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Made in us
Gargantuan Gargant





New Bedford, MA USA

SpikeyBitsBlog




Limited Editions, Spash Releases, Soft Covers and more. What does the future hold for Games Workshop?
A lot of Speculation has been going around lately about the “new direction” of the company, via the new CEO, but nothing concrete has emerged.
One thing seems to be sure, most of the rumors are all the same. Personally I’m not sure who Steve the Warboss is or why everyone seems to be quoting him as of late, BUT he has some good intel up until now so let’s go with it shall we?
Remember be sure to put your tin foil hats on this may all just be a bunch of random conjecture!
Collated courtesy of L’astropate
via Steve the Warboss
-Shield of Baal: Leviathan (and all later releases Expansions for 40k) will return in Softcover.
-Armybooks, Codices and Suppliments will all come sometime next year in Softcover Versions with a lower price.

If this pans out, I have very high hopes for new CEO Kevin Roundtree. Decisions like this indicate a rolling back of the “all collectors all the time” presentation that 40K and WFB have become of late.
It reflects a business pragmatism that accepts the wide financial spectrum of the GW customer base out there.
It acknowledges that yes there is a segment of the GW customerbase that indeed wants the ultra-elite leatherbound, scented with myrhh, gold-leafed editions of codices. BUT there are ALSO a lot of customers who want value priced rulebooks that allow them to put more of their hard earned cash into the fantastic GW models.
If true – It’s a good move and I salute it.


I think this is a great move. GW makes a majority of their sales on any new product on the week of release. Reprints never sell any where as well as the initial print run. By offering soft cover reprints, GW is saving themselves money on the printing, shipping, and storage, while appealing to a newer more frugal audiance who wasn’t wowed into buying it during it’s initial run. They can also spin it as caring about their customers concerns about rising prices. It’s a win, win situation.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/11/22 18:03:26


   
Made in us
Member of the Ethereal Council






That saddens me.........
The Hardback books, while expensive, take a punishment.

5000pts 6000pts 3000pts
 
   
Made in gb
Longtime Dakkanaut






London UK

yeah,
Sounds good.

Panic...

   
Made in ca
Fixture of Dakka




So soft covers. Does this mean that GW is not producing Premium products now?

Agies Grimm:The "Learn to play, bro" mentality is mostly just a way for someone to try to shame you by implying that their metaphorical nerd-wiener is bigger than yours. Which, ironically, I think nerds do even more vehemently than jocks.

Everything is made up and the points don't matter. 40K or Who's Line is it Anyway?

Auticus wrote: Or in summation: its ok to exploit shoddy points because those are rules and gamers exist to find rules loopholes (they are still "legal"), but if the same force can be composed without structure, it emotionally feels "wrong".  
   
Made in ca
Resolute Ultramarine Honor Guard






Vancouver, BC

I wouldn't mind a smaller, army list + rules only codex.

 warboss wrote:
Is there a permanent stickied thread for Chaos players to complain every time someone/anyone gets models or rules besides them? If not, there should be.
 
   
Made in ca
Rampaging Carnifex





Toronto, Ontario

I thought the new CEO wasn't in until January, which means that these changes would actually be by the current regime and have nothing to do with the new CEO. Still good news though.
   
Made in us
Gargantuan Gargant





New Bedford, MA USA

Davor wrote:
So soft covers. Does this mean that GW is not producing Premium products now?


To me I got that that we'll still get the hardcovers and premium editions in hardcover and that the reprints will be soft cover.

Allows GW to sell premium product at a premium price and then sell the reprints, which never sell as well as the first run, at a reduced price

   
Made in gb
Is 'Eavy Metal Calling?





UK

Sounds good. To early to really say, but with the softback End Times releases and free Nid rules, we may be seeing a bit of a change in the wind. Regardless of the reason (loss of goodwill/players/cash?), as gamers I guess we win.

 
   
Made in gb
The Daemon Possessing Fulgrim's Body





Devon, UK

 creeping-deth87 wrote:
I thought the new CEO wasn't in until January, which means that these changes would actually be by the current regime and have nothing to do with the new CEO. Still good news though.


