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Kingsley wrote: I think we're at the cusp of a golden age, but not quite there yet.
I agree we are seeing an absolute GAK TON of games being funded via kickstarter and indiegogo and finding other ways to the market. But they have yet to actually come out or at least they haven't become fully fledged games yet. Once a whole bunch of the games being funded on kick-starter die off (they will). And we are left with several more widely known and solid games through the system natural selection AND GW finally crumbles.
I'm both orderly and rational. I value control, information, and order. I love structure and hierarchy, and will actively use whatever power or knowledge I have to maintain it. At best, I am lawful and insightful; at worst, I am bureaucratic and tyrannical.
See, that's the thing. There's people saying "I wouldn't have heard of such and such if it wasn't for the internet."
The internet is directly responsible for this golden age. We have Kickstarters, we have designers and manufacturers going directly to the consumer. It's the greatest time to be a consumer in this hobby - we can go online and buy any product for any thing we want at a discount and have it shipped any where in the world. We have giant open betatests for rules, we have feedback-driven digitally sculpted models, we have cheap plastic production. It's amazing what has happened in the last two years alone, let alone the next few.
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judgedoug wrote: See, that's the thing. There's people saying "I wouldn't have heard of such and such if it wasn't for the internet."
The internet is directly responsible for this golden age.
Exactly, the internet is a way of life now.
"So, do please come along when we're promoting something new and need photos for the facebook page or to send to our regional manager, do please engage in our gaming when we're pushing something specific hard and need to get the little kiddies drifting past to want to come in an see what all the fuss is about. But otherwise, stay the feth out, you smelly, antisocial bastards, because we're scared you are going to say something that goes against our mantra of absolute devotion to the corporate motherland and we actually perceive any of you who've been gaming more than a year to be a hostile entity as you've been exposed to the internet and 'dangerous ideas'. " - MeanGreenStompa
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2013/04/16 19:28:41
Subject: Re:Is this a golden age for tabletop games?
The amount of good scenery around as well is mind blowing.
Think this is a really important reason gaming is thriving. Buying terrain which is relatively cheap and looks good is now available, makes things way more appealing (IMHO) than books and fish tank decorations
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Sean_OBrien wrote: It is one of those things where each generation will see their own golden age happen. The first one for me was back in the 1980s. Epoxy putty had overtaken wax and solder sculpting, so you had more figure sculpting, more details and more companies. Many of the hallowed names of old were coming into full swing - Grenadier, Ral Partha, RAFM, Heartbreaker, Citadel...
You had a fun new sci-fi robots game that was going mainstream (Battletech....they even had a cartoon). TSR had put out Battlesystem rules. There were a dozen or so magazines that would get news of new releases, rules and scenarios out to the public.
The 2000s and on were also a golden age again...really starting around 2004 or 2005. Small miniature companies exploded, rules and online publishing became common place. Independent stores expanded their offerings significantly to include several retailer friendly games. A new batch of sculptors came onto the scene and have been producing things which were unimaginable in years past. Silicones and urethanes moved from industrial supply houses to the shelves of craft stores like Hobby Lobby.
I suspect another period of consolidation will happen again in 5 years or so, and then another golden age after that (perhaps that one will be driven by print on demand miniatures).
This was an interesting post. Out of curiosity, what do you mean exactly when you say consolidation?
Additionally, a lot of posters have said we are on the cusp but are not quite there yet. To those posters, what do you feel needs to happen to really usher in a golden age of tabletop gaming?
creeping-deth87 wrote: This was an interesting post. Out of curiosity, what do you mean exactly when you say consolidation?
Past experience with other "Golden Ages" is that you generally have a lot of different options, new ideas, choices and the like...some good, some bad. Eventually, the market for whatever reason will settle on a few different options that they feel are "best" whether or not it is or isn't. Those best will often buy up, buy out or otherwise consume the other segments and fragments of the market.
