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I was there the other day and noticed it was gone. Are they closeing it, moveing it or remodeling it?

Not sure, but I thought it had closed a while ago. I'm over on the Marietta side, so I don't go to Mall of GA very much, so I might be mistaken.

From what I've heard around the FLGS it's closed.

I live near the Mall but seldom do I go there, I went to see a movie the other day, noticed it was gone. Oh well, I know the guys that run Pheonix games just down the street, they are great guys and I hope the closure helps their business. The economy is pretty depressed in Georgia, and in this area in particular, so I guess it isn't surpriseing, I noticed quite a few vacant storefronts in the mall. I just hope the hobby dosn't disapear in this economy. I know my gameing budget is diminished, I imagine others are as well.

they closed just after Christmas so I heard. Its a pity, but the store was too small to ever have enough gaming or anything going on, hopefully it helps us FLGS out a bit

So just how many GW's south of the Mason Dixie closed in the last year? I know the two nearest to me: Stony Point, Richmond and Potomac Mills, Dale City both upped and died. Now this Mall of Georgia one. Seems to be a pattern of GW closing retail branches. It sucks from a gaming perspective for me (My GW was my FLGS) but I imagine it's in response to the vast majority of savvy consumers purchasing from places like Maelstrom or WarStore and getting a sane price thanks to the discounts.

They are getting rid of the South's GW stores.

For all you Georgia gamers who used to go to Mall of Georgia GW I highly highly recommend you to start going to Phoenix Games. It's only a mile or so away from the mall so it's not far at all.

It's where I go and the guys there are great, they have plenty of miniature gaming (GW and non-GW) and events. Their playing space is large with a bunch of well done tables and terrain, clean as well.

Hopefully I'll have my Dark Elf army painted soon so I can go play on tuesdays

Not just the south, us yankee's (michigan) lost 2 last month

Razzle wrote:They are getting rid of the South's GW stores.

For all you Georgia gamers who used to go to Mall of Georgia GW I highly highly recommend you to start going to Phoenix Games. It's only a mile or so away from the mall so it's not far at all.

It's where I go and the guys there are great, they have plenty of miniature gaming (GW and non-GW) and events. Their playing space is large with a bunch of well done tables and terrain, clean as well.

Hopefully I'll have my Dark Elf army painted soon so I can go play on tuesdays

luckily for Atlanta natives theres alot of good FLGS around the metro area

chaplaingrabthar wrote:It sucks from a gaming perspective for me (My GW was my FLGS)

Your GW was friendly? You mean there weren't three or four staff members in your face the minute you walked in, trying to push box sets on you and interrupting your game every five minutes to tell you about the new releases?

chaplaingrabthar wrote:but I imagine it's in response to the vast majority of savvy consumers purchasing from places like Maelstrom or WarStore and getting a sane price thanks to the discounts.

Oh sure, blame the customers. Personally I'd blame GW for charging insane prices for plastic models in the first place, and for training their staff members as if they were your stereotypical high-pressure car salesmen who won't take "no" for an answer, and making their stores a very uncomfortable environment to be in while they're robbing you blind.

But I never actually got to see a GW store in person, the only one in my state, the St. Louis bunker, went under a while ago. And I'm not sure why since I heard it was doing well.

I know I used to go to The War Room when I was stationed down in Atlanta. It was up in Indian Crossing off of Beaver Ruin Rd. Heard they moved though.

Last time I was in Georgia I stopped by a game store called Hobbytown USA, northwest of the city. Looked kinda cool.

Hobbytown is a major chain I think, there's one around here somewhere too.

Pheonix games is great, and they are right down the street, and I am gonna hafta agree with sidstyler on this one: GW is way overpriced these days. Consider the condition of the rest of the economy and notice how much the prices of most consumer products has come down. ( I'm not talking about food or gas, they always go up) Next time youre out, look at all the sales going on at retail stores for everything from clothing, toys, electronics, and even cars. Now consider that GW hasn't lowered their prices in any meaningful way since... well, since EVER! No sales, no customer incentives, no rebates no nothing. If you consider that little plastic men are not essential to our survival in any way, then why do they keep comeing out with box sets that essentialy charge us more than a dollar per figure? Or blister packs that contain one, metal model for fifteen dollars? They will eventualy collapse if they don't start makeing some smarter decisions, imho.

In their last year's corporate report GW said they plan to move out of indoor mall space and move into strip malls.

There's no GW store in New England anymore either.