He already works, and has worked for some time, for GW in a very senior position, the 1st January changeover is just a mark on a calendar and doesn't really mean very much.

We find comfort among those who agree with us - growth among those who don't. - Frank Howard Clark

The wise man doubts often, and changes his mind; the fool is obstinate, and doubts not; he knows all things but his own ignorance.

The correct statement of individual rights is that everyone has the right to an opinion, but crucially, that opinion can be roundly ignored and even made fun of, particularly if it is demonstrably nonsense!” Professor Brian Cox

Ask me about
Barnstaple Slayers Club 
   
Made in us
[DCM]
Dankhold Troggoth






Shadeglass Maze

It makes sense. I mostly stopped buying GW books I didn't absolutely need due to the price of the hardcovers, even though I was interested. All my Privateer Press books are softcover, and an easier impulse buy due to the lower price that comes along with that.
   
Made in pl
Freelance Soldier





Softcovers at premium prices and strictly limited numbers. Where's the change, 'cause I don't see it.

I fully expect SC codices to be priced at $40, which is daylight robbery still.
   
Made in gb
The Daemon Possessing Fulgrim's Body





Devon, UK

 Paradigm wrote:
Sounds good. To early to really say, but with the softback End Times releases and free Nid rules, we may be seeing a bit of a change in the wind. Regardless of the reason (loss of goodwill/players/cash?), as gamers I guess we win.


It's almost like what they were doing was resulting in people giving them less money!

But in all seriousness, if the drop in revenue has been what was needed to shake them out of their Ivory Finetower™ then this is, without irony, good news. A responsive GW who listened to the customer and tried their best to keep as many people as happy as possible as often as possible (and, to some extent, could be seen to be doing those things) would make me a much happier bunny.

We find comfort among those who agree with us - growth among those who don't. - Frank Howard Clark

The wise man doubts often, and changes his mind; the fool is obstinate, and doubts not; he knows all things but his own ignorance.

The correct statement of individual rights is that everyone has the right to an opinion, but crucially, that opinion can be roundly ignored and even made fun of, particularly if it is demonstrably nonsense!” Professor Brian Cox

Ask me about
Barnstaple Slayers Club 
   
Made in us
Did Fulgrim Just Behead Ferrus?





Fort Worth, TX

Meh, what I care more about is if they will offer better pricing on ebooks. Seriously, GW, $45?!

"Through the darkness of future past, the magician longs to see.
One chants out between two worlds: Fire, walk with me."
- Twin Peaks
"You listen to me. While I will admit to a certain cynicism, the fact is that I am a naysayer and hatchetman in the fight against violence. I pride myself in taking a punch and I'll gladly take another because I choose to live my life in the company of Gandhi and King. My concerns are global. I reject absolutely revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method... is love. I love you Sheriff Truman." - Twin Peaks 
   
Made in de
Longtime Dakkanaut





Steve the Warboss doing one of his 1 + 1 crystal ball posts again? Something new (1) like softcover reprints happened. So he creates a rumor/speculation (+1) without offering any solid information actually...


And from a salesman's perspective:

Why should GW offer cheaper codex books?
Would anyone still buy the hardcover ones if so?
Would GW ever damage the sales of an available product with an identic, cheaper one?


Maybe small format books like in the Librarium Collection which is currently available on the GW site... but that was not part of Steve's rumor anyway

I have nothing against either Steve or Rob Baer but the 'information' given is so vague, it is not helpful
   
Made in us
Gargantuan Gargant





New Bedford, MA USA

I think this is a great move. GW makes a majority of their sales on any new product on the week of release. Reprints never sell any where as well as the initial print run. By offering soft cover reprints, GW is saving themselves money on the printing, shipping, and storage, while appealing to a newer more frugal audiance who wasn’t wowed into buying it during it’s initial run. They can also spin it as caring about their customers concerns about rising prices. It’s a win, win situation.