A good and rather clear example would be in the Golden Age of Comics (1935-1955 or so depending on who you ask). During this time period you had dozens of publishers creating new ideas and blazing new ground in style and themes. In the end though, only two really significant companies remained...Marvel and DC. Superheroes - a new idea at the time became the idea that stuck over older concepts like adventure and detective types. The big two ended up either buying up and incorporating successful characters developed by other houses or launched their own competing characters which had very similar archetypes. In a hundred years or so - historians of that sort of history will probably identify 1980-2000 or so as another "Golden Age" of comics as they had a comparable boom in popularity and variety as there was in the first ones with many of the independent publishes then being bought up again by the big two and either being issued under the flagship brand or as an imprint of one of those two.
You have had similar actions happen with almost every other "golden age" as well. In effect, the popularity creates a bubble. Those companies who situate themselves best to ride the bubble out are able to continue doing things - those who don't...well, they don't. The internet has changed some things, but there is no doubt that you will see things coalesce more and more around fewer and fewer options - even as we continue to see new games, miniatures and accessories being produced.
That isn't to say that independents will disappear - in many cases you still have the same options...just instead of coming from 6 or 7 different suppliers, they all come from one single conglomerate. Those will tend to be more cautious moving forward and less willing to take risks (so things like Steam Punk Sherlock Holmes - of which I can think of 5 different suppliers of in 28-32mm right now) will become less available, but in general - it isn't a bad thing...just normal market cycles - which depending on your perspective are either "Golden Ages" or economic bubbles.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/04/16 20:23:33
2013/04/16 20:35:49
Subject: Re:Is this a golden age for tabletop games?
I agree that we're approaching a possible golden age rather than in one.
The reason being that the current state of tabletop gaming seems akin to the tech boom in the 90's. There is a lot of excitement about new products and ideas that have recently come on the market. Kickstarter in particular seems to grab the sort excitement (and cash) as internet start-up companies did 15-20 years ago.
The question now is how will all of this stand the test of time?
These changes exist within a niche hobby and do not have the broad appeal of tech boom. While those of us who enjoy the hobby share a new level of optimism, it remains to be seen how many people will be drawn to the hobby as a result of the new products that are available. There has to be enough consumers to support all of this growth and innovation over the long term. It may well prove that a golden age can only be identified after it's already past. This due to the fact that success defines whether or not the age is golden and success needs to be measured over time.
Regardless of what happens, it's a fun time to be part of the hobby.
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creeping-deth87 wrote: This was an interesting post. Out of curiosity, what do you mean exactly when you say consolidation?
Past experience with other "Golden Ages" is that you generally have a lot of different options, new ideas, choices and the like...some good, some bad. Eventually, the market for whatever reason will settle on a few different options that they feel are "best" whether or not it is or isn't. Those best will often buy up, buy out or otherwise consume the other segments and fragments of the market.
A good and rather clear example would be in the Golden Age of Comics (1935-1955 or so depending on who you ask). During this time period you had dozens of publishers creating new ideas and blazing new ground in style and themes. In the end though, only two really significant companies remained...Marvel and DC. Superheroes - a new idea at the time became the idea that stuck over older concepts like adventure and detective types. The big two ended up either buying up and incorporating successful characters developed by other houses or launched their own competing characters which had very similar archetypes. In a hundred years or so - historians of that sort of history will probably identify 1980-2000 or so as another "Golden Age" of comics as they had a comparable boom in popularity and variety as there was in the first ones with many of the independent publishes then being bought up again by the big two and either being issued under the flagship brand or as an imprint of one of those two.
You have had similar actions happen with almost every other "golden age" as well. In effect, the popularity creates a bubble. Those companies who situate themselves best to ride the bubble out are able to continue doing things - those who don't...well, they don't. The internet has changed some things, but there is no doubt that you will see things coalesce more and more around fewer and fewer options - even as we continue to see new games, miniatures and accessories being produced.
That isn't to say that independents will disappear - in many cases you still have the same options...just instead of coming from 6 or 7 different suppliers, they all come from one single conglomerate. Those will tend to be more cautious moving forward and less willing to take risks (so things like Steam Punk Sherlock Holmes - of which I can think of 5 different suppliers of in 28-32mm right now) will become less available, but in general - it isn't a bad thing...just normal market cycles - which depending on your perspective are either "Golden Ages" or economic bubbles.
Very well articulated, thanks for clearing that up. It was a good read, and definitely food for thought. I hadn't considered drawing parallels to other industries or hobbies.
