Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

FifteenHours wrote:Honestly, I went to a new gaming store this weekend that opened up recently selling Infinity and Warmachine stuff. I found the models to be barely any cheaper than Games Workshop 40k models.

and how many points worth of models do you need for a decent game? 40k Requires quite a bit more points, which translates into quite a bit more purchases. There is also a cost-to-effect ratio... Lets take for instance that the WH40k starter set does not give you enough to actually have a legally playable army, both players still need to buy one more squad of troops. Warmachine starter set? Playable army straight off the bat. L61.50 for 40k starter + 2 boxes and codices for 40k, or L62.95 + WM rulebook? Comparing models is not the end all be all. It's the fact that you need five and a half squads of guardsmen to have a decent single infantry choice for IG... It's L23.00 for a squad of tac marines, and about L23.70 for a maxed out squad of winterguard.... yeah, them privateer press models are so much more expensive, they practically ruin you financially.

Let's face it, while you can play a 500 point game of 40k, it is not the type of game 40k has become. Now with the summer of fliers, after the summer of apocalypse.... this game is only going in one direction, and it is big.

Also, most non-gaming model kits around are not much cheaper than Games Workshop models. e.g an Airfix type of tank will cost £15.00-20.00 while a GW Chimera will cost 20 quid and a LRBT will cost £30.00 but are usually superior models.

you honestly think GW tanks are superior in quality? GW tanks comprise of 5, maybe 6, pieces of *maybe* straight plastic. I've checked out the Airfix, and apart from horrendous pricing because of the branding and packaging, i don't see your gripe. If we are talking models, then Tamiya's stuff is cheaper time and again than GW's stuff, and a much better quality. The other thing you have to take into account when checking the pricing is the quantity of detail that goes into scale models. The undercarriage assembly, engine, gun... the list goes on, there's tons more parts in a scale model kit than there are in a GW kit, which translates to more detail. The GW tanks are all four-piece bricks with limited detail or shaping to them. I could go into detail about the disastrous design principle as military vehicles, but this is irrelevant for this track of discussion.

Of course the only thing is that most 40k armies you need many many times more models that gaming systems such as Infinity (unless you play GK of course). But this is about the only issue and if you want small Infinity sized games then you can equally play 500-750 point 40k games for the same price with some 40k armies.

Key word here is some not all, and even then, the armies available to you with the kind of budget we are talking of are entirely non-competitive. A space marine army maxed out at 500 points consists of two tac squads and a captain. The AOBR kit at L61.50 + tac squad at L23.00 makes a total of L84.50, and you're still without a codex. WM with rulebook runs you L80.95.... I really don't understand where you are getting your numbers from.

I admit I used to be "bitching at GW prices" all the time, but honestly looking at competing gaming systems and models they aren't all that bad. Sure, some things are not acceptable; like finecast is poor in my opinion for the price and the price of paints is not good value for money, with Vallejo being cheaper and of equal quality imo.

so if GW prices are worse all around, and the quality is worse all around, then, logically speaking, the gripe is justified, because GW keeps feeding the market it's excrement telling everyone it's gourmet chocloate. The fact is that since GW opened up the market, other's have entered after it, and their quality of product is better, more affordable and better planned out. Further, GW's systems are utterly and entirely unbalanced. GW will always have a following comprised entirely of whiners because it advertises to kids, punts out the old loyal diehards and mistreats them as customers, and makes it hard for kids to keep playing by pushing the prices up so high.

Also the way they have treated fanfilms and fiction in the past has been questionable. So I still have a lot of criticism and scrutiny for them.

this is not at issue here. so i'm not touching this, though, suffice it to say, there's a story behind it, and everything in this case makes sense.

I think the fact so many people crying about the high prices had made me look into it more objectively and found out that actually the crying is often not justifiable.

except that the consumer market is waking up, and getting very irate at the fact that there are so many other games, manufacturers and systems out there which match or exceed GW for price and quality. The consumers are irate with the fact that while they would like to stay with GW, GW's behavior, pricing or antics are not matched by any other company on the market, which is in effect pushing the customer base flying to other companies.

