This news first sort of sneaked out last week amongst the many other ...... interesting.... developments from GW and got a bit drowned out.
Currently if you subscribe to WD you receive your copy (normally) around a week/5 working days earlier than it is available in the shops. This will be changing soon ( June I think, basically when the other changes happen) and you will in fact now receive your subscription copy of WDafter the magazine has been released for sale in the shops.
I can only confirm this as being the case in the UK, but realistically I can't see overseas editions being any different.
If you subscribe then you will still make a % saving on the price and have the magazine delivered to your house. Oh and you can buy GD tickets a bit earlier... hooray ?
So, reluctantly, I've cancelled my subscription. Which I've had, on or off, for 7 years or so. The saving is nice but the magazine is of such variable quality from month to month I can make that saving again just by not buying an issue that holds no interest for me.
What particularly annoyed me, rubbing salt into t'wound so to speak, was being told however though that , as a subscriber, I was "eligible" for a "sneak peek" at the forthcoming issue once the store got their copies in that week. Wow. I can look at a magazine I have, technically, already paid for. Plus this does put forward the ridiculous notion that non Wd subscribers wouldn't be allowed to have a flick through the new issue as/when it arrives ? .. really ? .
The GW person I spoke to on the phone was nothing but polite and courteous, helpful and professional. It would seem, one can imagine all too accurately alas, that the GW guys who answer the phones and deal with enquiries and orders have had something of a rough week. Whilst I am annoyed at the actions of the company, those at the "coal face" of their sset up I have nothing but praise and sympathy for.
Have you ever pondered whether GW is sitting there laughing and rathered amused and amazed how much BS their customers are willing to take in? AND thank them for it?
I've got a serious feeling that they really are trying to run that gak into the ground as hard as possible. I buy the rag from the store where I work, at least there I get a decent discount.
"This will be changing soon ( June I think, basically when the other changes happen) and you will in fact now receive your subscription copy of WD after the magazine has been released for sale in the shops."
reds8n wrote: The saving is nice but the magazine is of such variable quality from month to month I can make that saving again just by not buying an issue that holds no interest for me.
Alas this has been my attitude for some time now. I have found that buying only those issues with content of any interest to me saves me about 50-60% of a subscription price lately.
lunarman wrote:No, no, they're trying to kill their company... It's a bigger game entirely
What if PP already bought out GW, and is now driving it to the ground first.
Then a year later they reveal the buy out and say UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT ! but same great sculptor / artists.
lunarman wrote:No, no, they're trying to kill their company... It's a bigger game entirely
What if PP already bought out GW, and is now driving it to the ground first.
Then a year later they reveal the buy out and say UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT ! but same great sculptor / artists.
H.B.M.C. wrote:"This will be changing soon ( June I think, basically when the other changes happen) and you will in fact now receive your subscription copy of WD after the magazine has been released for sale in the shops."
Verschwiegenheit über alles!
Ironically certain people will not know what this says, meta joke FTW!
OT: Another wonder blunder from GW, seriously GW's exec staff should go grow another brain cell to keep the other one company...
reds8n wrote:as a subscriber, I was "eligible" for a "sneak peek" at the forthcoming issue once the store got their copies in that week.
Oh, seriously, just... no. The main reason I have my subscription is that I can't be bothered to go to the store every month to buy it. Sorry, I work and I am a little lazy in my downtime. I like getting it conveniently in the post every month. I was disappointed I was no longer going to get it early, but I could get over that. But being invited to pay for it, then come to the store and read it as if this is some type of special privilege? No thanks. If I can be bothered to go out and do that, I may as well cancel the subscription, go to WH Smiths and read the entire magazine for free.
Grimtuff wrote:Unfortunatley for you, Smiths don't stock it anymore...
What, seriously? When did that happen? (I get all my publications in the post since Borders closed, and I couldn't get most of them in other shops, so I don't bother to go to Smiths much)
I saw it in Sainsburys last week? But mine is a big Sainsburys.
What excuse is there for not sending out the magazine to subscribers at least on time with the shops? Did I read right? As a subscriber you can go to one of their shops and flick though a copy while waiting for your own to arrive at the house? If that was the case they might as well forget posting you a copy and just give you one in the shop.
Grimtuff wrote:Unfortunatley for you, Smiths don't stock it anymore...
What, seriously? When did that happen? (I get all my publications in the post since Borders closed, and I couldn't get most of them in other shops, so I don't bother to go to Smiths much)
I saw it in Sainsburys last week? But mine is a big Sainsburys.
Something about the publishers having to pay a sub to WH Smiths to sell their mags there, GW declined (as it involved spending money) thus they pulled the mags from sale at Smiths.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Howard A Treesong wrote:What excuse is there for not sending out the magazine to subscribers at least on time with the shops? Did I read right? As a subscriber you can go to one of their shops and flick though a copy while waiting for your own to arrive at the house? If that was the case they might as well forget posting you a copy and just give you one in the shop.
