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So i havn't played table top games in a while but I was wondering.

Now that Dawn of War and all it's expansions are out and Dawn of War II is coming out (warhammer 40k)

and Warhammer Mark of Chaos and Warhammer Online are out (warhammer fantasy)

I was wondering if you felt this either increased or decreased the popularity of the games?

I realize the video games don't have the artistic painting, gluing, assembling, and 8 hour battles with friends as you discuss random useless topics

Still, 40k seems very popular even tho Dawn of War was a popular game.

Wondering if warhammer online will have any affect or none at all on warhammer fantasy popularity.

I'm thinking the games make them more visible, but not necessarily
more popular. So now I can talk about Warhammer with some of my video
gaming friends and they don't automatically assume I'm talking about 40k

I think they do help, in my case the origional DOW got me back into the hobby after a long break. While people already into table top are unlikely to leave the hobby for the game, plenty of people will be attracted to the games workshop brand by the games...

I mean we have some guys who play historical 1/72 with us who gained a interest in it after playing company of heroes.

The games might convince some people to try the boardgame, or have their parents buy them minis

Hi folks.
I belive it tends to be a bit of a 2 edged sword.

Back when I started gaming , the ONLY way to experiance WH or 40K environment was on a games table with minatures.
A am sure the PC/console games bring these worlds to a wider audience.

However most electronic gamers dont cross over to minatures gaming.
'Why spend £300 on bits of plastic and paint and books, when I could get 5 brand new games and a new graphics card ?'
Kind of argument.

And I am sure a few potential table top gamers,might not get there due to having 'done that already ' on the PC/console .

"Yes."

Dawn of War went a long way towards getting Navy guys I know into the game. If it was not for that they would have probably played RTS, etc, etc. MMOs.

The big appeal of the games is the background, once people get into it. People may not realize how cool Eldar are, for example nor Orks nor even the SpaSe MarienZ.

Yes.

I got started back in the old Apple IIe days with a game called Autoduel, which was a port of the board/wargame CarWars. I was so impressed with it, that I just had to get a copy of the original game, which started me down this dark and twisted path. Curse you SJGames, and Curse you Origins, and a Double Curse upon Autoduel!!!!

Well I know I'll be buying Blood Bowl, that's for sure.
Talisman is headed for XBLA too, via Capcom (for those of you who remember/are aware of Talisman). The 4th edition board game is out too.

I think the tabletop and video games are really far removed from one another and I like it that way.
It's been discussed before too; if a 40k video game resembles 40k too much, many people may stop playing the physical hobby, whcih is a shame in one way, and a finacial mistake in another.

But in asnwer to the question, I think YES, the video games can improve the popularity, by introducing a board game you may never have played, or by furthering your love of the hobby by expanding the fluff or purely by letting you command some SMs on the bus (in terms of the pretty laudable Squad Command on the DS)!

Video games and tabletop games are two seperate hobbies. They may share their background fluff, and many people may enjoy both activities. But the fact remains that they are seperate hobbies, and many people will continue to enjoy one without giving a hoot about the other.

Increasing brand awareness in a positive way is always a good thing however.

DOW was really well done (aside from bolter firing... far too dakka dakka) and complemented table top 40K quite nicely. You can't deny it was fun watching the game bought to life. It's probably the closest we'll get to a 40K film for the forseeable future.

DOW took 40k from "what the hell is this?" to "Whoa, this is DOW, I know this. Cool. Tell me more about the little guys. Is it a game?"

Absolutely increased the popularity, and increased sales of the 40k game and player base in my two game shops.

Yes.

The guy at best buy actually knew what warhammer tabletop stuff was. I was shocked!

(Shocked because he knew of the minis, but also because he knew anything, working at best buy in a blue shirt, LOL, J/K)

I got hooked by the videogame and so did two of my friends – it works for the greater good :S

I wonder how many moved the other way? I.e. discovered they enjoyed computer gaming because of DOW?

I got into the tabletop game after Dawn of War, but I started playing Tau so I doubt anyone will see that as a good thing.

