GW Annual Financial Report dropping this week

[Caitsidhe]

Did they have Americans running the US arm to your Knowledge? Or was it done from Nottingham?

They recently fired... hrm... replaced the American management with one more pleasing to Nottingham, and Kirby's recent letter makes it clear that they intend to run ALL locations around the globe directly from Nottingham shortly.

[Eldar_Atog]

Just to play devil's advocate but you want a "customer is always right" approach at a business. It's your only defense against the business/employees abusing you. Anyone who has had a bad encounter with a monopoly can easily vouch for this. Comcast empitomizes "The customer is always wrong" approach.

You pay for rotten service. You pay if they make mistakes. You can either put up with their rotten service or you can do without cable/internet.

[CoffeeGrunt]

Why don't you take your custom elsewhere if America is oriented around Some Other Guy offering cheaper/better service?

That actually explains why Privateer Press seems to be everyone's darling in America but not so much over here. Being Americans, they probably just understand the mindset better.

[Caitsidhe]

Why don't you take your custom elsewhere if America is oriented around Some Other Guy offering cheaper/better service?

That actually explains why Privateer Press seems to be everyone's darling in America but not so much over here. Being Americans, they probably just understand the mindset better.

I do play Warmachine/Hordes, and several other games besides. I no longer play Warhammer Fantasy because my friends largely gave up on it. I play 40K because I have models (most of which I earned free in prize support, through barter, or bargain hunting), and some of my friends still play it. Americans play the games their friends play. We actually have to have a community or we toss a game. If things don't turn around, I won't be playing 40k much longer either simply because there wont' be enough people to make it worth my while. It is already near impossible to just get pick up games in a reliable way. Americans like to be able to walk into a gaming store and look around and say, "hey you want a game" and the dice commence to roll. During 5th Edition that was possible, but sadly that is no longer the case.

Privateer Press does seem to understand the American market and what drives Americans slightly better. That is why they are keen on having a low barrier to entry, very tight, competitive rules, and had a business model that allowed them (from the start) to release individual models over time rather than entire books. It is why they started from no where and have consistently grown. I can, in fact, get pick up games pretty regularly for Warmachine/Hordes. Gaming nights set aside for it at the local store always have a solid turn out, while nights set aside for 40K are getting pretty thin. About the only time I see a turnout for 40K is a tournament, which is also ironic since Games Workshop seems to despise them.

The thing is that Americans can play 40K without giving Games Workshop a dime. The market is SATURATED with official 40K stuff and knock-offs. When I decide I want something I can just post on Facebook and nine times out of ten someone has one and will give it to me for free or for next to nothing. Our local group trades and sells entire armies back and forth. The average going rate is 50% of retail for an assembled and often painted army. Think about that. We all know that there is a certain Chinese website that will sell us things at wonderful prices if we wish to use it. There are bits bins. There is Ebay. There is Barter Town. The secondary and tertiary market is huge. Because there is ZERO collector's value in these overpriced "luxury" items, they get passed around. Games Workshop has only themselves to thank for that.

If you are going to sell models as a luxury item, you have to find some way for them to HOLD their value. That is the lesson here.

[CoffeeGrunt]

Needing other players to play a mutliplayer game is not a trait solely owned by Americans.

American's seem very oriented around tournament style play in general, judging by MAgic, 40K and WMH.

[Gamgee]

10 pages about workers.. wtf is this topic about? I thought it was for the financial report.

[40kGamer]

10 pages about workers.. wtf is this topic about? I thought it was for the financial report.

[Caitsidhe]

Needing other players to play a mutliplayer game is not a trait solely owned by Americans.

American's seem very oriented around tournament style play in general, judging by MAgic, 40K and WMH.

Yes. I've talked about this before too, but I left it off since we are more in the business aspect in this thread. Americans like competitive games. There are always exceptions of course and it is dangerous to generalize, but in general Americans play competitive games. Not being British, I don't know if the same is true over there, but is very true here. Our childhood games are not cooperative.

[40kGamer]

Yes. I've talked about this before too, but I left it off since we are more in the business aspect in this thread. Americans like competitive games. There are always exceptions of course and it is dangerous to generalize, but in general Americans play competitive games. Not being British, I don't know if the same is true over there, but is very true here. Our childhood games are not cooperative.

At the risk of adding to the thread derailment.... NOTHING in our culture is cooperative. Nuff said.

[Mr Mystery]

Yup. It's the taking part and doing your best that counts. There's merits to both methods, and flaws too.