Sidstyler wrote:

chaplaingrabthar wrote:It sucks from a gaming perspective for me (My GW was my FLGS)

Your GW was friendly? You mean there weren't three or four staff members in your face the minute you walked in, trying to push box sets on you and interrupting your game every five minutes to tell you about the new releases?

chaplaingrabthar wrote:but I imagine it's in response to the vast majority of savvy consumers purchasing from places like Maelstrom or WarStore and getting a sane price thanks to the discounts.

Oh sure, blame the customers. Personally I'd blame GW for charging insane prices for plastic models in the first place, and for training their staff members as if they were your stereotypical high-pressure car salesmen who won't take "no" for an answer, and making their stores a very uncomfortable environment to be in while they're robbing you blind.

But I never actually got to see a GW store in person, the only one in my state, the St. Louis bunker, went under a while ago. And I'm not sure why since I heard it was doing well.

Wait. What? You take the time to trash talk the store and the people who work there, then end by saying you have never been to a store. I don't think you should be able to complain about the store and employees if you have never actually set foot in a store.

I used to shop at the store back when GW stocked a lot of blister packs. I never found any online store where I could just buy 1 or 2 blisters and not end up paying more due to shipping. Yes, the employees did hit you up with new releases and ask about your army, but I never felt any pressure to buy anything. Most of them were pretty good about backing off once they saw you come in a few times. I was usually able to go in and look around with only a greeting or friendly how you doing from the staff. I don't care for GW Corp or they insane pricing strategies, but it sucks to hear about more people loosing their jobs. I wish the GW MoG employees best of luck.

EDIT: Phoenix Games is a great store. Plenty of room to play and friendly staff. They carry a full line of WM, Hordes, 40K, WFB, and FoW. My only complaint is that they don't carry board games (Fantasy Flight, Mayfair, Dow, etc). I know you can by them online, but I usually buy board games after seeing them in the store and checking them out.

Nyhil wrote:Last time I was in Georgia I stopped by a game store called Hobbytown USA, northwest of the city. Looked kinda cool.

Hobbytown USA in Kennesaw,GA. is where I get most of my minis from,they have a nice sized gaming area (though I havn't had time to play there) and the (gaming) staff are all very cool.
Never botherd to go to the GW store,a bit to far to drive considering I'd heard nothing good about it.

I'll have to check out Giga-Bites though.

Sidstyler wrote:

chaplaingrabthar wrote:It sucks from a gaming perspective for me (My GW was my FLGS)

Your GW was friendly? You mean there weren't three or four staff members in your face the minute you walked in, trying to push box sets on you and interrupting your game every five minutes to tell you about the new releases?

Well, yeah. After the first couple of visits, they sgot to know me and stopped bugging me. And it was almost never more than one staff member.

Sidstyler wrote:But I never actually got to see a GW store in person, the only one in my state, the St. Louis bunker, went under a while ago. And I'm not sure why since I heard it was doing well.

Then how the hell do you get to make such a generalised accusation as the one above?

Just an aside......you know when you shop from the Warstore etc, you not only hurt GW stores, but also the FLGS you shop out. Most brick and mortar stores can't discount, and have higher operating costs then online stores. I'm not just talking GW but all games.

I worked a FLGS that had an awesome Mechwarrior tourney night.....then the owner realized everyone was buying their Mechs on discount elsewhere. So he quashed almost all events, except the ones where you bought the box and played with what you got, so you had to buy it from him.

I'm still amazed that people think GW is overpriced. If you compare all of the sci-fi fantasy games out there, and most model kits out there, GW is either comparable or even cheaper. Character models is where they really get you.

FITZZ wrote:

Nyhil wrote:
I'll have to check out Giga-Bites though.

hey man, come on by any time your free, we're always looking for more gamers!

FITZZ wrote: I'll have to check out Giga-Bites though.

Please do! There is a good bunch of locals that play there. Not just GW games but Firestorm Armada, Uncharted Seas, Warmachine, and board games too.

Not to mention GB makes awesome sandwiches and (non-alcoholic) drinks.

General Hobbs wrote:Just an aside......you know when you shop from the Warstore etc, you not only hurt GW stores, but also the FLGS you shop out. Most brick and mortar stores can't discount, and have higher operating costs then online stores. I'm not just talking GW but all games.

I used to buy from discounter houses when I didn't have a regular hangout. Why pay more?

Now that I have settled into a regular FLGS it's a different story. I want to continue to have a place to go so I support the store by making purchases there. The FLGS depends on the margin to keep the lights on and the doors open. You can't just look at it as JUST the price of the models. You're paying for the tables, the heat, the lights, the roof and so on.