This actually doesn't bother me that much, I kind of wanted my WD to arrive later than it typically does anyway.
What tended to happen (taking may as an example) is that if the WD arrived in the last week of April, I would read it before May even began and then be annoyed that I have nothing else to read until June (in reality the end of May).
So my June WD not coming til the end of the first week of June kind of makes a magazine which seems to get progressively less content each month last a bit longer.
At this stage, I'm starting to think GW's CEO was just getting ready for the Rapture - it beggars belief that he actually believes he's doing the right thing by the company and the shareholders.
Or maybe GW's next announcement is going to be Anthrax Tuesday: Every week, a randomly selected order includes a free sample of anthrax!
Grimtuff wrote:Unfortunatley for you, Smiths don't stock it anymore...
What, seriously? When did that happen? (I get all my publications in the post since Borders closed, and I couldn't get most of them in other shops, so I don't bother to go to Smiths much)
I saw it in Sainsburys last week? But mine is a big Sainsburys.
Something about the publishers having to pay a sub to WH Smiths to sell their mags there, GW declined (as it involved spending money) thus they pulled the mags from sale at Smiths.
I'll just slip in that if you local newsagents is a John Menzies, or you are lucky to live in a region of the country where Menzies provide papers and mags to all the local independant Newsagents (It almost split 50-50 with WHSmith) you can stil potentiallyl find White Dwarf in your local.
In fairness to GW the changes that WHSmiths wanted were..well.... one was going to simply say ludicrous but we shall instead refer to the changes as being almost workshopian in their level of fail.
At least this is good news potentially for my local newsagents who might get the odd extra sale of the magazine then as there I tend to go everyday anyway.
reds8n wrote:... This will be changing soon ... you will in fact now receive your subscription copy of WDafter the magazine has been released for sale in the shops.
I wouldn't be surprised if GW is thinking that this is a good ploy to lure people into (their) stores to go buy WD there instead, and get in the additional sales while they are at it.
Their whole strategy lately seems aimed at getting customers away from the internet and into (their) stores.
lunarman wrote:No, no, they're trying to kill their company... It's a bigger game entirely
Maybe the management believed like many others that Apocalypse would come last Saturday.
Think about it! Now it all makes sense!
See and this makes my stupid outfit I picked out for taunting even more of a waste, they thought they were gunna be there too. DAMMIT!
I dunno if its because Ive had a rough week or what, but all this "new news" about GW is really getting me down about the game. I couldnt play my game yesterday without bringing up the BS thats been going on. Wheres that dissapointed Orkmoticon
I think its just an attempt to get people into their shops, but I think they will loose out in the long run. I also think that they will have a subscription area of their website before long.
The actual reason WD is not stocked in WH Smiths is because they were consistently putting the magazine out early, before it's was released in GW stores.
They were asked to refrain from this but continued regardless, so GW stopped supplying them as customers were just buying it from them before they were meant to be able to pick it up.
Bloodwin wrote:I think its just an attempt to get people into their shops, but I think they will loose out in the long run. I also think that they will have a subscription area of their website before long.
To be fair, every time I visited the UK, I spent time in a GW shop. They are painful to visit, completely devoid of all hope.
The staff are helpful, up to the point they realise you won't purchase anything.
Lets be fair, if GW want me to go to a store thats pushing me to buy stuff to pick up my toy advert magazine that WD was? I'll simply save the 7 odd euro and buy something I'll enjoy for more than 5 minutes. Like a pint or two.
If the website goes subscription, its no big loss. "Pay to see pictures of the shineys we want you to buy!"
That approach usually has an "18's Only" sign on the door.
The Decapitator wrote:The actual reason WD is not stocked in WH Smiths is because they were consistently putting the magazine out early, before it's was released in GW stores.
They were asked to refrain from this but continued regardless, so GW stopped supplying them as customers were just buying it from them before they were meant to be able to pick it up.
I would suggest the extra money WHSmiths were demanding from them was a bigger issue.
I still think that my WD subscription was just out of habit, I needed a good reason to end it after about 7-8 years - I wish they still wrote interesting articles in it. Thanks for the wake up call GW.
I honestly can't say who is more stupid this week, GW or Ryan Giggs?
Both seem hell bent on suppressing information, but at least Giggs has a reason for doing so.
GW seem desperate to keep their new products a secret in case people might actually want to buy them. They can be assured that thanks to their new pricing strategy, there really is no danger of this happening.
Flashman wrote:I honestly can't say who is more stupid this week, GW or Ryan Giggs?
Both seem hell bent on suppressing information, but at least Giggs has a reason for doing so.