I tend to think so. I know that my local stores have really exploded in a lot of different systems. I'm mainly a Malifaux and WFB guy myself, but everything is out there.
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The wargaming hobby is definitely very healthy in NA, that is not in dispute. There have always been a lot of "smaller" games on the market, the internet is just helping many of them become better known.
If you went to a historical miniatures convention ten years ago, you would at that time have seen a large number of miniature games that people who only frequent GW stores would never have heard of. However, there can be no doubt that for table top miniature games, currently their is just an enormous range of supplies and products that eclipses what was available 10 or 15 years ago.
A good and rather clear example would be in the Golden Age of Comics (1935-1955 or so depending on who you ask). During this time period you had dozens of publishers creating new ideas and blazing new ground in style and themes. In the end though, only two really significant companies remained...Marvel and DC. Superheroes - a new idea at the time became the idea that stuck over older concepts like adventure and detective types. The big two ended up either buying up and incorporating successful characters developed by other houses or launched their own competing characters which had very similar archetypes. In a hundred years or so - historians of that sort of history will probably identify 1980-2000 or so as another "Golden Age" of comics as they had a comparable boom in popularity and variety as there was in the first ones with many of the independent publishes then being bought up again by the big two and either being issued under the flagship brand or as an imprint of one of those two.
Sorry, have to go OT on this. Don't know where you got that information, but that is absolutely incorrect. Superhero comics have existed since the 1930's and Marvel Comics didn't even form till the 60's and published their first superhero book till 1961. As for the big two, the biggest comic book company in the US at the time was Dell Comics and they didn't publish superheroes, they published all the cartoon comics from most the major studios. Uncle Scrooge being their top seller during the 50's. Superhero books had peaked in the 40's and were on the decline during the 50's.
Yes there was new ideas and new ground being blazed in the 50's, but it wasn't superhero books leading the way, crime and horror comics were becoming popular. Also, the comic industry did not consolidate in the 1950's, it collapsed. Not through any bubble or poor planning, but by hysteria. The baby boomers were entering their juvenile years and there was a rise in crime among the age group. The public was in a panic and in stepped one Fredric Wertham with his book the The Seduction of the Innocent. A piece of propaganda disguised as research that stated that comics were driving children to crime. His testimony before Congress was broadcast on television and drove public opinion. Fearing government censorship, the industry formed the Comic Code Authority. The code was made into one of the most horrific pieces of censorship you can imagine. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comics_Code_Authority After that, all that was left was superhero comics and kids comics. EC Comics which had been the main publisher of horror and crime comics threw in the towel.
After the CCA, the industry began its long slow decline. Dell at it's peak in 1953 sold over 300 million books. Last year the total number of books sold by the entire industry was just above 80 million.
As for a "boom" in popularity with comics in the 1980 to 2000. There were two distinct "booms" (black and white boom in the 80's and the Image comic boom in the 90's) but were in truth were speculative bubbles. Both were driven by the idea of comics as an investment property. All sales at that time were people buying multiple copies in the belief that the books would become worth a fortune in several years.
Sorry, have to go OT on this. Don't know where you got that information, but that is absolutely incorrect.
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Which would make what I said incorrect how?
Marvel Comics didn't even form until 1961. Correct, but it was formed from Timely Comics, which published titles like Marvel Comics, Marvel Tales, Marvel Mystery Comics. Timely was formed in 1930 something or other (late 1930s...forget the exact year). During their time under the name Timely - they published a lot of superheroes...Captain America, The Human Torch, Sub-Mariner... Timely though never really disappeared - it was just rebranded a few times. Goodman was the original founder and owned Timely through the 1950s (when it was branded as Atlas) and into the 1960s when it became Marvel. Same owner, same staff, same building, same company - only the name changed.
Dell was a major publisher that didn't survive. OK? I stated Marvel and DC were the two significant companies that remained (a few others - but those were the two significant ones). By rules of grammar - those would be the big two which I later refer to. It isn't meaning that they were the big two during the golden age.
Superhero books peaked in the 1940s. Which would be in the middle of the timeline I mentioned - so...not sure what the point is. Superheroes drove the Golden Age. The Golden Age died when the Superheroes died. That is more or less excepted for the Golden Age of Comics. Peaking in the 1940s really doesn't matter much one way or another.
