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Herzlos wrote:
It rarely works like that any more; more stores are dropping/marginalizing GW than seem to be taking them up.
5 years ago you'd be correct - no mini's based gaming store would survive without GW, but now it's not the case.

Particularly in Oz, I've heard of stores that have managed to strike up pretty good deals with GW in terms of freebies in order to be displayed.


GW Rep: "Do you like selling Space Marines?"
Store Owner: "To an extent"
GW Rep: " Do you think you can keep your store afloat on Warmachine alone?"
Store Owner: "Easily"
GW Rep: "Oh, so how many boxes of Age of Sigmar will I put you down for?."
Store Owner: "Until I know what it is, none."

Fair enough. No clue about Australia. In the UK, it certainly seems different. Most new games go through Kickstarter. X-Wing goes through Amazon/Toys'r'Us/etc.. Warmachine & Malifaux seem down.

Local game stores seem to be tethered to GW (and to a lesser extend the board game renaissance, though that one is going heavily through Kickstarter too), not because GW sales are that great, but because GW is the one company still operating, with trade partners at least, like the business used to be 5 years ago.

The market moving on to Kickstarter & Co is hitting LFGS as hard, if not harder than GW, which curiously gives GW more bargaining power in that particular niche despite their decline in the overall relative decline.

It probably varies across even the UK. Up in Scotland most of the FLGS's have been stocking less and less GW stuff in absolute terms and in percentage terms.

I think in Glasgow the only place to get GW now is the GW store, as the others dropped them (whilst I can get X-Wing in a few stores). Edinburgh has 2 FLGS, one has gone from maybe 50% GW to 25% GW, the other doesn't stock. Gaming shows have a much lower ratio of GW stuff Vs 5 years ago (from maybe 50% to 10% of stalls stocking GW).

Even online, stores sales ratios for GW seem to be reducing (Wayland have stated significant growth in last couple of years, none of it coming from GW).

So they are still big, but they don't control the market like they used to. I don't think they really have the sway to bully independents anymore.

Da Boss wrote:
Photoshop was probably to cover the cut, rather than to put the base in. I can tell because of the pixels, you see.

Ah right, I had assumed you meant the base as shopped in

At my FLGS, it seems to me Magic, board games and Warmachine are all at least as important, if not more important than GW stuff. But that is anecdotal AND unreliable experience, because I never asked the owner about precise detail on how he makes money.

I'm so hyped for Age of Sigmar! My local GW is hoping to do a midnight release with a night of 8th edition on the Friday to see it off. Should be great :-)

And I'm hoping we get 100% circle bases! Those models in the display bases looked so cool.

Herzlos wrote:
It rarely works like that any more; more stores are dropping/marginalizing GW than seem to be taking them up.
5 years ago you'd be correct - no mini's based gaming store would survive without GW, but now it's not the case.

Particularly in Oz, I've heard of stores that have managed to strike up pretty good deals with GW in terms of freebies in order to be displayed.


GW Rep: "Do you like selling Space Marines?"
Store Owner: "To an extent"
GW Rep: " Do you think you can keep your store afloat on Warmachine alone?"
Store Owner: "Easily"
GW Rep: "Oh, so how many boxes of Age of Sigmar will I put you down for?."
Store Owner: "Until I know what it is, none."

GW Rep: Do you like selling Space Marines?
Store Owner: We've already dropped our account with you. Why are you calling me?
GW Rep: Do you think that you can keep your store afloat on Warmachine alone?
Store Owner: No, that's why we carry a wide selection of games. Except GW. Why are you calling me?
GW Rep: So, how many boxes of Age of Sigmar can I put you down for?
Store Owner: None. I don't carry GW anymore! WHY ARE YOU STILL CALLING ME!
GW Rep: Look mate, they gives me a script. Not followin' script is more than me job's worth.
GW Rep: So, how many.. hello? Hello? Damn! Third hangup this week!

The Auld Grump

I just find it so odd that you can be excited about something you know literally nothing about.

 agnosto wrote:
I just find it so odd that you can be excited about something you know literally nothing about.

What, didn't you notice how much more excited people were about the new Star Wars movie before we faw the clip with the Falcon in it, or with Solo and Chewie? As soon as people saw that they lost all interest.

 agnosto wrote:
I just find it so odd that you can be excited about something you know literally nothing about.