FifteenHours wrote:

Of course the only thing is that most 40k armies you need many many times more models that gaming systems such as Infinity (unless you play GK of course). But this is about the only issue and if you want small Infinity sized games then you can equally play 500-750 point 40k games for the same price with some 40k armies.

Argh, feth me, I should really just have this friggin saved in a word file every time someone brings up this argument:

GW games aren't designed or balanced around such small match ups. It's designed and balanced around ~1500 point armies. If you play the games the way they're designed, using the models created for the games, Games Workshop is ultimately more expensive. The vast majority of people play the games the way they're "intended" to be played in the game's rulebooks. Whenever I go into any shop, it's almost always 1500+ pt games, with the very occasional 1000 pointer. No one plays 500 point games unless they're working on a new army. I haven't played Infinity, but I have to imagine, that in terms of tactical depth and engaging gameplay, a 500 point game of 40K is not going to even approach Infinity (no pun intended). The game is neither interesting nor balanced at that level. I mean, at 500 points, using the Force Organization chart, match ups like, say, Necrons vs. IG are going to be unbelievably one-sided.

But no, you don't have to play big games of 40K. But using this logic, I don't "have" to play 40K with GW minis. I could buy a bunch of goddamned green army men by the truckload and play with those. I can get 28mm scale World War II tanks from Warlord Games for $40 USD, as opposed to the $57.75 GW is asking for any of their tanks.

Ultimately, I look at it this way:
With GW, I have to spend around $500 to play a satisfying game, buying at retail.
With PP, I have to pay half that or less buying at retail. With other games like Infinity and Malifaux, it's even less.

If you just want to have lots and lots of miniatures, then GW is certainly one of the better options. But I don't really give a gak about having a massive pile of little plastic/resin/metal army men. I want to play games. Therefore, I get far more bang for my buck from PP, Wyrd, Corvus Beli, etc. Everyone I've talked to locally feels the same, and frankly, I see fewer and fewer people playing Warhammer 40K as time goes on. I can't even remember the last time I saw someone playing WHFB. Obviously there is a price-to-miniatures ratio that can turn me away from a game; I'm not gonna spend $300 for ten 28-30mm scale humans, no matter how awesome the game is, for example. PP hasn't hit that ratio yet. Frankly, I have no problem with the pricing of GW's kits, individually. $37.50 for 10 Marines is fine. $37.50 for a Rhino is fine. $57.75 for a Vindicator... I don't like so much, but I don't like that a box of 3 Cryx Soul Hunters is $45. Where they get me is the price I have to pay to have a decent army for a decent game. And either way, barring their Elves, Mantic's models are pretty good. Check out the thread about Mantic's skeletons in the Mantic subforum on Dakka. I don't know who paints and photographs the minis for Mantic's site, but they really ought to be fired as they seem to be actively trying to make them look like gak. They're actually quite good when painted and photographed properly. And you can get 20 Mantic Skeletons for $25 as opposed to GW's 10 for $24.75. Mantic sure seems to be able to provide twice as many minis for the same price as GW.

And even then, there's the barrier to entry. Sure, you could just buy one squad of Space Marines and play with that, but it's going to be a gakky game and you're going to want to move on to bigger and better things. Let's say I want to get started playing 40K. So I'm off to the store to get started. Space Marines are overplayed and I don't like Orks, so I decide to get me some of those badass Dark Eldar models. Buying everything new, I'm gonna need, to get the best bang for my buck (generic supplies like glue, dice, paint, etc not included), the Dark Eldar Batallion, an HQ model, the Dark Eldar Codex, and a Rulebook. That's $60 for the Rulebook, $33.00 for the Codex, $16 for an Archon, and $110 for the Battleforce. $219 just to get started. Just to get started. Or I could start Warmachine, and to be fair, I'll even include the rulebook and "Forces of...." book, neither of which are strictly necessary to get started. So Rulebook, $30. Forces of book $35. Single player Battlebox, $50. $115.