GW seem desperate to keep their new products a secret in case people might actually want to buy them. They can be assured that thanks to their new pricing strategy, there really is no danger of this happening.
Terrific. My WD typically arrives about 10 days after it's released, so now I can look forward to it arriving at the end of the month. But hey, I can go and look at it in the store! That's mighty white of them. You know who else can do that - people who didn't pay $75 to subscribe to it.
I can't get too mad, since I already had long since decided I wouldn't be renewing it anyway - by the third issue I realized I had made a bad mistake, but whatever.
White Dwarf - so much potential, so squandered.
So, when are we going to get someone explaining why this is actually a reasonable change that's ultimately good for the hobby? Usually we've had that by now.
Slinky wrote:As as subscriber, will I get a special card that I can wave around in GW to gain access to a sneak peak at the magazine?
Utter ing .
Hey, at least GW want people to be elitist hobby snobs openly now instead of just pretending it is a welcoming game. And you would have a nifty card to lord over your other gaming buddies while you sit in a corner and read that ad rag all by your lonesome self. Softly crying about how nobody wants to be your friend and how they would if they only recognized your superiority due to be a genuine card carrying preview member.
First they admitted that their 'price adjustments' are actually 'price increases' and now this. Great day for GW coming out of the closet where blinders and sticking your head in the sand is the norm.
Think of the trees that won't have to be cut down as sales fall.
These changes, obviously, show GW's long term commitment to their customer base. After all we all need to breath clean air right ?
They won't be charging you for the oxygen in their stores that they have thusly produced until 2013. You'll also be able to mail order and get it from their website with only a minimal charge for express/registered delivery.
The way I am reading all of this (and this includes pretty much every news bit for GW in the past couple weeks) is that they simply, without any ambiguity, no longer wish people with more than half a brain cell to be their customer any longer.
I mean kids are pretty stupid nowadays. If you are told to use GW brand superglue then that is the only glue to use, right?
I beleive more than anything GW is making a large bet that people are a lot dumber than they themselves think they are.
reds8n wrote: Think of the trees that won't have to be cut down as sales fall.
It would be interesting to see their circulation and readership figures, but I imagine they play those close to their chest. When my wife worked for a printers it was fairly straightforward to see these details for a lot of publications in the UK, and I mean something more like the real figures not what they like to claim to the bulk of the public, but White Dwarf wasn't one of those that she could view.
I honestly can't see what people buy it for, maybe if you're new to the hobby. But all the contents and a lot more are available online without the bombardment to crude advertising. Anecdotally I've heard games shops being unable to shift as many copies in years gone by but that was suspected to be due to places like WHSmiths selling it rather than it being crap. It could be a result of both. Nevertheless with GW basically refusing to advertise and their magazines only being available from gaming shops and smaller newsagents they have cut off another of their areas where they get exposure to the public. There's a reason WHSmiths can make demands that most magazine publishers feel are worth agreeing to.
I beleive more than anything GW is making a large bet that people are a lot dumber than they themselves think they are.
Which is amusing because in order to play GW games you have to have a higher than average amount of disposable income.. Those kids who play tend to be of higher socio-economic status which means on average they attend better schools, get better grades and again on average appear to be smarted based upon standardized tests
For GW to assume that their customers are dumber than most seems to be a logical fallacy and perhaps they should sell Hannah Montana and Justin Bieber dolls (That require painting) instead as those appeal to the masses of children more
I beleive more than anything GW is making a large bet that people are a lot dumber than they themselves think they are.
Which is amusing because in order to play GW games you have to have a higher than average amount of disposable income.. Those kids who play tend to be of higher socio-economic status which means on average they attend better schools, get better grades and again on average appear to be smarted based upon standardized tests
The qualifying statement in that sentence is "appear to be smarte[r]".
I am no longer in the education system, but when I was I was astounded at how many dunderheads were accepted at the collegiate level.
Income, the quality of the education such income brings and the status of such means absolutely nothing when it comes to common sense let alone actual intelligence.
The only logical falacy going on here is assuming that GW beleive their consumers to be anything but those who carry an extra Y chromosome.
despite all the criticism it gets, I like WD actually. But for me it's more about just looking at pictures and reading about the new models while I'm on the potty.
But for me, I usually get mine in the first week of the month so it's usually been in stores a week or 2 before I get it. There were even a few months where I didn't get it at all and i had to call GW and they'd send me out a free copy. I just renewed my subscription a few months ago, so I'll just let it ride till it expires and probably stop there.
I subscribed 3 weeks ago, on impulse. This week is already making me regret it. Lemmings, that's what the GW leadership is made of. The big shareholders are probably a bunch of old guys who'll retire soon and want to squeeze the company for money, whatever the long-term consequences for it...
I can only think that I've slipped into some kind of parallel dimension, where by the most illogical and ridiculous plans are actually the correct ones.