TunnelDweller wrote:So i havn't played table top games in a while but I was wondering.

Now that Dawn of War and all it's expansions are out and Dawn of War II is coming out (warhammer 40k)

and Warhammer Mark of Chaos and Warhammer Online are out (warhammer fantasy)

I was wondering if you felt this either increased or decreased the popularity of the games?

I realize the video games don't have the artistic painting, gluing, assembling, and 8 hour battles with friends as you discuss random useless topics

Still, 40k seems very popular even tho Dawn of War was a popular game.

Wondering if warhammer online will have any affect or none at all on warhammer fantasy popularity.

Do you remember G.I. Joe?

Cartoon made for the sales pitch of the toy, then the toy for the sales pitch of the cartoon, then eventually both for the purchase of the collector?

Same thing. Eventually we get to look forward to " Classic versions, Collectors versions, Anniversery editions, etc."

Basic !@#$ to drive the sales. after awhile, it isn't about the popularity of the game and its more about the sales of trite.

I've found that while games like DoW have let more people know about the world of tabletop gaming and become interested in it, it also makes existing Warhammer players very very lazy. I've noticed since DoW came out, a lot of people I know simply "don't have time for the hobby" anymore, and they settle for a half-assed RTS that doesn't do the hobby justice, simply because it has the same setting.

Also note that I don't think Warhammer Online will actually bring anyone new into the hobby, as I'm fairly sure that absolutely no one who has never played or at least had some fledgling interest in Warhammer would ever play an MMO based in the Warhammer world. Ever. MMO's are a niche enough market as it is (With the exception of the terrible WoW).

One thing to notice in this thread is the difference in responses between the British posters and the rest of us. We do not have Games Workshop stores on every street corner here.

True Dat ^

And yah, I know three friends of mine got into because of the DOW games.

The one big advantage that wargames has over video games
is true interaction between people.Yes you can argue
that you are communicating over the internet,but
speaking to people face to face will always be more
valuable to the individual.Do we really want to go
down the route where everyone sits everyday for hours
staring at a monitor?Yes video games have their place,
But life is more important!So as Rush say,get out there
and roll the bones!

Also the physicality and emotional investment of making your own army and terrain, rather than just downloading a file.

Osbad wrote:I wonder how many moved the other way? I.e. discovered they enjoyed computer gaming because of DOW?

If you like computer gaming, you already know it.

Dawn of War got me into the books, and the books got me into the game. Having a diversified approach is never a bad thing, and with Relic doing an amazing job on the DOW line people should stay involved while increasing engagement with new viewers.

Warhammer Online probably won't do a whole lot for tabletop gaming because the time commitment needed to "suceed" in an MMO is so great.

Mark of Chaos was so incredibly bad that people would probably avoid Warhammer Fantasy, just on the fear that it bore a passing resemblance to the game.

Tacobake wrote:One thing to notice in this thread is the difference in responses between the British posters and the rest of us. We do not have Games Workshop stores on every street corner here.

Not quite that extreme, but after a massive push by GW in the last decade or so, there is one in practically every major town and city now. You have to look for them though, as a "specialist" shop they're normally tucked away down side streets to avoid paying big leaseholds. If I ever want to go to a GW in a different town, I have to go to a newsagent, find White Dwarf, look up the address of the GW Store, find a map of the city centre and then work out where the shop is.

I think DoW/MoC are part a conscious decision by GW to try and bring Fantasy/40K to a wider audience. Given that GW computer games have been kicking around for a while (anyone remember PC versions of Heroquest and Space Hulk?), it was probably a conscious decision made sometime ago, except it's taken a game of DoW's quality for the strategy to finally work.

Visibility always moves related products. If warhammer online was going to draw people away from the hobby it would have to get those same people away from WoW first.

Widening the IP is a good way for GW to marginalize its main business and bring in added revenue to account for more troubled periods in its miniatures market. Diversity is always good, and visibility is even better for an intellectual property based company like GW.