TL;DR:
-500 point games of 40K are unbalanced and not fun. It's generally built around 1500 point games.
-My standard 40K army cost $560. My Standard Warmachine Army cost about $250. Ergo while GW has the cheaper MINIATURES, Privateer Press has the cheaper GAME. And even then, I think that the average cost per model of my Warmachine army is a bit less than that of my 40K army, thanks to the fact that 40K vehicles are a TERRIBLE points-to-dollars ratio, but also almost completely mandatory to be competitive.

EDIT: Also, what Poda-T said.

How does people crying about the cost of GW products affect the way you think about the products?

It gives me someone on the internet to agree with.

RatBot wrote:The Truth.

I'm not going to repeat that all in a quote, but in lieu of physical contact or a hugging orkmoticon, I'm just going to give my screen a big bear hug.

I think that's the bit where the complaints about GW's pricing get lost. It's true that, for the most part, GW's prices are more or less in line with the 'big name' hobby standards (barring people like the Perry Brothers - may they live forever in triumphant plastic and metal glory - and Will Townshend, the owner of the PSC, and the guy who'll be supplying most of my German needs).

The problem comes when most wargames either go for skirmish scale for 28mm, or if it's more company sized engagement, their miniatures are cheaper or of a smaller scale (and, then, cheaper as a result). It's the fact that it costs more to get to a reasonable amount of points in 40k or Fantasy that makes people complain - and 500 points of 40k or Fantasy is not and, with GW's current mindset, will never be 'reasonable'.

Or, you know. What Ratbot said.

Other peoples concerns about pricing means nothing to me. I'm a big boy who can do the math to find out how much a project or army is going to cost.

And really, the price increases only hurt if you are paying retail, and I rarely pay retail. Land Raiders saw a 12.5% price increase. My old price was $46.20, my new price is 51.98. So I still see a $6 increase, but the total price of the item is still well below what the old price was. Rhinos went from $22 to $25, big deal.

If I was dumb enough to pay retail prices for large orders, then sure the price hike would hurt. But when you buy $500 worth of models for only $350, that increase up from $315 isn't so bad.

I have more issue with the pricing structure itself than I do with the price rises. $41.25MSRP for 10 Greatswords? That is as much as the metal ones went for, now in a significantly cheaper medium. It is priced as such because an Empire player will only ever buy 3 or maybe 4 boxes of them, as they only need one unit, and perhaps a box for converting characters. Now look at Free Company. Granted it's a box from a now outdated size for a regiment, but you get 20 soldiers plus a crap ton of extra bits and weapons, for $6 less than 10 greatswords. State Troops are only $25 for 10. But they are "cheaper" because you need 4 boxes for that horde of halberdiers, plus 3 more for spearmen, 3 more for swordsmen...

RatBot wrote:

But no, you don't have to play big games of 40K. But using this logic, I don't "have" to play 40K with GW minis. I could buy a bunch of goddamned green army men by the truckload and play with those. I can get 28mm scale World War II tanks from Warlord Games for $40 USD, as opposed to the $57.75 GW is asking for any of their tanks.

Thank you, i actually forgot about this myself.

Defiance games and wargames factory produce a decent IG alternative by the bucket load. And by bucket I mean dump truck.

Surtur wrote:I rather think that you are the one pushing an agenda since you've been flying in the face of people who were targeted by the OP and telling them to be quiet.

Nonsense. I only responded to the people putting words into the OP's mouth.

If people aren't going to read posts, why would you even bother posting in the thread?

DarknessEternal wrote:You're the one associating "disliking" with "crying". The OP did not insinuate such a thing and only said "crying" and never mentioned "disliking".

Then I guess you don't know what a 'leading question' is?

DarknessEternal wrote:Not everything is about your personal agenda.

*gasp* You found out! The conspiracy has been reviled!!!!!!!!

H.B.M.C. wrote:

DarknessEternal wrote:You're the one associating "disliking" with "crying". The OP did not insinuate such a thing and only said "crying" and never mentioned "disliking".

Then I guess you don't know what a 'leading question' is?

DarknessEternal wrote:Not everything is about your personal agenda.

*gasp* You found out! The conspiracy has been reviled!!!!!!!!