My first even experience of GW, was through a WD. That was at the age of 10 or 11, and I happened to see the cool 'people with guns' on the cover, I actually still remember that experience. 20 years later, and I'm sure I have probably paid a staff members wages for 2 or 3 months.
In short: Bad, bad decisions (both the pulling of sale from WHSmiths) and the subscription malarky.
Hellfury wrote:The way I am reading all of this (and this includes pretty much every news bit for GW in the past couple weeks) is that they simply, without any ambiguity, no longer wish people with more than half a brain cell to be their customer any longer.
I mean kids are pretty stupid nowadays. If you are told to use GW brand superglue then that is the only glue to use, right?
I beleive more than anything GW is making a large bet that people are a lot dumber than they themselves think they are.
Everyone has always done that. When I used to buy Airfix kits in the late 60s, early 70s they always instructed you to use Airfix cement and paint. Of course when you went to the toy shop the Humbrol stuff was right there and it didn't take long to figure out that enamel paint is enamel paint.
The surprising thing these days is that if you have Internet access, the amount of information available is colossal and very easily found compared to when I were a lad. I couldn't afford a modelling magazine and a Series 1 kit (20p) both in the same week.
I let my WD subscription lapse this month as well.
I have been a subscriber for 12+ years.
I went to re-up and found no incentives other than the ability to purchase more figures that have no use in any game.
Over the years I reflected at being given promotional t-shirts, bits and boxes of figures among othre things depending on how many years I purchased for. Now.... nothing...
The content, the loyalty perks and the 'pride' of having a subscription has gone to pot.
Hellfury wrote:The way I am reading all of this (and this includes pretty much every news bit for GW in the past couple weeks) is that they simply, without any ambiguity, no longer wish people with more than half a brain cell to be their customer any longer.
I mean kids are pretty stupid nowadays. If you are told to use GW brand superglue then that is the only glue to use, right?
I beleive more than anything GW is making a large bet that people are a lot dumber than they themselves think they are.
Everyone has always done that. When I used to buy Airfix kits in the late 60s, early 70s they always instructed you to use Airfix cement and paint. Of course when you went to the toy shop the Humbrol stuff was right there and it didn't take long to figure out that enamel paint is enamel paint.
But that's my point. More and more people do take these "suggestions" seriously. Being part of this information age has a seemingly opposite effect.
I know of one co worker that would starve at lunch because she could not have a certain brand of oil or whatnot available to mix with her X brand lunch she was making. Never once realizing that the brand wasnt important.
It is alarming how pervasive this type of ignorance is.
My example of the superglue was because I see kids at the shop doing this all the time. 12 brands side by side but they have to have GW brand because that's what it says on the box. When it isnt in stock they just mooch off of someone else who does actually have GW superglue. It just goes to show that after so many years of such marketing by every company that it is quite effective at reducing discriminating intelligence in many of the consumers nowadays.
GW know this is effective too. Thus banking on the fiscal retardation of their target demographic.
Wow... unfething believable. Not that it arrived on time any more than half of the issues anyways, but feth this noise.
My WD sub is now cancelled, and I honestly think I am just going to ditch GW all-together at this point. This last bit is the straw that broke the camels back for me.
Besides, not like I don't have plenty stockpiled to work on....
Subscribing to any other magazine usually gives you 12 issues for the cost of 9 or 10, plus you usually get a free gift for subscribing. This from publishers that have no inhouse store to sell their magazine in either, so they have to pay the fees WHSmith charge.
GW that has it's own stores to sell their magazine in, can probably right off a big chunk of the expense of producing the magazine against tax, as they promote it as a catalog. Don't give you anything for subscribing and in fact potentially you could incur cost by visiting the local store to get a sneak peak.
I can't work out who is the fool here. GW for doing this or the people who carry on taking it from them. What does it take for GW gamers to actually stop and realise what is being done to you?
I haven't bought a WD since the issue with the APOC formations for the Shadowsword. The magazine is simply a giant lame advertisement for the product...the articles are crap...and there is no usable content anymore. Dumb. They have a perfect platform to launch campaigns in...complete with maps, etc. a perfect platform to add more Space Hulk missions, etc. But instead we get lame battle reports, lackluster hobby articles...and no articles that feature any of the staff...or their armies anymore. I wantWD to fail. Hopefully, they'll get the friggen message then...but I doubt it. I'm glad I've stopped buying that rag.
Ouze wrote: a reasonable change that's ultimately good for the hobby
GW hasn't factored the above into any of their buisness decisions for a very long time...
The way you trimmed my quote makes it appear I agree with the decision.
Wasn't my intention.
I don't doubt it, but I'd hate for someone skimming to thread to see that and think I... well, you know.
I can't speak to "a very long time", as you said; I've only been playing since 2008. But I don't see how even the most diehard defender of All Things Nottingham could defend some of the decisions of the last year in general, and the last 2 weeks in specific.
