailer for $50 and available as a digital download for only $10. "It's MADNESS!!" I hear the bean-counters screaming already. In fact, I've been hearing them scream it ever since I saw that in the first place. On top of the $10 for the download - their system actually allows me to manage it from anywhere in the world - I can download it on any computer I wish, even just a single chapter or two if I don't need the whole book. "People are gonna steal it! We'll lose money!" And yes, that will happen - but you know what else? More purchases.
There will be the curious - those who don't want to drop $50 on a hard copy they're not sure they want to invest the full amount on a game they haven't tried.
There are the convenience seekers - people like myself who want the digital version for quick digital reference when I don't have access to the book, but then go and buy the hard copy anyway because that can be more convenient than trying to download it and look at it on a smartphone or iPad or computer.
There are the collectors - people (also like myself) who feel better with the ownership of the actual book - they feel invested and know they have made the choice to own the more expensive item.
The bottom line? I bought two copies of that book - both the hard copy and the digital version.
This leads me back to webcomics. Their content is available for FREE! But if it's free, then how do they make money?! How are people like Scott Kurtz of PVP making their $50,000 goal on kickstarter in 3 days? How are people like Gabe and Tycho of Penny Arcade able to hold 2 massive conventions a year for their free comic? How are people like Ryan Sohmer able to fund a comic studio, a brick-and-mortar comic store and more, all from content they're giving away for free??
The answer is simple - and incredibly difficult. They understand that it's a matter of building community and capitalizing on their fan's desire to invest in that fandom, to own a piece of that, to display it and share it with others.
Games Workshop, my beloved friends,
Please stop hurting your community and your fans. Please start helping it.
We'll love you forever, we promise.
Sincerely,
Scott Aleric.