RB wrote:I believe it was stated that 50% of all GW sales are marines.
Thing is, that 50% doesn't just cover Codex Marines - it also covers the other chapters with their own Codices (ie. Daemonhunters, Dark Angels, Blood Angels, Black Templars and Space Wolves, assuming I haven't missed any) which means that those sales are spread across roughly 30-40% of the
40K armies range. Still a very significant amount, but not so much that it should just be assumed Space Marines are the most popular.
That said, I agree with Space Marines. If you ask someone what army they play, and there army is an Iyanden army, they'll say they play Eldar and then clarify. If someone plays Hive Fleet Leviathan, they'll say they play Tyranids. If someone plays Goffs, they'll say they play Orks. Heck, even a Deathwing player is likely as not to say Dark Angels.
However, if someone plays Imperial Fists, do you think they'll say Space Marines then clarify? What about Ultramarines or White Scars? These are all drawn from the same Codex, but because their chapter identity is so ingrained, it's almost like "Codex Marines" consists of three or four subfactions as well as just plain old Marines. So I would expect them to consist of three to five times as many armies overall as any other army out there.