As for hurting GW by buying at a discount... I'm going to have to disagree with you there. The tiered distribution model is in place for a reason. If GW sells to a discounter like the Warstore or Maelstrom it doesn't charge retail, it charges wholesale. If you buy from a discounter GW doesn't have to track the discounter's stock, fill the discounter's orders, pack the boxes, answer the discounters phones, etc. The retail price you pay at a GW store is going into GW pockets, not someone else. They have a much wider profit margin at their retail stores and it all goes into the same pot.

General Hobbs wrote:
Just an aside......you know when you shop from the Warstore etc, you not only hurt GW stores, but also the FLGS you shop out. Most brick and mortar stores can't discount, and have higher operating costs then online stores. I'm not just talking GW but all games.

I honestly think that the LGS is something that's outlived its usefulness. It's an exceedingly inefficient way to pay for space to play at (Why attach the cost to play to the figure you buy versus paying for it directly?) and has the inefficiency of someone skimming profit off to try to live on. A club collecting due and renting space is usually a better choice, due to the removal of these two costs.

The club I'm a member of in Western MD is pretty reasonably priced compared to playing in a shop ($10 a month) and we're 100% independent of any hobby business. This makes huge sense if you are either a player who buys large amounts of stuff (and thus can do much better going with either the second hand or internet markets) or if you don't buy much at all (because it gives you a place to play with your old/alt figure armies) and lets you opt out of all the small town business stupidity that happens in a lot of places. I have a pretty big collection of figures, so I don't have to feel bad about not paying rent to the place I play anymore. If most shop owners would take $5-10 to play at their shop, and layed off airing disgusting views in public, I'd be a lot more willing to deal with LGSs again. Since I don't see that happening, I figure being the member of a club is a much better setup.

Ray

The LGS serves a vital need....recruitment. Without stores out there getting people to play games, join in a gaming community, then gaming itself will wither and die. There needs to be a place for people to be introduced to gaming.

You make it sound as if it is a sin making money. Most people open game stores up because they love gaming, and want there to be a place for people to game. They usually sell at MSRP, or a small discount if they can afford to. How it that skimming off profit? What do you do for living? Maybe you should go to your boss and say, I need X for housing, Y for food, and Z for these essential living expenses, so whatever else I'm making is profit, you should cut my salary.

What game club do you play in? I've only heard of one in Western Maryland....

i agree with above. I own my on LGS (the one in my sig) and I sell GW at MSRP, and not a penny above. I do this because I love the hobby, and I love seeing people get into it. Sure I need to pay bills as well, but I make sure all my friends and custoemrs are well looked after in a comfortable, welcoming enviroment. My store does not charge AT ALL to play at, we rely on the loyalty of our customer base to help us, which is why it hurts so much to have people go shop online and then complain about prices etc. We use any profits to keep the store well maintained, terrain nice and updated, for prize support in our monthly events etc

LGS are important to show people the hobby, teach new people how to play, help discuss what army is right for you, help you learn to paint and model, hold important events and tournaments and more. And by not supporting them, you only hurt the hobby more and limit yourself in new gamers and experiences

Sergeant Horse wrote:

Razzle wrote:They are getting rid of the South's GW stores.

For all you Georgia gamers who used to go to Mall of Georgia GW I highly highly recommend you to start going to Phoenix Games. It's only a mile or so away from the mall so it's not far at all.

It's where I go and the guys there are great, they have plenty of miniature gaming (GW and non-GW) and events. Their playing space is large with a bunch of well done tables and terrain, clean as well.

Hopefully I'll have my Dark Elf army painted soon so I can go play on tuesdays

luckily for Atlanta natives theres alot of good FLGS around the metro area

When i lived in the south atlanta/ Stockbridge area, there were no FLGS, mabe thats changed in 4 years though.

brother_zach wrote:

Sergeant Horse wrote:

Razzle wrote:They are getting rid of the South's GW stores.

For all you Georgia gamers who used to go to Mall of Georgia GW I highly highly recommend you to start going to Phoenix Games. It's only a mile or so away from the mall so it's not far at all.

It's where I go and the guys there are great, they have plenty of miniature gaming (GW and non-GW) and events. Their playing space is large with a bunch of well done tables and terrain, clean as well.