Because.....HOPE!

We all remember a day when the sun shone down on our miniatures and we played happy games with friends and eagerly awaited for the next trip to the game store. We were happy. And while we grumbled some, GW was our favorite.

Now we hunker down in our bunkers while GW lobs shells and mustard gas at us, and anything, anything at all, that gives us a bit of hope causes excitement. Hope that the Evil Kirby is dead and the rest of those locked in the Citadel of Idiot Marketing will be freed. And we'll be able to sneak into a GW store and maybe reclaim....just for an instant....that feeling we had on those sunny days.


Hope leads to dispair, dispair leads to insanity, insanity leads to chaos and demons pouring out of your eyeballs. DON'T HOPE!!

Let Cynicism be your armor, disgruntlement be your shield. Grind hope under your iron boot.

 jonolikespie wrote:

 agnosto wrote:
I just find it so odd that you can be excited about something you know literally nothing about.

What, didn't you notice how much more excited people were about the new Star Wars movie before we faw the clip with the Falcon in it, or with Solo and Chewie? As soon as people saw that they lost all interest.

I know that you're joking but there is literally no comparison between Star Wars and GW, it's completely silly to even hold them up next to each other. A tiny minority of people on the planet even know that GW exists compared to the ubiquitous nature of the Star Wars IP.

 agnosto wrote:

 jonolikespie wrote:

 agnosto wrote:
I just find it so odd that you can be excited about something you know literally nothing about.

What, didn't you notice how much more excited people were about the new Star Wars movie before we faw the clip with the Falcon in it, or with Solo and Chewie? As soon as people saw that they lost all interest.

I know that you're joking but there is literally no comparison between Star Wars and GW, it's completely silly to even hold them up next to each other. A tiny minority of people on the planet even know that GW exists compared to the ubiquitous nature of the Star Wars IP.

And how Lucas peed in that pool....

The Auld Grump - mind you, I wasn't excited about the new Star Wars... Haven't been excited for Star Wars since Episode 2.... Episode 1 killed all of the excitement for me.

 mikhaila wrote:

 agnosto wrote:
I just find it so odd that you can be excited about something you know literally nothing about.

Because.....HOPE!

We all remember a day when the sun shone down on our miniatures and we played happy games with friends and eagerly awaited for the next trip to the game store. We were happy. And while we grumbled some, GW was our favorite.

Now we hunker down in our bunkers while GW lobs shells and mustard gas at us, and anything, anything at all, that gives us a bit of hope causes excitement. Hope that the Evil Kirby is dead and the rest of those locked in the Citadel of Idiot Marketing will be freed. And we'll be able to sneak into a GW store and maybe reclaim....just for an instant....that feeling we had on those sunny days.


Hope leads to dispair, dispair leads to insanity, insanity leads to chaos and demons pouring out of your eyeballs. DON'T HOPE!!

Let Cynicism be your armor, disgruntlement be your shield. Grind hope under your iron boot.

The sad thing is that it was GW that wore the boots in my case; they somehow killed my passion to continue giving them money.

So, now that you're posting here; were you able to eke any information out of your GW rep. I know that you can't tell us anything but I'm curious to know if you actually found anything out.




Automatically Appended Next Post:

 TheAuldGrump wrote:

 agnosto wrote:

 jonolikespie wrote:

 agnosto wrote:
I just find it so odd that you can be excited about something you know literally nothing about.

What, didn't you notice how much more excited people were about the new Star Wars movie before we faw the clip with the Falcon in it, or with Solo and Chewie? As soon as people saw that they lost all interest.

I know that you're joking but there is literally no comparison between Star Wars and GW, it's completely silly to even hold them up next to each other. A tiny minority of people on the planet even know that GW exists compared to the ubiquitous nature of the Star Wars IP.

And how Lucas peed in that pool....

The Auld Grump - mind you, I wasn't excited about the new Star Wars... Haven't been excited for Star Wars since Episode 2.... Episode 1 killed all of the excitement for me.

Yeah but we're old fogies, the kids seem to like it well enough.

 agnosto wrote:
I just find it so odd that you can be excited about something you know literally nothing about.

Same reason I'm hyped when my favorite band announce a new song.