Quick HMBC, I mean fearless leader! What shall we do? He must be silenced!

to anyone claiming G-Wizzle is the shizzle, i gots 1 thing to say:





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LK8sxngSWaU

jesus, i need to l2internets.

DarknessEternal wrote:

Palindrome wrote:
The OP neglected to make that distinction.

Were the two sentences he wrote really too long to read completely?

I'm a little surprised that you are leaping to the defence of a topic that was probably conceptualised in about 4 seconds, uses loaded language, and has presumably been written by someone (just a guess here, but I'd be surprised if I'm wrong) that probably doesn't have to pay for their miniatures themselves?

fifteenhours wrote:Also, most non-gaming model kits around are not much cheaper than Games Workshop models. e.g an Airfix type of tank will cost £15.00-20.00 while a GW Chimera will cost 20 quid and a LRBT will cost £30.00 but are usually superior models.

This isn't the case at all unfortunately, GW producing models for its own game is the reason for a price disparity rather than it being indicative of quality. There might be 4 or 5 different manufacturers making a PzIV in 1:32 scale. So, how does Dragon make you buy theirs? By sending design engineers to Europe to museums to obtain blue-prints for the tank, use modern technology to map the proportions and layout of existing examples, and then produce a plastic/aluminium/brass kit with over 600 or so pieces that is the closest possible comparison to the actual vehicle. Both in terms of quality of the kit, the way the pieces fit together perfectly, and the fact that overall it is just a blood good little piece of engineering, you would think that the Dragon kit would be substantially more expensive. But it's not - I'm putting together a 1:32 StUG at the moment that is the same price as a GW Chimera. For the latter, for the kit alone (and outside the context of GW games) I wouldn't expect to pay more than £10 or so for it.

One sunny afternoon, I was walking past a GW store.
A young lad was stood outisde in floods of tears...his mum was consoling him the best she could.

'Whats occuring?' I said.

The youth blubbed ' I love those little plastic soldiers, but mum cannot afford to buy them for me!'

I replied 'Which ones ?'

He snuffled 'The cool 'Vampire ,Skeleton and Zombies....'

I told his Mum about Mantic games, and the cool army deal of rule book army lists and 140 minatures for £99.

She smiled and whispered something to her son who stopped crying, and said 'thankyou.... '

I thought I am so glad I dont depend on GW plc for all my hobby products...

Happy Gaming One And All.

Did that actually happen?

My buddy says it best , 40k is a hobby no more expensive than re building a 69 mustang, or playing guitar. So if you can't afford to have the hobby then don't play. It's a shame that this rings true because the game is cool and i wish that more people could play. Now I do feel paying 750$ for a brand new armyis a bit offensive. I priced it out and with current prices its about 150-200$ more now to build 2500pts worth of stuff . So that's why I use amazon, eBay, dakka swaps, ect... For my army purchases.

HereticWolf wrote:My buddy says it best , 40k is a hobby no more expensive than re building a 69 mustang, or playing guitar. So if you can't afford to have the hobby then don't play. It's a shame that this rings true because the game is cool and i wish that more people could play. Now I do feel paying 750$ for a brand new armyis a bit offensive. I priced it out and with current prices its about 150-200$ more now to build 2500pts worth of stuff . So that's why I use amazon, eBay, dakka swaps, ect... For my army purchases.

I agree with your friend as table top is "one of" many hobbies I pursue. Try golf($48 for 12 balls! and $75 green fee for one person. ref: Titlest ProV1/VB National), paintball, ATVs, or a home! Or a sports memorabilia collector!(can't even play with that junk!).

GW stole my bike.

HereticWolf wrote:My buddy says it best , 40k is a hobby no more expensive than re building a 69 mustang, or playing guitar. So if you can't afford to have the hobby then don't play. It's a shame that this rings true because the game is cool and i wish that more people could play. Now I do feel paying 750$ for a brand new armyis a bit offensive. I priced it out and with current prices its about 150-200$ more now to build 2500pts worth of stuff . So that's why I use amazon, eBay, dakka swaps, ect... For my army purchases.

Wish I knew that when I started I would take a 69 Stang or a trams am any day.

