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They are certainly less effective at dealing with genestealers than terminators.

Though I do find the history of Space Hulk amusing. It started off as a direct Aliens rip off with normal humans fighting xenomorph wannabes. They changed it to terminators to make it 40k specific but then didn't change the rules so the terminators still died super easy. And the amazing combat prowess of genestealers was born.

It would be much too easy for GW to keep making a profietable game like Space Hulk.
Can't have everyone buying a quality game like that you know.
Have to keep the masses grumbling, eh wot?

 frozenwastes wrote:
They are certainly less effective at dealing with genestealers than terminators.

Though I do find the history of Space Hulk amusing. It started off as a direct Aliens rip off with normal humans fighting xenomorph wannabes. They changed it to terminators to make it 40k specific but then didn't change the rules so the terminators still died super easy. And the amazing combat prowess of genestealers was born.

I remember reading in old WDs (roundabout between 100 and 110) about them developing and playtesting a "boarding action" game with some b/w photographs depicting some proxied corridors and models. I wonder if it was conceived as a Marine vs Marine thing in the beginning, with the Aliens theme introduced during development.

A couple of months before that they introduced Termies in 40k - I recall seeing the advertisement for something like a MK2b (?) armour - http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/File:TerminatorC.JPG#.Uh2sineU5Ww - with a blurb about them being particularly suitable for fighting Genestealers.

I think 109 was the terminator WD issue, so that makes sense. I guess they had all these projects going and it made sense to integrate them all together and let them cross pollinate. The Aliens move has definitely loomed large in sci-fi consciousness ever since it's 1986 release.

Though I do find the idea of terminators as being considered good at fighting genestealers to be sort of funny.

 frozenwastes wrote:
I think 109 was the terminator WD issue, so that makes sense. I guess they had all these projects going and it made sense to integrate them all together and let them cross pollinate. The Aliens move has definitely loomed large in sci-fi consciousness ever since it's 1986 release.

Though I do find the idea of terminators as being considered good at fighting genestealers to be sort of funny.

I checked #109 yesterday and yes - that was the Terminator issue. At that point the development of SH had advanced far enough to be talking about it featuring Genestealers in Culture Shock. Funny thing: The article about Terminators had an illustration of a Termie with "Revenebo" written on its shoulder... and it actually took me 24 years to get the joke. I'm slightly embarrassed now.

It took me until now to get that lame joke.

I was never a follower of obscure jokes in dead languages, though.

I wasn't even aware that that was a thing you could follow.

By making it a colectors item they can drive up the cost. I think it was also a misjudgment also of just how popular the re-release was. I mean, look at blood bowl and necromunda. GW seems to insist on ignoring the existence of these two games despite the following these have and demand those models generate. GW probably earns some off of the popularity by forcing people to buy product from a narrower line and have them make conversions, but it seems like GW is just ignoring development along that front. GW claims to be a miniatures manufacturing company, but, I think we all agree that's a lie. They make a game, and they know what they are doign from their business end by how they design their game and how they update the game. GW only has 3 product lines. WHFB, WH40K and LOTR. They've got a lot of games in legacy, warmaster, epic, necromunda, bloodbowl, lordy knows what else, all of it unsupported. I'm willing to bet it has more to do with the technical involvement of supporting and continuing design for these games, and the overall ability to hump the customer if they so much as glance at the space marine on display in the store. Armies for FB/40k and LOTR are much more expensive than for the other games. If you have 50 necromunda models, you probably have one of each gang, with options to spare, and everything you'll ever need. If you have 50 models for, say, 40k, unless you are fielding space marines you're BARELY getting started.

And it's not like the one-time production run of space hulk was the end. If you make a close inspection of the space hulk minies and compare them against the DV set, you'll notice that there's been some recycling. I expect to see more recycling over the next few years as kits that get culled get resurrected in some form.

It's in GW's interest to design a kit that can really only be purchased by anyone once. The space hulk re-release probably taught that very well, because the terminators were outstandingly good sculpts, and so were the genestealers. At that price point, it was a steal too. what, 10 terminators would cost you near 80-100 $$$ depending on where you were, and the box was what, $120-$140 cad? add the brood lord and you've probably already got your money back and still have genestealers to sell.... as a consumer, it made more sense for me to buy space hulk than two boxes of terminators. Look at GW's pricing. You'll notice that the bulk deals don't exist anymore. the only benefit to buying the package as opposed to the units in the package is the single click on the storefront, GW's trying to phase out the discount pricing.

TLDR: the reason they killed SH is the same as the reason for which they killed Bloodbowl and necromunda. Once they sell you one, that's it. There's nothing else from the same line of product to sell you more of. It's a one-time product intended to appeal to a niche market at the same time as their regular clientelle, and generate spin-off sales from the niche into their core product line. Other cases in point: Deathwatch, Inquisitor, Rogue trader......

From what I see, it was so it would be rare and so GW can charge more of the set.