Hopefully I'll have my Dark Elf army painted soon so I can go play on tuesdays

luckily for Atlanta natives theres alot of good FLGS around the metro area

When i lived in the south atlanta/ Stockbridge area, there were no FLGS, mabe thats changed in 4 years though.

theres a good few now,

Giga-Bites Cafe - Marietta

Tower Games - Lawrenceville

Pheonix Games - Buford

Gaming Pit - Duluth

Treefort Games - Fayetteville,

all pretty good places too, been to a few for tournaments, Atlanta is a competitive area now

Wait. What? You take the time to trash talk the store and the people who work there, then end by saying you have never been to a store. I don't think you should be able to complain about the store and employees if you have never actually set foot in a store.

Luckily for me, what you think doesn't really matter one damn bit.

This is just proof of what kind of damage word of mouth can do. I haven't been in a GW store, I don't even really have the option anymore, but thanks to the magic of the internet I've learned from countless others what the experience is like overall and now I don't ever want to set foot in one.

I don't really see what the problem is here. Oh yeah, maybe this store wasn't like that, but telling me I'm not allowed to think or feel the way I do about the GW store in general is what seems wrong here. Are you telling me your opinion is the only one that matters? Am I not allowed to form my own opinion on anything unless I've experienced it myself first?

"You can't say that shoving a hot poker into your balls hurts because you've never done it, donkey-cave! Don't knock it 'til you've tried it!"

...

Then how the hell do you get to make such a generalised accusation as theone above?

Yeah, what a horrible thing I did...making a judgment based on the overwhelming amount of evidence presented to me. If GW doesn't want that to be their reputation then they should work to change it, instead of forcing the majority of their employees to put on the pressure and make going to their stores a nightmare for a customer, lest they lose their jobs.

How much do you want to bet no one would be giving me this kind of gak if I had something like "I hear Phoenix Games is a great store, I've never been there but I'd like to be!"? It's the same exact thing, I've never been there so I obviously wouldn't know the first thing about it, right? But the fact that no one has yet to post a single negative comment about them is making me think "Hey, sounds like a great store."

It's okay to say all the good things you want about a store you've never been to based on the positive comments it's gotten, but god help you if you hear an overwhelming amount of negatives and take that to mean "Jeez, it must be a really gakky store then!"

Sidstyler wrote:

chaplaingrabthar wrote:It sucks from a gaming perspective for me (My GW was my FLGS)

Your GW was friendly? You mean there weren't three or four staff members in your face the minute you walked in, trying to push box sets on you and interrupting your game every five minutes to tell you about the new releases?

chaplaingrabthar wrote:but I imagine it's in response to the vast majority of savvy consumers purchasing from places like Maelstrom or WarStore and getting a sane price thanks to the discounts.

Oh sure, blame the customers. Personally I'd blame GW for charging insane prices for plastic models in the first place, and for training their staff members as if they were your stereotypical high-pressure car salesmen who won't take "no" for an answer, and making their stores a very uncomfortable environment to be in while they're robbing you blind.

But I never actually got to see a GW store in person, the only one in my state, the St. Louis bunker, went under a while ago. And I'm not sure why since I heard it was doing well.

I find it amazing that anyone can be so negative about a subject they later admit to having no first hand knowledge of. If you've never been to a GW store in person, then all the complaints your voicing are spam you're repeating from other sources. Truly amazing.)

Ya I heard bout this living in the nieghborhood behind my FLGS I've only been to the Mall of Georgia once. But it was a nice little shop cool to look around and see the armies and what not.

FLGS's are how the whole industry got it's push(that is until Al Gore invented the internet!) and companies like thewarstore.com have actual shop's. In fact it is a prereq with GW and a number of other major companies that you have a store front and not just a internet business. You have to take pics, and do all sorts of junk to prove it otherwise they won't sell to you, but of coarse a lot of people don't see that. Thewarstore.com has a home front(though I have never been but plan to on a trip that way soon) and for their community is a FLGS they just branched out early onto the internet. No harm no foul, and when I owned my store in Oregon we told customers "we have no problem giving youinternet discount, but youwill get internet service!" When they would ask for that little extra I would say please hold, and walk off and then come back and say "sorry screw you!" Though this wasn't the best coarse people got the idea, and if they got a large order I would toss them a discount.

The thing about GW shops is that it is corp. run. They are the ones who say "ok this isn't making as much as we would like so lets close it and reopen elsewhere". That is their choice and can't blame them. Heck at least they have the funding to do so where as a lot of FLGS can't. All I'm saying is I support my LGS, but not as much as I do the warstore. Why well because their customer service sucks. If you tell me you will order something and then you don't and I come in the day after it was suppossed to be there and you say no we didn't order that. Well then that is a big neg inmy book, and when it's consistent well to bad so sad.....(Goodbye Whiz).