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http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?catId=cat970005a&prodId=prod1830012a


Not saying I am even interested in playing the Hobit game. But, 85 USD for this, three models. Maybe the roast on the fire is worth it but I don't think so. This is an example (in my opinion) of how GW is pricing themselves out of a game.

Your thoughts.

I like this one the most. "feel like dropping a grand on a game you've never seen?"

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?catId=cat970005a&prodId=prod1840002a

No, no they have not.

The theory is they're gouging Hobbit prices knowing from experience they only have a 3 year window to sell stuff.

ANd that little Timmy will scream until mom and dad buy him the 3 troll action playset with fire and spit.

LotR and Hobbit are clearly not evergreens like Star Wars or Spiderman.

I just don't see it that way. What can you purchase from GW and still have money over for the three trolls and a camp fire? A lot. Now, if there was some awesome way the trolls sing while standing around the camp fire, I would drop my cash down right away. However, I can not see buying that, in a game that is never played. When was the last time you saw someone play the LOTR game outside of a GW store? I haven't, never. I guess I will see the hobit game played as often.

I'm curious regarding what kind of timmy wants those trolls. I mean with all the cool action figures out there, why would you want a box of plastic pieces that, once assembled, only have one pose until you break them?

I'm also curious how a kid could find out about these figures as opposed to whatever action figures I'm sure they're making.

Man, when I was a kid, if I had a choice between a plastic dinosaur I had to assemble and paint and never mess with lest I destroy it, or one of those jurassic park battle damaged dino toys, the choice would be easy.

Kids are weird these days.

O.o

Man, I never wanted to play LotR before, and this certainly does nothing to disuade me from that position.

I'm also curious who wants these things. I mean there are only a handful of LotR players who ever come into the Battle Bunker so it can't be that popular.

lol, Land Raiders are cheaper.

Woah, that is really expensive. $165NZ for the trolls, $245NZ for the starter game... I thought Dark Vengeance was bad at $210NZ...

The starter set is more expensive compared to the others, but you get a lot more in it

It would be interesting to note that most of these models would probably be bought by collectors rather than actual gamers. The LOTR IP is very strong still, and JRR Tolkein's works are lauded the world over; it won't be gamers but the die hard fans that buy into this.

$1240 for the "ultimate bundle"...

"Place your orders today and relax knowing that you're getting absolutely everything in one go."

Relax knowing once you paint everything 12 months later you might find someone who will want to play the game too! Then shamble back off to 40k.

 WarOne wrote:
It would be interesting to note that most of these models would probably be bought by collectors rather than actual gamers. The LOTR IP is very strong still, and JRR Tolkein's works are lauded the world over; it won't be gamers but the die hard fans that buy into this.

Fully agree with this. People who would not dream of buying a Space Marine or playing "that silly Warhammer game" would probably be interested in snapping this product line up simply because they want all things Tolkein.
After all, if "no-one plays LOTR" then the LOTR bubble in GW's sales must have been created by customers buying the models for collecting and collectors are more likely to pay these eye boggling prices than gamers.

I was interested in the starter until I saw the price of everything. It's sad GW thinks so much about short term gain, I know people wont buying the stuff in mass in a few years but I think they won't be buying it now either.

There are plenty of great LOTR collectibles, and those trolls are not amongst them. You'd be better off collecting the limited edition Happy Meal trolls when they come out. There might be a few people who buy 'all things Tolkein' but there won't be enough of them to significantly effect sales.

Sales were affected ten years ago.

 Bloodfrenzy187 wrote:
lol, Land Raiders are cheaper.

Land raider, Valkyrie, most scenery pieces. For a few dollars more, you can get a battalion or army box. You can get into Malifaux, all you need to play, for cheaper than the three trolls.

 Breotan wrote:
O.o

Man, I never wanted to play LotR before, and this certainly does nothing to disuade me from that position.

I'm also curious who wants these things. I mean there are only a handful of LotR players who ever come into the Battle Bunker so it can't be that popular.

I never see anyone playing Flames of War at my FLGS. No one plays it in the entire world, I suppose.

The majority of gaming is done at home, not at stores or in clubs. It's a very US-centric thing having a lot of gaming done at stores, and even then, I can't see the majority of gamers of the US being store gamers. If they were, GW would be very poor.

oh god. Obviously they just do it for the love and not to make any money. I guess you can't blame em for that.

Just wait untill you have to pay 85+ for a box of 5 space marines.

Please no one buy this. i don't want them thinking they can actually sell this crap at that price.

Hmmm I always fancied a Rohirim army (love the charge scene in RotK) and have always found the LotR rules system to be fairly neat and tidy but the last price hike made me hesitate as to the direction of the line.

The hobbit pricing is a continuation of this and spells the end to my interest in the franchise (I'll stick with legends of the high seas which uses it).

Certainly while I could understand that GW have probably paid a premium on the licence but the cost of these items is staggering.