   
Made in us
Legendary Master of the Chapter





SoCal

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
That saddens me.........
The Hardback books, while expensive, take a punishment.


Uh, in that kind of role playing, the back of a hair brush is much better for giving punishment.

   
Made in gb
The Daemon Possessing Fulgrim's Body





Devon, UK

Warhams-77 wrote:

Why should GW offer cheaper codex books?


Because they're not selling enough of the higher priced ones? I know I'm not unique in changing from habitually buying each new book to only obtaining the ones relevant to factions I play since the change.
Would anyone still buy the hardcover ones if so?

Because different people like different things.
Would GW ever damage the sales of an available product with an identic, cheaper one?

Except it isn't identical, one is hardcover and one is not, some people prefer the hardcover enough to pay a premium

We find comfort among those who agree with us - growth among those who don't. - Frank Howard Clark

The wise man doubts often, and changes his mind; the fool is obstinate, and doubts not; he knows all things but his own ignorance.

The correct statement of individual rights is that everyone has the right to an opinion, but crucially, that opinion can be roundly ignored and even made fun of, particularly if it is demonstrably nonsense!” Professor Brian Cox

Ask me about
Barnstaple Slayers Club 
   
Made in ca
Fixture of Dakka




I agree Azreal. I see Privteer Press doing the exact same thing. Soft covers and hard covers side by side at my gaming store so you have a choice on what you want.

Choice is always good.

Agies Grimm:The "Learn to play, bro" mentality is mostly just a way for someone to try to shame you by implying that their metaphorical nerd-wiener is bigger than yours. Which, ironically, I think nerds do even more vehemently than jocks.

Everything is made up and the points don't matter. 40K or Who's Line is it Anyway?

Auticus wrote: Or in summation: its ok to exploit shoddy points because those are rules and gamers exist to find rules loopholes (they are still "legal"), but if the same force can be composed without structure, it emotionally feels "wrong".  
   
Made in us
Stealthy Warhound Titan Princeps







Cheap codexes would see me buying lots of them. The margin might be lower, but currently I've bought only a single hardcover, nearly vomited doing it, and without the codexes I don't see as much incentive to buy new figures for my many armies.
   
Made in us
Gargantuan Gargant





New Bedford, MA USA

I currently own about half of the 7th edition codexes. The only reason I don't own the other half is the price. The Hard covers are too expensive for me to justify buying books for armies I may never field.

Offering them in soft cover, and hopefully $10-20 less expensive, and tkaing another 20% off buying them from 3rd parties, puts them in a price range where I will end up buying all of them

   
Made in us
The Marine Standing Behind Marneus Calgar





Upstate, New York

It seems a logical conclusion from a discussion they should be having.

What can we do to get more people playing?
What are the barriers of entry to new players?

Lowering the cost of entry lets more people get into the game, and lets them sell more models. Sure, they loose a few extra bucks they could be squeezing out of us, but in theory should make that up by pushing more plastic to more people. Lower rules costs also helps with allies and second armies. I might have picked up an imperial knight, pricey though it is. But the cost for the rules on top of the model turned a “maybe” into a “no"

   
Made in gb
Decrepit Dakkanaut




UK

Or they'll offer soft covers as direct only via their website

and have hardcover for their stores and the independants

that way they'll look more competitive to those currently shopping at online discounters

 
   
Made in gb
Insect-Infested Nurgle Chaos Lord







Well if the softcovers are like their old ones then I hope it becomes a development.

I find they take general wear and tear much better.

I wouldn't chalk this up to the new guy as we've had rumours of this before he was appointed and he has literally just sat his arse on the GW throne.

   
Made in au
[MOD]
Making Stuff






Under the couch

Warhams-77 wrote:
Why should GW offer cheaper codex books?

Because many players who used to buy the cheaper softcover codexes stopped when they switched to the more expensive hardcovers.


Would anyone still buy the hardcover ones if so?

Some people prefer the hardcovers, so yes, probably.