I honestly don't think this is a horrible move for GW. It really doesn't make sense but it is not that devastating to recieve a mag a week after stores do.
It did play a factor in why I quit my sub a year ago. I had to call and complain every month that my mag was a week late. When the quality and content went away for the mag coupled with the hassle I had to deal with to get my mag "on-time" it wasn't worth it.
Now with this move I won't ever get a subscription because a major selling point was getting it early and the cost saving for a sub is just 2 to 3 WD through the year. Currently I barely buy one WD through the year. I just wait until my friends and brothers have finished theirs and then play catch up.
Something about the publishers having to pay a sub to WH Smiths to sell their mags there, GW declined (as it involved spending money) thus they pulled the mags from sale at Smiths.
So that explains why I can't find it anymore...that's certainly news to me - it would be nice of GW to say this kind of thing (or did they?)
I almost can't believe this is true. WTFGW? I've been buying there 'magazine' from Smiths since I was 9 - why the change now?
I'm glad I don't have a subscription, I see no benefits to it now at all...the world must be ending in 2012 as GW wants to squeeze as much money through its decisions as possible, maybe they think that by having money they can placate Jesus when the rapture comes?
Ouze wrote:Terrific. My WD typically arrives about 10 days after it's released, so now I can look forward to it arriving at the end of the month. But hey, I can go and look at it in the store! That's mighty white of them. You know who else can do that - people who didn't pay $75 to subscribe to it.
I can't get too mad, since I already had long since decided I wouldn't be renewing it anyway - by the third issue I realized I had made a bad mistake, but whatever.
White Dwarf - so much potential, so squandered.
So, when are we going to get someone explaining why this is actually a reasonable change that's ultimately good for the hobby? Usually we've had that by now.
However, it is MUCH better when it's taken out of context.
Seeing the difference between the magazines from when they started its more of just an overpriced monthly catalog. I opted out of getting a subscription because all the useful issues i can only get online in PDF format; meaning the oldest issues.
Wont be driving to no hobby center since the nearest three; while within 10 miles of each other are all over 30 miles from my home. And i hate driving through Dallas more than i need to. Grand Prairie to Grapevine Mills is just too much time on the highway for a weekly trip.
lunarman wrote:No, no, they're trying to kill their company... It's a bigger game entirely
What if PP already bought out GW, and is now driving it to the ground first.
Then a year later they reveal the buy out and say UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT ! but same great sculptor / artists.
reds8n wrote:...you will in fact now receive your subscription copy of WDafter the magazine has been released for sale in the shops.
I've received a number of advanced orders this way. One arrived three weeks after release. I no longer purchase from GW's web site nor have I subscribed to WD in many years.
I'm not seeing any news at all here. This already happened last year.
After several well-publicized incidents last year where people in certain European countries got lucky and got their White Dwarf issues a couple weeks ahead of most other markets and they posted pictures from the front new releases pages of White Dwarf on the Internet GW already made a change to the mailing schedule of White Dwarf many months ago. They began trying to time it so that everyone at home and the stores would get it around the same time.
For the first few months after they made that change last year I barely got it at all and sometimes had to get replacement issues for lost ones or issues that eventually arrived weeks late, but they seem to have gotten their timing down the past few issues and I now get it on the same day as it's released in the shops or more usually about 4 days later.
Anyway, my point is that I already was informed of this change long ago around last summer, already had discussions about it at the local shops at the time it happened and have already seen the effects of this change for many months.
Ouze wrote:I love GW and everything they do. I want to have their man babies.
GW Apologists make me sick, I'm PMing H.M.B.C. so he can flame the hell out you!!!!!1!!111!!!
Don't disturb him. He's busy punishing GW by placing an order for several hundred dollars worth of their stuff. He'd rather rage against any poster that peeps up to slightly defend them rather than actually do the one thing that would make a difference... not buying! Such is the life of a plasticrack addict, though.
I think we all know whats really going on in the meetings.
"Cave Johnson here, now the eggheads down in the lab are saying that the customers are unhappy with our business practices, that we can't just raises prices all the time. well I say who needs customers, so id like to introduce you to the autocustomer. Now this little guy doesn't give a care as to the quality or price, you just program what you want him to buy and bam, instant profit. Cave johnon were done here."
I remember when I first discovered miniatures, and along with them, White Dwarf. I remember BEGGING my brother for £1.20 to buy my own copy (I also remember him totally not lending me the cash. I will not forget). I remember practically imploding with envy that my best friend had a copy. I remember the best thing about a new issue was skipping straight to Thrud the Barbarian. I remember all the great illustrations, and to this day I think Paul Bonner's illustrations epitomise both the Fantasy and 40K Orks and Gobbos. I remember the original sketches for the Aspect Warriors and not being able to tear my eyes away from them.