Yes there were new ideas in the 1950s. Umm...again, not quite sure why that is important. The range that I gave was "depending on who you ask" Some people do extend it out to the middle of the 1950s. Some people don't think it starts until Action Comics #1, while others place it before that as setting the ground work. I tend to think the Superman issue is the correct starting point, and 1950 is the best ending point for the "Golden Age" as in 1950, comics began to be usurped by TV as a means for mass media entertainment. Distribution numbers started to fall off dramatically in the early 1950s - starting off at around 10% a year and finally something around 30% a year by 1955. So - while the 1950s might still have been in the "Golden Age" they were in a geriatric golden age on life support as opposed to a booming Golden Age like the previous 12-15 years. The CCA was only the nail in the coffin that TV had built - which would have been around 1954 or 1955...well into a rather abrupt decline. Sort of like a bubble popping.
Considering the downswing would have started when the first of the Baby Boomers was 4 or 5 and it was really all done but the crying by the time they were actually old enough to be juveniles - I would wager that they had little to do with it...especially compared to the impact of TV.
After that, all that was left was superhero and kids comics. Yep - still not seeing the absolute incorrectness here. DC, Timely (soon to become Marvel) and I think Archie - though to be honest...I never followed the "kids comics" too closely. I am sure Disney and a few of those sort of companies had a presence as well. I did say "Eventually, the market for whatever reason will settle on a few different options that they feel are "best" whether or not it is or isn't." In the case of comics, the particular reason did end up being the advent of the CCA. Golden ages tend to end because of 1) Government involvement. 2) New Technology. 3) Irrational Exuberance. 4) A combination of 1 through 3. The comic book Golden Age was done in by 1) and 2) - the threat of government involvement...but even before that happened TV had began to displace it in US households. It so happened that the two companies that were in the best position to survive were DC and Marvel (or Timely...or Atlas - whichever makes you feel happy inside). The remainder of the "kids comics" slowly fizzled out with things like Saturday morning cartoons replacing them to their target audience. Now, I can't think of one of those companies that are still around other than Archie - and that has become something different than it once was.
The 1980-2000 period was a lot more than just speculative bubbles - though in reality...there isn't much difference in the grand scheme of things, provided that that speculation fuels innovation which is the real definition of the Golden Age (well that...and all the gold...errr...money to be made). Image, Chaos, Dark Horse, Caliber, CrossGen, Malibu, Eternity, Topps, Wildstorm...just off the top of my head were all from that period. Many of their titles have become top sellers - many of the themes were picked up by the big 2. They did a lot more then just sell black and whites or get people to buy into the collectability of comics. If you watch the style of artwork in the big 2 (referring back to Marvel and DC) they actually followed suit with the upstarts more than leading the way. The little companies also broke away from the CCA and were edgier and often dealt with issues that mainstream comics wouldn't touch. In order to get in on the developments, you saw a lot of imprints under DC and Marvel - in particular Epic brought a lot of writer owned stories into Marvel readers hands and introduced an entirely new generation of readers to graphic novels by people like Moebius.
And then things consolidated again. Mostly due to 2) The Internet and 3) More product than money to buy it.
You are initially making a claim that ignores the single largest impact on the comic book industry. The CCA. To claim that Marvel and DC climbed to the top due to the "innovation" of the superhero comics if flat out wrong when the vast majority of comics were banned or were forced to have their content edited. The CCA and the congressional hearings stigmatized comics and severely restricted distribution of comics that pushed ideas. It removed a large selection of material and dumb down the rest. Of course people left because the material they were reading before was gone. There wasn't material to keep people interested as they got older. Detective stories, science fiction, and horror were so restricted there wasn't anything for people to keep their interest. It is the equivalent of the book stores suddenly having the Science Fiction, Horror, Suspense, and good chunk of the History and Art sections suddenly be pulled.
There is a big difference between a company rising to the top due to their innovation and ideas and being the last man standing when everything else collapsed around them and was banned. You claimed the prior when in truth it was the latter.
No such claim was made. I said that the market will coalesce around an idea, and that the company in the best position to capitalize on that idea will survive.