You're in the hobby= You pay for the hobby in my opinion. The people that complain about the price just confirms for me that it takes all sorts to make the world go round. As long as they dont ruin my Warhammer experience then i have no quarrel with them

Pacific wrote:Did that actually happen?

Well, I could never have started (much less finished) my Dwarf army had Mantic not come on the scene. Although that was my money, not my mum's...


Automatically Appended Next Post:

HereticWolf wrote:My buddy says it best , 40k is a hobby no more expensive than re building a 69 mustang, or playing guitar. So if you can't afford to have the hobby then don't play.

I've said it before, I'll say it again.

We all understand that wargaming is a relatively cheap hobby compared to some. But when you pay enough money to rebuild a classic muscle car to field an army of little plastic armymen, that's an issue.

ESPECIALLY since other minitature providers manage to produce minis every bit as good - if not better - for significantly less and still manage to make a profit. I refer you once again to the Perry Brothers as a prime example. 18 pounds for 40 infantry or 18 cavalry - that's in the $30-35 dollar range, and they are every bit as good as GW.

And let's not talk about the total lack of quality control on Finecast. If you're going to charge Ferrarri prices, you'd better well deliver a Ferrarri, and not a lemon of a Ford that you have to rebuild even though it is brand new.

Vulcan wrote:

Pacific wrote:Did that actually happen?

Well, I could never have started (much less finished) my Dwarf army had Mantic not come on the scene. Although that was my money, not my mum's...


Automatically Appended Next Post:

HereticWolf wrote:My buddy says it best , 40k is a hobby no more expensive than re building a 69 mustang, or playing guitar. So if you can't afford to have the hobby then don't play.

I've said it before, I'll say it again.

We all understand that wargaming is a relatively cheap hobby compared to some. But when you pay enough money to rebuild a classic muscle car to field an army of little plastic armymen, that's an issue.

ESPECIALLY since other minitature providers manage to produce minis every bit as good - if not better - for significantly less and still manage to make a profit. I refer you once again to the Perry Brothers as a prime example. 18 pounds for 40 infantry or 18 cavalry - that's in the $30-35 dollar range, and they are every bit as good as GW.

And let's not talk about the total lack of quality control on Finecast. If you're going to charge Ferrarri prices, you'd better well deliver a Ferrarri, and not a lemon of a Ford that you have to rebuild even though it is brand new.

I have my Dwarf army from Mantic Games and is about 1750 pts for WFB. It only cost me about $120.00. Thanks internet for enlightment and saving me from ignorance and my pocket.

First off i dont mind the prices of gw that much because i enjoy the game and its my only hobby that consumes money. that being said i first found out about this game and company when i was 8 or so and bought some stuff then the gw store near me closed and i had no 40 LGS near me so i just painted that stuff and waited for a new store or till i moved. Sadly when i moved i was in a significantly less desirably position financially and was unable to purchasee models and play regardless of how much i wanted to or weather i liked the prices or not. The big "PROBLEM" with gw prices is not "how expensive" it is or "overcosted" the real probblem is the BUY IN COST is way way high sure you can buy a battlebox and paint it up and grab an hq and maybe be able to play 500 points but to really get into the game (atleast 1000pts) it cost a significant amount of money upfront and if you havent yet been able to try the game its a huge gamble .some people are perfectly ok wit ha 12 dollar movie ticket + concessions for a single movie and they do it regularly i spend themoney those people spend on movies and w/e their hobby is on gw instead.


short version- prices are a little steep i dont mind but the buy in cost i feel is WAY to high although i do think black reach and island of blood are a great way to get people into the game 2 people split the box its 50 bucks a person and they can both try it out for LESS THAN A VIDEO GAME so over all i think its fine.

edit- OT others opinions do not directly affect my outlook on the matter they simply allow me to view their opinion and maybe take some of it into account.