GW make my favorite miniatures and my favorite wargames and the release of something new excites me!

 Bottle wrote:

 agnosto wrote:
I just find it so odd that you can be excited about something you know literally nothing about.

Same reason I'm hyped when my favorite band announce a new song.

GW make my favorite miniatures and my favorite wargames and the release of something new excites me!

For me, Games Workshop made all my favourite wargames.... about 15+ years ago.... and haven't come out with anything special in as much time.

 mikhaila wrote:

 agnosto wrote:
I just find it so odd that you can be excited about something you know literally nothing about.

Because.....HOPE!

Unfortunately, GW has quite literally told us "Hope is the first step on the road to disappointment".

 Hybrid Son Of Oxayotl wrote:
At my FLGS, it seems to me Magic, board games and Warmachine are all at least as important, if not more important than GW stuff. But that is anecdotal AND unreliable experience, because I never asked the owner about precise detail on how he makes money.

Your observation is probably right. In fact, if your store is like most of the ones I've been to, Magic is the main moneymaker. For a lot of them, it's what keeps the lights on.

 Bottle wrote:

 agnosto wrote:
I just find it so odd that you can be excited about something you know literally nothing about.

Same reason I'm hyped when my favorite band announce a new song.

GW make my favorite miniatures and my favorite wargames and the release of something new excites me!

Sorry I just do not understand excitement over something you know nothing about, regardless of your satisfaction with their previous products... I also find hard to understand how you can be Happy with all their previous stuff I mean they are so different in therms of quality and scope... Its like your favorite metal band releases a new rap song and you will get it nevertheless just because its your favorite band??

Only on the internet would people find it hard to imagine someone being excited about a new release for their favourite game. Have a different opinion, sure; but be unable to understand why someone would be excited? What is the end goal of all these incredulous comments? Are you hoping to suck the excitement from this poor chap? For what purpose?

 agnosto wrote:
I just find it so odd that you can be excited about something you know literally nothing about.

This.

Pre-order on the 4th of July for the Age of Sigmar.

What is Age of Sigmar?

A heartburn remedy? Donald Trump's toupee? A new Anti-dandruff shampoo and conditioner?

Your guess is as good as mine.

 Charles Rampant wrote:
Only on the internet would people find it hard to imagine someone being excited about a new release for their favourite game. Have a different opinion, sure; but be unable to understand why someone would be excited? What is the end goal of all these incredulous comments? Are you hoping to suck the excitement from this poor chap? For what purpose?

Actually no, more power to him, and sorry if it came across like that.

Thing is there is literally no information about his favorite game, for all we know this could be a PC game! Hence my comment.

 Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:

 agnosto wrote:
I just find it so odd that you can be excited about something you know literally nothing about.

This.

Pre-order on the 4th of July for the Age of Sigmar.

What is Age of Sigmar?

A heartburn remedy? Donald Trump's toupee? A new Anti-dandruff shampoo and conditioner?

Your guess is as good as mine.

Isn't it obvious? GW clearly gets its inspiration from The Simpsons... (I've spoilered because it's a bit flashy)

 Charles Rampant wrote:
Only on the internet would people find it hard to imagine someone being excited about a new release for their favourite game. Have a different opinion, sure; but be unable to understand why someone would be excited? What is the end goal of all these incredulous comments? Are you hoping to suck the excitement from this poor chap? For what purpose?

Because GW are the only business that seems hell-bent on NOT making money.

When Apple are about to release a new iphone, do you think they supress the info for months, and then tell everybody it's for sale after they put it on on the shelves? Of course not. They generate hype for months, because they want people to know, get excited, and shell out loads of cash for it.

Apple loves generating hype, they love pictures of people queing for hours on end. GW seems to hate all that.

I've got money to spend this summer. I know that there's going to be new FOW stuff, because they told me about it a while back, and now I know GW have something new, but they're reluctant to tell me what. Well, GW, it's FOW for me.

I can understand the excitement at a possibly improved future for Fantasy, even if it ends up being hope beyond hope.

I mean, I know we all hope the stockholders of GW decide one day I throw Kirby out the window, even if it's a rather minuscule likelihood.

Fantasy would be the single best chance to see what GW does with one of its core games that isn't selling well. If this Ends up being a disaster of a new release that effectively alienates veterans and creates no sort of draw for new customers, then I would see the fate of all GW products as being in very dire straits.