281 issues later - and I won't even pretend that there weren't breaks in my hobbying - and I have to admit, rather sadly, that White Dwarf is (and has been for a fair while) not what it was. As other posters have said (and what is now obvious), is that White Dwarf is a glorified catalogue. I don't even think that GW know what its purpose is any more, and suspect that they may be deluding themselves into thinking that they're actually putting out a good product.
Two particular things have broken this particular camel's back: the changes in the subscription conditions (there doesn't seem to be any incentive to subscribe any more), to the extent that I will cancel it, and the other being the absolutely shameful 'article' about the hobby a few months ago that was a simple advert to buy Citadel paints.
I'm not angry about this decision, I'm just sad. I'm sad that something that once made me so excited that I would beg to get it now barely gets a reaction out of me at all. And what saddens me more is that this wonderful hobby that literally saved my life (if not my bank balance!) is now soured by some bad decision making.
Must admit I had a good laugh at being allowed to drop into a GW shop to have a sneek peek at the magazine! Hahahahaha! The people that make these bizarre ideas a reality, are they HIGH? What everybody should do is organise flash mobs to storm GW shops on WD release day and demand to read the magazine. I'm sure that would stop this latest nonsense. Does anyone else get the impression that someone is seriously trying to bring down GW? By that I mean trying to get the shares to drastically fall with all this recent rubbish that they've been announcing?
The last time I had WD early or even on time was the issue BEFORE the "freebie" Terminator came out. Ever since it was at least a week late, normally 2 to 3. I figure I will just get the issues I want off ebay in a year or two.
Something about the publishers having to pay a sub to WH Smiths to sell their mags there, GW declined (as it involved spending money) thus they pulled the mags from sale at Smiths.
So that explains why I can't find it anymore...that's certainly news to me - it would be nice of GW to say this kind of thing (or did they?)
They did, they printed a small A5 leaflet which informed customers of the change and the reasons as to why. This 'should' have been Put inside every copy of WD, and were also available on the counter local GW's.
Whether or not this happened in reality is another matter entirely.
warhawkstriker wrote:I think we all know whats really going on in the meetings.
"Cave Johnson here, now the eggheads down in the lab are saying that the customers are unhappy with our business practices, that we can't just raises prices all the time. well I say who needs customers, so id like to introduce you to the autocustomer. Now this little guy doesn't give a care as to the quality or price, you just program what you want him to buy and bam, instant profit. Cave johnon were done here."
Nah... He's doing insurance (Allstate, I think) commercials these days.
Custom-built flamethrower and a giant ball of lint.
This is not a policy to get people in stores. The more I see their new policy, the more I understand that they just want to cut the voices down on the internet.
They fear sneak peeks and previews from players around the world. This is plain stupid. They deserve the EPIC FAIL they're going to have.
KOS wrote:This is not a policy to get people in stores. The more I see their new policy, the more I understand that they just want to cut the voices down on the internet.
They fear sneak peeks and previews from players around the world. This is plain stupid. They deserve the EPIC FAIL they're going to have.
GW is trying to make their stores the best.
By making everything else worse, instead of improving the stores.
this is not a good thing in my opinion. They are just trying to control information and forcing people to buy things where they want.
I just feel to be manipulated, I fear that I'll never know what's going to be released anymore and what to expect from the company.
And this because here in Cremona we have NO GW store. We have independent stores that provides gaming places, with the closest official store at 2 hours circa of distance.
Honestly, I always thought that GW screwed up lately, but this time is going to be worst than ever.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I think that from now on, GW will loose more money and players with this move.
The only thing that could induce me to go into a Games Workshop store regularly would be if they could make GW stores as good, welcoming, friendly, well-staffed, etc., as the good indies like Maelstrom or Gifts For Geeks.
this is not a good thing in my opinion. They are just trying to control information and forcing people to buy things where they want.
I just feel to be manipulated, I fear that I'll never know what's going to be released anymore and what to expect from the company.
And this because here in Cremona we have NO GW store. We have independent stores that provides gaming places, with the closest official store at 2 hours circa of distance.
Honestly, I always thought that GW screwed up lately, but this time is going to be worst than ever.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I think that from now on, GW will loose more money and players with this move.
What about places like Poland ( a 40 mill country) where there's no GW shop at all ?:>
The losest one would be in Berlin, around 600 kilometers away :>
Aww, I'm going to miss getting White Dwarf a week or two early like I have been for the past few months. It was always pleasant to drool over the pretty miniatures while sitting on the can. Ah well, there's always the Incoming! e-mails.
Mine was paid via a direct debit/standing order so I then had to phone Warner's Publications on 01778 391000 to cancel that and then, of course, speak to the bank to confirm the cessation of payment.