Stephen Bond wrote:You're in the hobby= You pay for the hobby in my opinion. The people that complain about the price just confirms for me that it takes all sorts to make the world go round. As long as they dont ruin my Warhammer experience then i have no quarrel with them

You mean Wargaming? The hobby that has been around since before GW existed? Oh, that's right, you mean the HHHobby, a false construct created by GW and it's white knights.

victor.IG wrote:


short version- prices are a little steep i dont mind but the buy in cost i feel is WAY to high although i do think black reach and island of blood are a great way to get people into the game 2 people split the box its 50 bucks a person and they can both try it out for LESS THAN A VIDEO GAME so over all i think its fine.

splitting the cost of the box does work, but, again, as mentioned above, you still have to take into account other minimum factors. Once you add paint, glue, the miminum army requirement (+$40 or 50 for the box of infantry, and another, what, $30 for the codex?), the price starts to rack up over the cost of a video game. Then there's the fact that there's only one core rulebook. This is fine if it's being split inside one household, but lets assume its two friends who will both want their own copy of the rules. Gotta rack on another... geeze, i think $50? maybe $60? Were alot closer to $120/person once everything is said and done.

now GRANTED, you do raise a valid point that it gets you INTO the game, but it doesnt give you a playable army to KEEP playing, so that factor has to be added to it.
I will also give you the benefit of the doubt, given that video games are now half-assed products that are released unfinished, and "addons" that fix the game or make it worse cost $15-30, and there's usually 2 addons, so we are looking at a price range of $90-$120 for a video game. So, speaking with respect to basic army vs video game: prices are about on par. One difference though, is that as a videogame ages on the market, it's price declines, so this is another factor to consider.

I'm not sure that video-games are a valid comparison. Smoking now... now that is a valid comparison. You can drop big bucks on some fine cigars, and smoke them away, and the taxes keep driving the cost up. Like miniatures, it's bad for the enviroment because of all the smoke and gak (and waste product, those sprues have quite a bit of wastage), and both hobbies suffer from loonies moralizing those enjoying the particular hobby as well as the manufacturers.

Grimtuff wrote:

Stephen Bond wrote:You're in the hobby= You pay for the hobby in my opinion. The people that complain about the price just confirms for me that it takes all sorts to make the world go round. As long as they dont ruin my Warhammer experience then i have no quarrel with them

You mean Wargaming? The hobby that has been around since before GW existed? Oh, that's right, you mean the HHHobby, a false construct created by GW and it's white knights.

Thank you for your constructive contribution to the thread...

On topic: Most hobbies are expensive, unless your into star gazing or collecting bugs. If the GW version of wargaming isn't your cup of tea, stop drinking. Just don't expect to chastise others. This is the major issue I see prevalent on Dakka. GW players are made out to be lemmings, however its not like GW players are saying play GW or you suck. It's a one way ridicule and its down right old and nauseating.

Byte wrote:

Grimtuff wrote:

Stephen Bond wrote:You're in the hobby= You pay for the hobby in my opinion. The people that complain about the price just confirms for me that it takes all sorts to make the world go round. As long as they dont ruin my Warhammer experience then i have no quarrel with them

You mean Wargaming? The hobby that has been around since before GW existed? Oh, that's right, you mean the HHHobby, a false construct created by GW and it's white knights.

Thank you for your constructive contribution to the thread...

Thank you for your sincerity...

Poda and Ratbot etc. have all shown the like for like in the Wargaming hobby GW models are stupidly expensive for what you need for a legal game. This "Hobbies are expensive" line is getting pretty tired. Hobbies do not have to be expensive nor does a company providing models for a wargame have to blatantly price gouge you just to participate in it in the way they intended.

I buy my insects from Bug Workshop, and they only charge me $1 per 5 corpses. Bargain!