The existence of cheaper paperbacks doesn't stop people from buying hardcover novels.


Would GW ever damage the sales of an available product with an identic, cheaper one?

It's not identical.

And yes, if releasing the cheaper product results in more overall profit due to increased codex sales, they would be foolish not to do so.



 
   
Made in gb
Insect-Infested Nurgle Chaos Lord







With the switching and price change they've definitely alienated me from the codex buying market.

When they were £15 it wasn't a big ask to buy every book, but now that they've doubled in price and offer less content it's definitely a no go.

Supplements being £30 is a complete joke too.

The old books were packed with fluff, in much smaller font sizes, that the new books lack.

The book pricing is the biggest barrier to the GW hobby. The miniature prices get talked about a lot but the books are far, far worse. IMHO.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/11/22 20:44:46


   
Made in us
[DCM]
Dankhold Troggoth






Shadeglass Maze

insaniak - Agreed, especially since the cheaper product is also cheaper to them, not just their customers!

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/11/22 20:46:28


 
   
Made in gb
Stone Bonkers Fabricator General




We'll find out soon enough eh.

Warhams-77 wrote:
Steve the Warboss doing one of his 1 + 1 crystal ball posts again? Something new (1) like softcover reprints happened. So he creates a rumor/speculation (+1) without offering any solid information actually...


And from a salesman's perspective:

Why should GW offer cheaper codex books?
Would anyone still buy the hardcover ones if so?
Would GW ever damage the sales of an available product with an identic, cheaper one?


That's a bit of a daft argument man, look at videogames, hell they release the fancy super-special-mega-ultra-collector edition, the shiny-box-sorta-special edition, and the normal "I just want to play the damn game" edition all on the same day, yet they still manage to sell all the versions. Some people are always going to want the fancy version, some people will always just want the bloody book without any extraneous rubbish, there's no reason to abandon the latter market unless your business doesn't like money.

I need to acquire plastic Skavenslaves, can you help?
I have a blog now, evidently. Featuring the Alternative Mordheim Model Megalist.

"Your society's broken, so who should we blame? Should we blame the rich, powerful people who caused it? No, lets blame the people with no power and no money and those immigrants who don't even have the vote. Yea, it must be their fething fault." - Iain M Banks
-----
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Made in fi
Longtime Dakkanaut




 Medium of Death wrote:

The book pricing is the biggest barrier to the GW hobby. The miniature prices get talked about a lot but the books are far, far worse. IMHO.


It's true, buying the core rulebook & codex costs over 100 euros, that's the starting cost for the hobby before even buying any minis! It's pretty big barrier both financially and psychologically for many people. Now, there are some cheaper options for core rulebook available but not for army books.

Mr Vetock, give back my Multi-tracker! 
   
Made in de
Longtime Dakkanaut





I really hope GW is going to sell softcover codizes and supplements next year. It would be great if they realized people will buy more if the books are priced lower. I own most 6th Ed ones and two of its supplements. Would like to buy all the new books like I did in 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th edition (I mostly skipped 4th)

My point was, I doubt this rumor at the moment. On pretre's tracker Steve does okay - although there are more False to be added, like BA Codex after ET2, which is not correct

These questions I posted were what I was told from different people (at stores etc) why GW switched to the then new hardcover format. I was upset because the former, cheaper ones allowed me to buy all books even if I didnt collect the army. The hardcovers changed that

I was told the hardcover books make GW a lot more money (per item) than the softcover version did and GW wants to keep it. They won't turn back to the old one.

If that way of thinking at GW changes, excellent. It will make me a happy chap for sure
   
Made in au
[MOD]
Making Stuff






Under the couch

Warhams wrote:
I was told the hardcover books make GW a lot more money (per item) than the softcover version did ...

That would certainly have been the original idea of them, but I very much doubt it worked out that way. I've heard so many players who used to buy every book say that they now only buy the books they specifically need, and many others who just refuse outright to buy the hardcovers at all because of the ridiculous price tag.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/11/22 23:22:44


 
   
 
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