'Necron' teaser video on GW.com

[eldargal]

Like I said, whether or not it works is an open question. But there is a reason for it and it does make sense, it isn't some kind of ineffable GW stupidity like some people seem to think.

[Kawauso]

Why not? They think it helps their sales, that if people don't know what is coming more than a week or two ahead they will be more likely to make purchases rather than save their money. Imagine if you knew for a fact that after Necrons there would be Tau then Eldar. You have an interest in Necrons or Tau but you are primarily an Eldar player. Would you spend as much on Necrons or Tau than you would if you had no idea about Eldar? Now, imagine three weeks ago you were thinking of buying some Ogres or Dark Eldar or something, and you heard Necrons were coming. Would you still buy those kits? GW believes it is better you buy those not knowing what is around the corner and then you will hopefully buy more when they announce something new. Whether or not it works as they hope is an open question, but it does make sense.

But see, three weeks ago, it was all but certain Necrons were coming anyway...so it's kind of a moot point.

The teaser has come long after we've had it all but confirmed that Necrons are next. I mean, it's pretty clear the images we've seen are from the next issue of WD.

[eldargal]

Certain for a small portion of fans who read Warseer, BoLS and a few other sites, yes.

[Kawauso]

Why bother treating the rumour information for different 'parts' of the fanbase differently, though?

Like...in video games, for example - sure, most players don't keep up on the rumours. But the studios don't try and treat the player base at large as somehow separate from those who follow rumour mills. If you want to stay informed, it's easy, and you know as much as everyone else who does.

If you don't, you don't.

Why the distinction?

[Malachi]

Why not have the teaser come earlier, and have the stuff we've already seen coming now?

It just makes more sense.

All this does is make GW appear to have an even greater disconnect with a large part of their player base/reality/the internet.

I imagine there are still some people that don't frequent sites like BoLS or Beasts of War, and only look at GW.com or their local store for info.

I work for an RPG developer and we know that the number of people signed up on message boards represents only a fraction of people actually playing the game, based simply on the sales of the books. Even if the people on the message boards had purchased 3 copies of the core rulebook for the game, they still represent a small fraction of the total players. I imagine the same holds true here. The "ardent fans" that frequently post on message boards and stuff frequently make the mistake of thinking that they are the totality of the fan base.

[Zweischneid]

Been posted yet?

Credit to BramGaunt at Warseer

[url]http://www.warseer.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5867250&postcount=953[/url]

[Wildeybeast]

Why bother treating the rumour information for different 'parts' of the fanbase differently, though?

Like...in video games, for example - sure, most players don't keep up on the rumours. But the studios don't try and treat the player base at large as somehow separate from those who follow rumour mills. If you want to stay informed, it's easy, and you know as much as everyone else who does.

If you don't, you don't.

Why the distinction?

Because video games and GW is a flawed analogy. Video games are a vast multi-billion pound industry with huge markets and sales (the ad campaign for Modern Warfare 2 was more than spent on advertising any Hollywood movie). There are a huge number of internet sites catering to game reviews, as well as a number of mainstream magazines and gaming is a sturated market where the key to your game's success is as much about when it is released as anything. For example, it is suicide to release a FPS within a couple of months of a CoD release, you avbe to get it out before as Space Marine did. As such, specific and well publicised release dates are key and often announced months in advance so gamers can plan their purchases.

None of this applies to GW. Depsite being multi-national, they are catering to a niche market and the vast majority of their customers get info from either WD or the website. The only other source of info is the forum rumour mill of places like this.

My point is, in gaming the player base at large does follow rumours because they are available eveywhere and much of it isn't rumour, it's actual press releases by the companies. The reason GW rumour mills exist is because they are much more secretive with their info and the customer saturation of these rumours is much lower - you have to actively search them out, whereas with games they are everywhere.

[Kawauso]

I'm aware that a direct comparison from one industry to the other is imperfect, but it was just an example.
Though you're incorrect in assuming the majority of gamers are 'plugged-in' like that. The vast majority of the gaming population does not check websites like Kotaku or GameTrailers. The vast majority of gamers play quite casually...and will only find out about a new game coming out through word of mouth/tv commercials, etc. during its launch.

It would be more fair to compare GW to something like, say, a CCG game - like Magic the Gathering. Where they don't do any of this pants-on-head backwards stuff. They handle rumours and leaks like you'd expect any other company to handle them...which is to say well.

Yeah, I'm biased in that I hate how GW is handling its rumour mill lately. But I'll put that to bed, for now.

The image of the Necron army looks sweet.

[eldargal]

Bear in mind GW have tried many different policies when it come to news and upcoming release information, some of which they felt didn't work for them. You can't expect a company to do something against what it believes are its best interests just because you would prefer it. They have no obligation to tell us what they are releasing in advance and if they believe from past experience it hurts them to release that information early can you blame them for doing it this way?

If MTG releases previews of what it is working on three months in advance, are there small card game companies that will produce cards compatible with the MTG set to siphon sales away? Because that happens to GW and is one reason why Jes Goodwin doesn't let people photograph his concept art at Games Days. It is also one of the reasons cites for them not announcing things early.

I do like that Necron colour scheme, the lapis lazuli colour works well with the metallics. If lapis lazuli is the word I'm looking for.

[Morgan Darkstar]

Yes that paint scheme is verry nice i certainly hope there is a how to guide in WD.

can anyone take a stab at what colours they used to get the lapis lazuli*

*unfortunately i am profoundly colourblind so i cannot visually match up colours/shades at all