Reread it, and feel free to quote me if you find that I said otherwise. The CCA didnt come into effect until the middle period of the 1950s and by that time, distribution numbers were already plummeting due to the new technology of the time...TV. The CCA had an impact, but the Golden Age of Comics was already over before it came into play, and it was ended due to the new technology - not the CCA.
I've been gaming since '93. I think this is very much the Golden Age of Wargaming. As a gamer who is a fan of variety and choice, I've never had it so good. A few of my reasons.
1) The explosion of Plastics. As well as growth in the sci-fi and fantasy realms, it has made historical mass armies more affordable in 28mm.
2) The growith of 15mm. Though still a small'ish segment of the market, it has resulted in a real spurt of creativity in amongst independent producers, who have found the scale a profitable one.
3) Huge wealth of new rulesets to accommodate every taste, including a new crop of streamlined rulsets making it easy for gamers to explore new genres, scales and periods. PDF sites like Wargames Vault have allowed these rules to reach larger audiences without the barriers and cost of traditional printing.
4) Gamers today still have access to many of the great miniatures of the past at bargain prices, thanks to companies like EM4, Merliton and Megaminis who keep them in circulation.
5) New developments like "Bones" continue change gaming and make for a wider -and often more affordable- hobby.
All this growth hasn't made it alot easier to find a game outside the big 3 (or 5 depending on where you live) but it seems to me that there has never been so many quality choices available to the wargamer as there is now.
Two caveats I would add:
1)A "more golden" age might be on the way. "Golden" is a term often applied in retrospect. We may look back and say "it was good in the teens, but it really hit it's stride in the 20's" but until then I'm fine calling this "Golden".
2) This Golden age hasn't been as Golden for the FLGS. Many FLGSs have died in the past 10 years. However I would maintain that the hobby has carried on regardless, probably partly due to the internet. (which may also have hastened the demise of some FLGSs)
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/04/17 17:43:46
IMO things are good and there's a lot of potential, but we're not quite there yet. Two things will need to happen to have a true golden age:
1) Affordable high-end 3d printing for the average person. Costs go down (especially for trying a new game), creative control goes into the hands of the community, and we're no longer stuck with a few major companies dictating how we can play our games. This might not be a golden age for the game industry (which could collapse overnight), but one thing we can learn from PC gaming is that the community is capable of producing professional-level free content and willing to do it if the tools are available.
2) The death (and rebirth) of GW. It can't be a true golden age when the industry is dominated by a company that is doing its best to run their products into the ground. Once GW finally dies and their IP goes to better management the industry can rebuild around a strong core instead of being dominated by "I guess it's the game everyone else plays" while quality games are ignored.
Sean_OBrien wrote: The internet has changed some things, but there is no doubt that you will see things coalesce more and more around fewer and fewer options - even as we continue to see new games, miniatures and accessories being produced.
I don't think that's really going to be the case. The barriers to entry just keep getting lower and lower: digital sculpting and 3d printing (potentially using free open-source software) make it much cheaper and faster to get the first models made, anyone with a PC can put together a rulebook, and now we're even seeing the rise of kickstarter and similar methods for cutting out the investment banks and going straight to the customer. If anything we can expect to see more options as the costs to launch a new product get more and more affordable for the average person with a good idea.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/04/18 04:21:50
There is no such thing as a hobby without politics. "Leave politics at the door" is itself a political statement, an endorsement of the status quo and an attempt to silence dissenting voices.
Peregrine wrote: I don't think that's really going to be the case. The barriers to entry just keep getting lower and lower: digital sculpting and 3d printing (potentially using free open-source software) make it much cheaper and faster to get the first models made, anyone with a PC can put together a rulebook, and now we're even seeing the rise of kickstarter and similar methods for cutting out the investment banks and going straight to the customer. If anything we can expect to see more options as the costs to launch a new product get more and more affordable for the average person with a good idea.
I agree that the cost of entry is far lower than it ever has been - and in general...other things are getting lower too - but that isn't always a good thing.