I believe at the end of the day it really doesn't matter what we think ... we who enjoy GW games are like cattle to the slaughter. I think the problem is we who play war games feel like they care about the community they helped build and forget that they are still a $$$ making company and just like gas prices they can and will charge what they can get away with because no matter what people will pay them. And lets be honest with ourselves at least it isn't real crack we are spending our money on just plastic crack lol

poda_t wrote:

victor.IG wrote:


short version- prices are a little steep i dont mind but the buy in cost i feel is WAY to high although i do think black reach and island of blood are a great way to get people into the game 2 people split the box its 50 bucks a person and they can both try it out for LESS THAN A VIDEO GAME so over all i think its fine.

splitting the cost of the box does work, but, again, as mentioned above, you still have to take into account other minimum factors. Once you add paint, glue, the miminum army requirement (+$40 or 50 for the box of infantry, and another, what, $30 for the codex?), the price starts to rack up over the cost of a video game. Then there's the fact that there's only one core rulebook. This is fine if it's being split inside one household, but lets assume its two friends who will both want their own copy of the rules. Gotta rack on another... geeze, i think $50? maybe $60? Were alot closer to $120/person once everything is said and done.

now GRANTED, you do raise a valid point that it gets you INTO the game, but it doesnt give you a playable army to KEEP playing, so that factor has to be added to it.
I will also give you the benefit of the doubt, given that video games are now half-assed products that are released unfinished, and "addons" that fix the game or make it worse cost $15-30, and there's usually 2 addons, so we are looking at a price range of $90-$120 for a video game. So, speaking with respect to basic army vs video game: prices are about on par. One difference though, is that as a videogame ages on the market, it's price declines, so this is another factor to consider.

I'm not sure that video-games are a valid comparison. Smoking now... now that is a valid comparison. You can drop big bucks on some fine cigars, and smoke them away, and the taxes keep driving the cost up. Like miniatures, it's bad for the enviroment because of all the smoke and gak (and waste product, those sprues have quite a bit of wastage), and both hobbies suffer from loonies moralizing those enjoying the particular hobby as well as the manufacturers.

yeah no i certainly am not saying the prices are perfect or even reasonable im simply saying its stupid expensive to get into the game and thats not even really getting to a playable point like i mentioned. my mentioning of video games was to simply give an example of getting into prices i mean GW almost seems reasonable when you look at how much time youll get out of your minis and how much fun youll have painting and playing vrs the less than 20hour gameplay that video games have these days and the dull minded online play.

smoking is pointless period. never understood it -.- so i cant really relate. i mean i can understand someone that smokes weed every now an again or a few times a week but cigs confuse me no true high and they harm your body. NOT TRYING TO START A IS SMOKING BAD WAR

i think if they cut prices by 15-20% across the board it would be ALOT better and people wouldnt be so ify about starting into the hobby/game.

its not THAT bad though if you know you like it especially if you love painting. i mean ill spend 100 on my WOC battle force and im painting it up so lets see if i dont count paint im gonna get about 2.5 hours per warrior x12 of painting time about 3hours per knight x5 and about an hour per marauder x20 and like 30 min to paint wolves x10 since they are easy to paint even to a good standard to paint to my current standard so from my 100 bucks ive gotten 70 hours of enjoyment from the painting ALONE + any games ive played at the ~500 mark thats pretty good to me that easily out does the dollar per hour of fun/enjoyment of most things in life for me atleast and paint um yeah paint is expensive if you look atit as a whole but individual colors are well priced 2.50$ for a VMC bottle isnt too bad.

really id just like to see the prices drop 10-15% and id be really happy
there are soem advantages to playing with friends or fam in this game though i got my brother a box of ogres by selling my death corpes and now hes painting them up to play and we can share armys too so he can play my chaos and IG and i can play his ogres so we have 3 armys so if you have 3 friends that each have 1 army you can play each others and have a nice variety ! just some thoughts for ways to get more for less!

bottom line for me is if you are enjoying it its worth it. lifes hard to enjoy so we shouldnt be to hard on the prices of things that we do enjoy

If they closed all the GW shops, and thus removed their major overhead, they could sell the models much, much cheaper.
Would this be a good thing?

Daedricbob wrote:If they closed all the GW shops, and thus removed their major overhead, they could sell the models much, much cheaper.

If they shut down all their stores they would be reliant on various LGS to promote their product, and they’d have to start showing up to trade shows and whatnot to ‘get the news out’.

In doing so GW would have to acknowledge that they are part of the greater miniature wargaming hobby, rather than a HHHobby unto themselves. I don’t think they’re willing to do that just yet.