Where's the goodwill?

[Johnnycache]

The bottom line for me is their weird, closed off secrecy and bad communication whereas with other games you can talk right to the actual people.

I think they should get out of retail totally, what's the point of a game store that sells one game and barely has any space?

I feel for the ordinary people AT the company who get into it wanting to do what they love and end up on the receiving end of years of community vs company issues.

[tastytaste]

Funny how I just wrote about this topic a few days ago...

[URL="http://bloodofkittens.com/blog/2014/01/28/meat-meta-answer-haterade/"]http://bloodofkittens.com/blog/2014/01/28/meat-meta-answer-haterade/[/URL]

[confoo22]

It's not only about that with GW though, their model prices have got exorbitant, proof of that is that some other companies can sell THEIR models 25% cheaper than their own shops do. They can't be making a loss, so how can GW justify the prices.

GW can justify the prices because other companies also sell at those prices and often with less options for customization. Look at Dreamforge games and their pseudo-titans. When they were released they retailed for $120 and you got one set of weapons load out and had to purchase additional ones if you wanted other options starting at $30 a pop. When that was released people talked lovingly about how awesome the model was and some were even saying that they'd get two. Yet people went nuts with rage when the Wraithknight was announced at $115 even though you get all the possible load outs meaning that with magnetization you'd really only need to buy one for multiple playing scenarios.

Look at Privateer Press that regularly releases 10 or 12 man metal kits with no additional options at $60 each, but people talk about PP as though it's the cheapest system out there. Look at Infinity who sells their models at about $10 each. Toughest Girls in the Galaxy had a pretty successful kickstarter and they sell single models for upwards of $30 each. All of these are comparable price points to GW and nobody complains about how expensive those companies are, but GW regularly gets taken to task for having similar costs.

And it's not like you can't play small games with GW. They released updated Kill Team rules that are pretty good with multiple missions and ways to turn it into almost a campaign style, giving you a fun game at a lower cost. You'd need a single Space Marine Box to create a decent Kill Team costing $40 at full MSRP (and let's face it, most people buy their GW stuff at 20% off), but where was the praise for that move? Even Necromunda is still a fun game and easy to find the rules for (though updated rules and new models would be nice). This is what people mean when they say that GW gets a majority of the hate because they're the biggest fish in the pond; Other, smaller companies get let off the hook for similar practices, but the moment GW does something similar it's always a "money grab" or "a slap in the face to veteran players."

GW can and should improve its interaction with customers, but it's also the biggest company out there and it's probably got the biggest customer base so who should they listen to? You can't please everyone since the moment you change one thing to appease player A, player B will go nuts about how unfair it is to them.

[Wildcard]

I've been thinking why i hate GW so much for a long time myself. The conclusion i have come to is that i fear their arrogance.

For me the 40k universe is hands down the best scifi setting there is - by far. It's grimdark and with years and years of fluff / background it's really easy to immerse oneself on it.
Now, static setting may not always be good, but i hate and fear the thought of something established changing completely. Grand example of this was the way how they changed the necron fluff.
What if they change something i hold even closer to my heart? And in a way that takes stuff away from grimdark aspect of the franchise?

Then there are four more practical issues to be mad at:
- Pricing: It's not that i cannot afford the models, they just feel ridiculous investments.
- Method of selling stuff: New ones are the best to boost the sales -> GW tells us what we need to buy and not so that we can buy what we want and like.
- Consistency of fluff and description transforming into rules. For example best of the best of the best Grey Knights have same skill level and mental fortitude of any rank and file spacemarine, only difference comes from the wargear they are entitled to.
- Internal & external Codex balance: One of the coolest model boxes is Grey Knight Terminators, yet they are totally inferior in any way to their power armored counterparts.

-Mike

[Resinpants]

I was there in the 80's when you could buy 5, or sometimes 6 metal figures in a blister for £2.50. It was awesome. 30 marines or 2 Land Raiders or 3 Rhinos for £10? Yes please! A game in a box for £20 (Blood Bowl, Space Hulk, Adeptus Titanicus, Dark Future etc) Fantastic!

It's not just money (every company needs to make money) but attitude. When your fan base couldn't care less if your company collapses or not, you really need to question your ideology.

[Gingerpanda]

The only thing that has really made me dislike Games Workshop is their current fad of making Codex/Army Lists books such high quality and at the same time expensive when it is just not needed. The army book is going to get bashed, dropped, bent & scratched over the course of it's life, and for a £30 book that life is reasonably short. Now don't get me wrong these books are amazing quality, full colour art, fluff etc. . but £30 is quite a high price tag.

As for the model kits, yes the price is high but just look at all the extras you get with the kits? pouches, grenades, heads, knives, weapons etc. . . most of it superfluous as in my experience with the people I play with just have the bog standard "set up" and only use all the options on the a few particular "characters" they wish to make stand out. I would personally like to see the price of kits reduced and all the wonderful; extras put on a sprue which could be sold separately. Help to reduce cost and the carbon footprint of the company a little.

On a finally note I would also like to point out Games Workshop/Black Library's obsession with "Limited Editions". While I have no problem with them making special editions, all whistles and bells, signed numbered dated and included a sample of the authors DNA to boot and if they want to charge the earth for that all well and good but where is my copy with just a plain soft back cover that I can afford to buy and read? Oh I get to wait 6/12 months maybe even longer to get a copy? If they want to sell me stuff I am happy to buy but I just don't want to drip feed £1.50+ for snippets of a story or have to cry at the price of a certain beautiful HH graphic novel which unless they decide to produce a much cheaper version I'll never get to see in my life.

[bfmusashi]

Because no one likes saying "hey man, I like your game, but these things don't seem to work right" only to be greeted with "It works as intended," "you're just doing it wrong," or "that's not a priority for us."

[Martin Lymer]

What I hate most is how they just refuse to admit that there is a miniatures hobby beyond them and how they treat the online community with disdain.

[DarkLink]

For me the 40k universe is hands down the best scifi setting there is - by far. It's grimdark and with years and years of fluff / background it's really easy to immerse oneself on it.

And basically all of it is ripped off from someone else, with some minor twists here and there.

[Wilfen82]

I don't hate them, but I've come to realise I'm truly apathetic to their existence.

If they went under tomorrow (and I'd rather they didn't) I'd feel sorry for something that was a very fond memory for me and the people out of work but that's it! Part of it comes from their stores. They tell their staff very little and in turn the staff wont talk about anything that hasn't been released. Gone are the days of "Yeh I agree it's abit steep" or "Think they could of done better with......" now the staff don't empathise with the customer, instead telling us this is the best thing since sliced bread and looking at us like plague carriers if we disagree.