If you have 100 people making and selling miniatures and rules to 5,000,000 customers...then each of those 100 people can make a living doing so. If you have 200 people making and selling miniatures and rules to 5,000,000 customers...then each of those can make a slightly worse living doing so. If you have 1000 people making and selling miniatures and rules to 5,000,000 customers - most of those people will not be able to make a living doing so. The content creators who are unable to feed themselves by sculpting, casting and writing will have to get day jobs and their projects linger, get sold off or just fade away.
The affordable printing would really only make things worse...especially in the manner you describe it. While there is a lot of content for game mods - there are few games from scratch that are professional level and free. Most the mods are driven by students who are working on demo reel material and a smaller group which have moved up into middle management and have the free time to spend on modding a game. That sort of a base would not exist for printed 3D models. If you compare an open platform like Thingiverse to a pay platform like Shapeways (just an easy example) you see a vast difference between the two...people who are paid, and people who are doing things for free. I know most the artists I know have little interest in doing a whole lot of work for free - no matter how altruistic they are feeling about the project.
GW does not need to die and be reborn, they just need to change. There is no gaurantee that if someone else bought their IP that things would be better, they would likely be similar and could be worse.
It is far more likely that GW will change in time than it will die and be reborn. The current management of GW have just about had their run at the helm
If you enjoy GW games and models and price is the main issue then the best thing to do is to adapt by buying second hand on ebay. If you have other issues with GW and enjoy their products then really the best thing to do is to quit agonizing over the fact that what they do is completely beyond your control and stop expecting them to do things that they just are not going to provide you with.
If you mostly just enjoy raging against GW I am sure that they will continue to give you ample reason. They are large enough to make a lot of blunders and I doubt they will ever retreat from the position of having the highest prices in the industry. So you see, it really is a golden age for GW haters, GW defenders and people who buy GW products but dont care so much about their corporate policy.
I am following my own advice by not buying any finecast at all and only buying armybooks for my favorite armies. I am also restraining myself from buying any models as long as I have stuff to paint and can field a legal army. I think it has probably been over two years since I last bought a GW model other than with credit for winning or placing in tournaments.
None of this stuff that GW does actually has any bearing on how you play in a casual environment and it doesnt have to have an impact on you at a tournament unless you let it.
Sean_OBrien wrote: If you have 100 people making and selling miniatures and rules to 5,000,000 customers...then each of those 100 people can make a living doing so. If you have 200 people making and selling miniatures and rules to 5,000,000 customers...then each of those can make a slightly worse living doing so. If you have 1000 people making and selling miniatures and rules to 5,000,000 customers - most of those people will not be able to make a living doing so. The content creators who are unable to feed themselves by sculpting, casting and writing will have to get day jobs and their projects linger, get sold off or just fade away.
That's based on two huge assumptions:
1) The market is a fixed size.
2) The market will be divided evenly.
In reality things will probably remain about the same for the successful companies, while we just see a larger number of companies trying to break into the market. Most of them will fail (maybe even more than today), but their existence ensures that the successful companies can't just get comfortable and lazy. With more and more people trying to take their market share they'll have to compete for business rather than just raising prices every year.
The affordable printing would really only make things worse...especially in the manner you describe it. While there is a lot of content for game mods - there are few games from scratch that are professional level and free. Most the mods are driven by students who are working on demo reel material and a smaller group which have moved up into middle management and have the free time to spend on modding a game. That sort of a base would not exist for printed 3D models.
My experience disagrees with you. Look at the 3d modeling world (which is essentially what 3d printing is), especially areas focused on a specific genre. Want an x-wing model to make that cool picture you have in mind? It's easy to find one, for free. It might not be 100% as good as the ones used in the movies, but it's going to be a pretty good model.
Or consider the 40k version: let's say I play Tau, but I hate the new Riptide kit. I'm a decent 3d artist, so I build my own and print it. And then I put it up for sale for $1 for people to print their own copies. Will I make enough to live on? Probably not. Will I make enough to justify releasing something that I was already going to make for my own use? Almost certainly, if the model is a good one.
If you compare an open platform like Thingiverse to a pay platform like Shapeways (just an easy example) you see a vast difference between the two...people who are paid, and people who are doing things for free.