I've got money but this is too strong for me and hints of ammore underhand ploy to Gouge on new/inexperienced gamers and a swipe at existing LotR gamers who have stuck with LotRs various iterations.

The good models are nice the evil ones look poor in comparison (this could be an indication of the film aesthetics) but style will not make me want to spend on thes line. The Goblin town terrain caught my eye but at 35 quid for a smallish section of it compares poorly with GWs usually goodish value and quality terrain peices.

Unfortunately Warner Brothers charged triple than New Line for licencing, so everything Hobbit related had to be more expensive.

Maybe 40k has my sense of scale and consumer perception all screwed up, but $85 sounds pretty good for the Trolls, assuming they're friggin' huge and comprise a significant portion of your army. I mean, if they're the equivalent of Land Raiders or Leman Russ tanks, that price seems great.

alphaecho wrote:
Sales were affected ten years ago.

Back then you didn't need to sell your left testicle to afford an army.

Hence why they would've been an easier sell than nowadays. Nobody in their right mind will buy these trolls, and I have a feeling this whole hobbit thing is going to be a horrific flop for GW in general. The prices they're setting clearly show they're either idiots, think their product is far more of a "premium" than it really is, or most likely, both.

If I could offer a little nugget of my own experience! I worked for GW years ago, during the first time release of LoTR. The only way I can describe what happened in the store during that time was as absolutely mental. Seriously, the boxed game was flying off the shelves as fast as they could be put out, and there was a constant queue in the store. It was actually a really cool experience despite it being such hard work. But, and I think this is the important point here, I would say probably 95% of those kids that came into the store to buy the box, a boxset or whatever, and never stepped foot into a GW again. Of course some of those initial purchases had some add-on sales (glue, paints etc.) but it was probably quite minimal. Therefore if the boxes did have very small profit margins (and were really loss-leaders, as I've been informed) then the actual amount GW profited from those purchases was very little. In that sense, it makes much more sense to knock up the price a bit, make some margin on the box set (which they will be at 75GBP), and also make some money on the 'golden releases' like the wizard and troll boxsets. The kinds that will get kids tugging at their parent's shirt sleeves, then get dumped on ebay in the summer when they want money for a Wii U.

I think people forget the amount of hype built up around the LoTR releases - they were massive. Undoubtedly the Hobbit is going to make a lot of money for GW, but I don't think these films have the same level of hype surrounding it and so it won't reach those heady heights again. GW will have a 2-3 year window at most, before the bubble bursts again (depending on the success of the movies), perhaps a small rise again when the DVDs are released. They know they need to make the most of it.

Yes, all Hobbit products are too expensive.
But keep in mind that these Hobbit trolls are almost Giant sized, not River Troll sized:

That makes a little more sense.

When LOTR was released the initial prices on things, especially the plastics, was very good competed to GW prices of the time. It comes as no surprise they flew off the shelves. The Miriam goblins were 24 for £12, the fellowship of nine metals was £25 as were most boxed sets. The Balrog was a bit silly at £40 but some sets like attack at weathertop were great value.

So they changed all that and quickly cranked up the prices. This Hobbyt just is just the end result of this, GW want to get the maximum profit for production and distribution costs given the short life that the Hobbit has. But look at the costs on these things. The white council is £45 for four quite simple looking human sized figures. It's a joke. When Galadriel was first released she was in a pack with Celeborn and her bowl on a plinth for around £10-12. Now a not too dissimilar figure is over £10 in a box with others and made of the gamble that is Finecast. And if these figures are to be sold to collectors I'm sure they won't want the industry equivalent of seconds being sold to them at premium prices.

Personally in thinking they have priced their stuff ahead of the curve as to what people are ultimately prepared to pay for small items, but maybe I'm wrong and people will be just flying out to buy it especially as its Christmas. If it flops though after Christmas GW will be seriously burned by a costly licence and unprofitable line unless they have the humility to drop prices. But they won't, because they are a 'premium brand' and anything contrary to this is unthinkable.

back, way back, trolls (the metal ones) were 25 dollars each
so they, like the river trolls, made them plastic and charge a little more...
would I buy them? hell no, there's enough cheap lotr trolls out there for me to make do, I might have back in the day if they were in a box like this
but for me, its still hobbits all the way

It certainly doesn't help their cause that the troll models are ugly as sin.

Still didn't see anyone at the FLGS come in and ask "do you have the hobit stuff?" The customers who play the GW games, looked at it, heard the price, and then, put it down. The local store only carries what he has to because GW has a policy that it has to be displayed/carried.

 Kroothawk wrote:
Yes, all Hobbit products are too expensive.
But keep in mind that these Hobbit trolls are almost Giant sized, not River Troll sized:

Ok i was trying to find a comparison pic for size. Thanks. Considering they are almost the size of a warhammer giant (a side by side would be good) which is $50 us then 85$ us is not too bad a price for 3. Not saying I'd buy it but I think its probably reasonable for someone interested.