Ian Sturrock wrote:The only thing that could induce me to go into a Games Workshop store regularly would be if they could make GW stores as good, welcoming, friendly, well-staffed, etc., as the good indies like Maelstrom or Gifts For Geeks.
Depends very much on the GW store. Part of the reason the debacle of the last week is so depressing for me is that I actually like the Southampton GW guys.
KOS wrote:This is not a policy to get people in stores. The more I see their new policy, the more I understand that they just want to cut the voices down on the internet.
Mine was paid via a direct debit/standing order so I then had to phone Warner's Publications on 01778 391000 to cancel that and then, of course, speak to the bank to confirm the cessation of payment.
Cheers very much. I was in the bank yesterday for an unrelated matter ("I've never even BEEN to Switzerland!" ) and I asked how I would cancel it, but I'd have to speak to the company. So it looks like I have some phone calls to make. How easy was the phone call lark?
Alkasyn wrote:
What about places like Poland ( a 40 mill country) where there's no GW shop at all ?:>
The losest one would be in Berlin, around 600 kilometers away :>
Or the southeast US.. where we strangely have the factory that produces the minis for the US but no GW store currently to carry them within 300+ miles of the largest city in the region (Atlanta).
Cerebrium wrote:Cheers very much. I was in the bank yesterday for an unrelated matter ("I've never even BEEN to Switzerland!" ) and I asked how I would cancel it, but I'd have to speak to the company. So it looks like I have some phone calls to make. How easy was the phone call lark?
East as pie. They asked for my postcode, confirmed what the sub was and it was done. More hassle with the bank and the manifold joys of online banking security protocols to be honest.. but that's a whole other rant.
yeah, Well I just recieved this months copy and It's great! Lots of Dark Eldar Photos & Lots of info on FineCast. Confirms grotesques are 1 mini release (boo) and wracks are in a box of 4 plus acothyst; 5 unique minis in there so covens won't look too bad, and a small bit of converting to give more motion/variety to the arms should be all that is required to make for some nice looking squads.
WD378 June break down,
News - Nothing we don't already know here... FineCast - info about why they changed. info mostly repeated by web team. DarkEldar Covens Tomb Kings wave two tactica TombKings tactica Grey Knights Armies on parade 6 one page armies on parade 2000pts Dark Eldar vs CW Eldar battle report Army Master - MattWeavers SpaceWolfs LOTR battle report the fellowship vs 700pts of the legion of the white hand.
Plus regular items...
Lots to read... It is a good issue. Not cancelling my subscription just yet; I will keep a close eye on when I receive my issue next month.
Dark Eldar:
Urien Rakharth
Haemonculus with venom blade and dark gate
Haemonculus with liquifier gun and venom blade
5 Incubi
Raider with Dark lance and Night shields
4 Grotesques with liquifier gun
Raider with disintegrator cannon and Night shield
8 Wracks with liquifier gun and Acothyst
9 Wracks with liquifier gun and Acothyst
5 Wyches including Hekatrix with power weapon
Venom with additional splinter cannon
5 Wyches including Hekatrix with power weapon + Blast pistol
Venom
7 Scourges with Haywire blaster, heat lance and Solarite
1 Beastmaster with 4 Khymerae
9 Hellions including 1 Helliarch with Stunclaw
Ravorwing jetfighter with flickerfeild
Talos Pain engine with chain-flails and twin-linked haywire blaster
Cronos parasite engine with Spirit vortex
1995 points
Craftworlders:
Farseer with spirit stones, Doom, Fortune, and Guide powers
Autarch with jetbike and laser lance
10 Dire avengers including exarch wwith Bladestorm and extra shuriken catapult
Wave serpant with twin-linked brightlances, spirit stones and shuriken cannon
10 Dire avengers including exarch with bladestorm
5 Guardian Jetbikes
10 Guardians with starcannon, including Warlock with destructor
10 Guardians with starcannon, including Warlock with destructor
2 Vypers with Shuriken cannons
5 Swooping hawks including Exarch with sunrifle, intercept and skyleap
5 Warp spiders including Exarch with Powerblades, surprise attack and withdraw
Fire prism with shuriken cannon, spirit stones and holo-fields
Fire prism with shuriken cannon, spirit stones and holo-fields
Night Spinner with Shuriken cannon and spirit stones
1998 points
Spoiler:
Dark Eldar win. Naturally.
I'll admit most of that means nothing to me. And I apologise for my terrible spelling and/or grammer in that post-lists just start to blur into one eventually .
Dark Eldar
HQ: Urien and two Haemuculi
Elite: 5 Incubi on Raider, 4 grotesques on Raider
Standard: 8 Wracks, 9 Wracks, 5 Wyches in Venom, 5 Wyches in Venom
Fast: 7 Scourges, 1 Beastmaster with 4 Khymaeras, 9 Helllions
Heavy. Razorwing, talos, Cronos
You will miss their article on Finecast, where they try to find words on how awesome they are, with the metal-to-resin switch only compareable to the moon landing, just more awesome
All of this change from GW is starting to sound suspicious...have any of you heard of Jetsgo?