Well, probably some of it has to do with the fact that Shapeways is professional-quality 3d printing and you're paying for the finished product while Thingiverse is giving you just the files to print on your own low quality 3d printer. There's no point in even thinking about distributing free high-end models when the hardware they're going to be printed on is obsolete garbage that won't support it.
I know most the artists I know have little interest in doing a whole lot of work for free - no matter how altruistic they are feeling about the project.
But you don't need the majority of artists, just the small minority (like in the game modding community) that get an awesome idea and want to see it made.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
JWhex wrote: GW does not need to die and be reborn, they just need to change. There is no gaurantee that if someone else bought their IP that things would be better, they would likely be similar and could be worse.
The problem is that GWcan't change. Their problems come directly from their current management, and there's no sign that the shareholders are going to be informed enough to do anything other than continue to stand and watch and collect their short-term profits. The only solution is for GW as it exists now to die and be sold to someone who can manage it properly.
And no, there's no guarantee. But there are plenty of companies out there that would do a better job with the IP.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/04/18 05:40:09
There is no such thing as a hobby without politics. "Leave politics at the door" is itself a political statement, an endorsement of the status quo and an attempt to silence dissenting voices.
All of the first is general agreement with what I said, the distribution and numbers are illustrative, if one person makes $100k per year, while another makes $55k a year...if both can support themselves on that, then it remains true even with unequal distribution.
Right now, the size of the market is growing more slowly than the number of options. I dont see anything which will cause a significant boost to the market on the horizon, so even if you were to fudge those numbers up...the end result gets to be the same - supply exceeds demand. Prices can drop some to counter that, but there is a limit as to how low they can go and remain profitable.
The printed files are a different issue. You can upload your own files to a variety of services like Shapeways (Shapeways even provides for people to upload free files that others can download and use themselves). People dont though. You can use services like Ponoko and do much the same. Several community centers have maker shops that either have in house, or easy access to high end printers which would allow printing at the same level of detail as Shapeways. People dont do it.
While you dont need a majority, you do need a reason. The game modding community has a reason...to expand their demo reels in order to get a job...as part of a class project for an art course. That same impetus wont be present with 3D printing in the manner you are describing.
You may see it on the fringes, but it is unlikely to have anymore impact on the core industry than you see game mods impacting video game sales (which even as common as it seems, is on the fringes of that industry as well).
Golden Age? No... that was in the 80's and early 90's before technology made video games a viable visually pleasing alternative to tabletop miniatures. For those without the talent or inclination to paint them, video games gives them a visually acceptable alternative that they otherwise wouldn't have had during the text based 80's and pre-VGA early 90's. Tabletop gaming in all its forms is a greying hobby. There was an interesting joke I saw on the theminiaturespage where someone commented that when he joined his local historical minis gaming club in the 70's he was one of the youngest members... Thirty years later, he still is. Outside of the top three games (WHFB, 40k, WM), it's mainly an older post 30 crowd that I see playing who grew up or were introduced during that "golden age". There are obvious exceptions and not all gamers are 30+ but the median age I've noticed over my personal 20 years of gaming is steadily creeping up like old man pants.
Is there a resurgence in part due to increased visability via Kickstarter? That I would say is true. A lot more variety in both genres, scales, and rules exist now compared with the rest of the millennium. The mid to late 90's had a lot of startups that experienced (at least temporary) success and that variety was lacking somewhat for the first decade of this millennium (with WM being the obvious exception). Malifaux and Infinity picked up some of the slack lost during the 90's and now we have kickstarters picking up even more business. The only question is whether these games will endure or if they will just be flashes in the pan. I made a vow to only have one unplayed game at a time whose minis I can't repurpose and that game for me is currently Heavy Gear (no local players despite my best efforts). A game with cool minis and good rules but no opponents is less useful than a clunky ruleset with crappy figs but a big community. I fear that a lot of the high profile kickstarters will eventually fall into the former category.
" - Rick Priestley "I've decided that I'd rather not have you as a member of TMP." - Editor, The Miniatures Page "I'd rather put my testicles through a mangle than spend any time gaming with you." - Richard, TooFatLardies "We need a Doug Craig in every store." - Warlord Games "Thank you for being here, Judge Doug!" - Adam Troke 
3000
4000 Deamons - Mainly a fantasy army now.