ShaneTB wrote:

 JohnHwangDD wrote:
The game is called "Warhammer", right?

The following is my filtering of rumours:

It'll be called Age of Sigmar; there will be no '9th' or 'Warhammer'.

There will be a loyal vs chaos starter boxset. This is where the skirmish rumours come from. The big rulebook will follow shortly afterwards. Both in July.

There will be FAQ-esque lists for current armies to transfer over until the new versions are released (in whatever form they arrive - whether by army or faction). Not sure if at launch or staggered via digital and/or WD releases.

Your rumor filtering makes sense to me. I've also had the thought that if Age of Sigmar is the starter set for 9E than the reliable rumor that the minirulebook is the most bare bones minimal rulebook possible might be GW responding to starter set mini rulebook resales. I can see GW thinking that if they keep the starter set rulebook as very minimal, essentially just the rules you need to play with what's in the box, then everyone who wants to play 9E has to buy the new BRB from GW. No more starter set rulebooks on ebay.

Bottle wrote:

 agnosto wrote:
I just find it so odd that you can be excited about something you know literally nothing about.

Same reason I'm hyped when my favorite band announce a new song.

GW make my favorite miniatures and my favorite wargames and the release of something new excites me!

Can we ask how old you are?

You sound as if you're filled with the optimism of youth - good for you!

Accolade wrote:I can understand the excitement at a possibly improved future for Fantasy, even if it ends up being hope beyond hope.

I mean, I know we all hope the stockholders of GW decide one day I throw Kirby out the window, even if it's a rather minuscule likelihood.

Fantasy would be the single best chance to see what GW does with one of its core games that isn't selling well. If this Ends up being a disaster of a new release that effectively alienates veterans and creates no sort of draw for new customers, then I would see the fate of all GW products as being in very dire straits.

Exalted!

Navarro, Don't Like: See, you have both just explained why you are not excited; what you have not done is actually address my question, which is why you are so amazed that he is excited. Does his excitement offend you in some way, to prompt such marvel?

 Charles Rampant wrote:
Navarro, Don't Like: See, you have both just explained why you are not excited; what you have not done is actually address my question, which is why you are so amazed that he is excited. Does his excitement offend you in some way, to prompt such marvel?

That's not what I'm saying. If the other person wants to get excited about this, then I wish them well. He/she will get no argument from me.

My point is this. Say GW told us that the Age of Sigmar would be brand new rules, and say they posted pictures of awesome looking miniatures.

More than likely, I'd buy that new stuff. Also, I would look at my paint collection and say, hmm, I need new paints, or new brushes etc etc I'll buy them as well = more money for GW

Hype generates expectation. People start talking about it, and people start planning their spending money.

But GW are not doing this.

FOW have news and pictures of their new stuff in the pipeline, GW does not. I have money to spend on one or the other. I'll stick with FOW, because I know what they're offering.

 Alpharius wrote:

Bottle wrote:

 agnosto wrote:
I just find it so odd that you can be excited about something you know literally nothing about.

Same reason I'm hyped when my favorite band announce a new song.

GW make my favorite miniatures and my favorite wargames and the release of something new excites me!

Can we ask how old you are?

You sound as if you're filled with the optimism of youth - good for you!

Would that make you filled with the bitterness and anger of old age? I think I would prefer the former (don't think I still qualify as "young" though at 31!)

I'm excited for the next edition, because it's a good chance for me to finally get into fantasy properly. Even if they screw the game and everyone playing sticks with 8th, I know at least 5 other guys at my local store that are all planning on starting in the next edition, or have recently started to prepare for the next edition. Given that I've only seen about 2 people playing fantasy at the store, and then on Sunday, they had two games going on, and at least 5 or so, people stood around chatting about fantasy and watching the games.

 Alpharius wrote:


Can we ask how old you are?

You sound as if you're filled with the optimism of youth - good for you!

I'm 29 and have been into the hobby since 40k 2nd edition (although with long gaps between) so it's not the optimism of youth.

Although I do concede I am an optimist. What can I say? My Empire models will look fancy af on circle bases.

GWs recent AdMech line has blown me away, so I can't wait for new fantasy models to come out.

It just all feels really exciting and new.