Although GW isn't offering their products for a penny, but rather lifting the prices higher and lowering the standard of the product they put out.
Trying to entice customers into thier stores?
They have closed all but one small GW store in our area of 2.5 million people, and it is way over in a hard to get to corner. several bridges and miles/kilometers off the main traffic routes! WTF What business school did this marketing plan come from? (The former Soviet Union...We make it... they must buy it?)
Actually, Pongo, you may not be that far off with that last comment. GW as has been mentioned before does seem to still think thy are the one and only minature games company, so feel they can do pretty much whatever they want.
I mean, I know WD is never really going to be much of a dissenting voice but this month's issue really takes the biscuit. Its almost like Pravda in its slavish devotion to the party line...
Dunno if it's been mentioned before, but I suppose this might be the apppropriate thread. I just had a look at GW's current careers info - just out of curiosity, not interested in a career change
Under the offering for "White Dwarf Digital Assistant" I found this passage:
White Dwarf is Games Workshop's monthly magazine, packed every month with exclusive articles detailing the latest Citadel miniatures releases and activities. We are looking for someone who will help the White Dwarf team deliver a digital edition of the magazine, and also be responsible for generating the product photographs used on the Games Workshop website, in White Dwarf magazine and a variety of other media.
So, does that mean that GW are planning to have WD go digital - maybe even foregoing a print edition at all? I've often wondered how many issues of WD are actually sold (considering the 'value' for money its current incarnation offers) and whether the magazine is still profitable...
It would be interesting if they did somethign along the lines of D&D online.
WD going to online digital content, maybe army lists and builders being available online to subscribers. What other tools do you think they could put up that would entice you to subscribe if they did this?
Or maybe they're just following Black Library with their 'Bolter and Chainsword' e-zine.
I don't think they'll be getting rid of the print edition, but it certainly would be following in a huge trend in favor of publishing both a digital and print edition.
It's happening all across the board of magazines these days, especially with all of the tablet computers continuing the shift away from printed materials.
My guess will be it will go to a tandom digital/print production phase.
I found the Finecast article in WD this month to be rather... odd. They harped on about how the resin holds more detail than the metals and show the green next to a resin version to show that it keeps all the details... unfortunately they don't show a metal version so you can actually see their claim is true.
My favourite reason was "they aren't shiny like the metal versions"
If they are looking at mobile versions of WD, I wonder if they are also looking at electronic versions of the game books? Or is that giving too much credit to them?
Electronic codices and army books? That is giving them entirely too much credit. However, someone on dakka posted a really interesting idea a while back that will never get picked up: including a code in each copy of an army book or codex that would allow one download of a digital copy, like they do in certain dvd sets.
Really, the idea of a digital white dwarf scares me. When I read that, my first thought was that they're going to make all of the hobby articles that are currently free only available to subscribers. They already require a site membership for some articles. Is it that unreasonable to think they may make the astronomicon a pay service?
Guildsman wrote:Electronic codices and army books? That is giving them entirely too much credit. However, someone on dakka posted a really interesting idea a while back that will never get picked up: including a code in each copy of an army book or codex that would allow one download of a digital copy, like they do in certain dvd sets.
Yeah, I know. I'm sorry... I didn't mean to dream that they might enter the 21st Century
Pacific wrote:In fact, the moon landing would not have been possible with the switch to finecast.
spyfunk wrote:I heard the cure for polio wasn't possible without Finecast
Nagashek wrote:Finecast saved Chuck for a 5th season.
Kid_Kyoto wrote:I heard that finecast models automatically cure any cancer they cause!
Actually, they considered sueing God for his pathetic non-heroic creation which some people might mistake for the perfect creations by GW, they just couldn't find an address yet
But maybe we shouldn't make fun of people, who have such strong feelings for themselves
Guildsman wrote:
Really, the idea of a digital white dwarf scares me. When I read that, my first thought was that they're going to make all of the hobby articles that are currently free only available to subscribers. They already require a site membership for some articles. Is it that unreasonable to think they may make the astronomicon a pay service?
Yeah, especially if you consider that the material on gw.com is at least only half-useless - as opposed to the print magazine which (in its current incarnation) is totally useless...
So, the reason for changes to marketing policy become more and more apparent. No information releases to protect WD revenue stream and to make a digital release viable - maybe even a subscriber element to the website. You can only really have a subscriber element if there is something worth paying for it.
I predict a huge increase in C&D letters to websites with rumors, models and with, you know, fun stuff in it like content.
ing 
I know.
.
they must buy it?)