No New GW News

[ddsa86]

Is it just me or is there generally less and less news about GW? Is it just that time of year when we don’t have that many releases or has GW really clamped down on "leaks" regarding upcoming codices, models and releases?

[isotope99]

Combination of factors:

GW have stamped on the rumours a bit so they are coming through more slowly but they are there, leaked ogre pics being most obvious recent example.

Summer is a quiet time for codex/army books which generate a lot of the news and rumours and there is a focus on fantasy which is not quite as popular (especially on BOLS).

[eldargal]

There has been, though. We had OGre Kingdoms pictures leaked and the WD SoB codex leaked, before that we knew a lot about SoM before it was released including some pictures.

[Brass Scorpion]

No New GW News That is the new reality and has been for many weeks now. No more "Incoming" emails from GW, Advance Orders don't go online till one week before release, usually the Friday night a week before release Saturday. No previews, no Black Box preview models or books in stores, nothing.

[Bigred]

Yes and No,

Yes, in that GW itself is cutting way back on the official releases, so we are seeing less things like pics of upcoming products.

No, becasue any company the size of GW will eternally have leaks. If governments and militaries leak constantly where the penalty for getting caught is jail, or even death, what chance does a toy company have to be airtight?

So there is a steady drip of leaks on the rules side of things, just not many pics of them.

Finally, as was said, its summer and its always slow this time of year. Things ratchet back up in September.

[Lockark]

GW has ALWAYS been tight on Rumor's/Leeks. All thier new polices are is the amount of officle material released about upcoming products.

Somethings has to be said about the summer season and the holidays that people take during it. Rumors always slow down this time of year.

[ddsa86]

I personally think it is bad business to hold back on the "leaks." Yes, you don't want to make promises you can't keep because as we all know us gamers are a fickle bunch and if you have delays in shipping products that you promised, we all get pissed but I think a leak here and there is good business and keeps your community eager for the next thing. I guess I am yearning for the fun GW years where they were less corporate and more like your LFGS and the WD was an essential read.

Anyway, what GW has done is driven me and me kids (we all play 40k and I have for some years been in the hobby) to other gaming systems such as FoW and Infinity. I am also eager to see what Mantic has for Sci Fi because we have been having a ball playing Dwarf's Kings Hold. Unfortunately, we have a heavy investment in GW armies and while I don't patronize them as much as I use to (or at least until a there is a new BT codex), we will continue to play 40k and dabble in Warhammer Fantasy....

[wittdooley]

I am also eager to see what Mantic has for Sci Fi because we have been having a ball playing Dwarf's Kings Hold.

Really? Maybe I didn't give it a fair shot, but I thought Dwarf Kings Hold was just awful. Perhaps they've fixed the rules since I demoed it last year at Adepticon?

[Kawauso]

I agree that holding back on the leaks the way they are is bad business, and their hype engine is, in my opinion, Godawful.

I can understand not wanting things to leak out too far in advance (i.e. a year or more from intended street dates), but there is nothing wrong with letting customers in on what's coming down the pipes half a year or even up to a full year in advance. In fact, I think it's a good way to garner interest and hype. You don't need to show off everything that's going on, just a simple "oh, 6 months down the pipe this army is getting an update". And the releases that are closer than that? Spoil little tidbits - photos of individual models (none of that 1/18th of a model garbage), maybe every couple of weeks spoil a statline for a unit, or other parts of a unit entry...

Really, I just think there should be a nice, steady flow of 'leaked' content from GW, at least within the 6-months-before-launch window. It would save them the trouble of having to fret so much over leaks, it would keep the consumer base more informed, happy and interested (makes customers feel like the company cares about them, giving 'inside scoops', etc.) and generate a hell of a lot more interest for things in advance.

Again, this is all opinion, but I think they really ought to do like a once-a-week spoiler on their website. And every month they could throw out some exclusive, slightly-bigger spoilers in WD - maybe for the stuff coming the month ahead. WD would be relevant because it would spearhead the more-detailed spoilers. And in that month before launch the weekly spoilers on the website could even become daily spoilers at some point, since the thing being 'spoiled' is already so close to launch.

And as long as the rumour flow is steady and never reveals too much at one time (until, I'd say, around the 1-month-before-launch mark), they wouldn't need to worry about revealing so much that the hype kills itself.

But that's just what I think. GW is going to do whatever they want.
I'd sure as hell take a job to try and fix their hype machine/marketing/customer interaction (esp. online), though.

[ddsa86]

Rules seem pretty solid and they are simple and easy enough to understand for my kids. Alot easier then some other board games we have tried (Horus Heresy). Anyway, my kids love bashing the hell out of me in the game and that makes it fun for them and me. I am trying to have my older son play as the dwarfs and he finds it a bit frustrating but he likes dwarfs so he really has been trying to get past the first few scenarios. I have also painted up all the miniatures and that adds to the game. We got the game after it came out so I have no point of reference regarding the rules at the demo stage of development.

[ddsa86]

I think Kawauso you are spot on and I think that GW's real problem is that they stopped listening to hobbyists and gamers like us who are a bit older, understand something about business and have a clue about marketing in the gaming industry. I would say that 30+ years of gaming (all the way back when GW produced Talisman) gives me and some of us out there some experience with the gaming industry. I also understand that when a company is publicly traded, there is demand put on the corporation to perform. GW has done ok in this economic environment but I also firmly believe that GW is in a recession proof business to a certain degree. I say to a degree because when you do some of the things that GW has done over the past 18 months it puts them in a recession type business. For example, raising prices across the board in a time when money is tight for their consumers have certainly hurt their bottom line. Especially, when they make a wholesale change in the product from metals to resin and still raise the prices. I believe the downturn in sales is primarily due to the price and other changes and I know that I personally have cut back on my spending because some of the models in the ranges that I build and play have risen in price substantially. Unfortunately, I will continue to patronize GW but as I mentioned in my original post, GW’s tactics has driven me to explore other gaming systems….

[Kawauso]

Really I just wish GW's online presence/customer interaction was more along the lines of how WotC handles Magic: The Gathering :P (which is the only other game system that I'm heavily invested in).

I don't mean to bring out a lot of moaners by bringing that up, and I sure as hell don't want to claim WotC is perfect, but the way they handle that game, and their relationship with the people who play it, is damn close as far as I'm concerned.

They communicate regularly through weekly design/development articles with their consumer base, let people know what's happening with the game up to a year down the line (with more and more tidbits 'spoiled' along the way) and straight-up start spoiling cards a month or two before the release of a new set, both through their own website and other forms of media that cover their game. Heck, as long as things aren't leaked -too- early (I think in all my time playing the game there was only one instance where they had to crack down legally on some dude, and wound up settling out of court), such as exact info on cards that are still being playtested, they kind of roll with any unintentional leaks that crop up.

I mean there was one instance in the last year or two where the entire set for an upcoming expansion was leaked before they were even ready to begin official spoilers. It was disappointing for them, sure, but since that stuff was all over the internet they just put up a complete, official spoiler anyway to make sure people knew exactly what was true and what wasn't.

Basically I wish GW treated us more like WotC treats their player base (and the game itself, actually, since I think they have a much, much better grasp on game design over there, whereas GW's primary concern is cool models/a cool setting). I know people are likely to complain about me bringing them up due to personal gripes or whatever they have with that company, but they're the best example I have because I'm a huge fan of the way they operate (and, being in the games industry myself, I admire their skill as designers), and they're a good example of a publicly-traded company that manages to make money -by keeping their customers happy-. For the most part. ;)

Which isn't to say I'm miserable every time GW does something. I just wind up shaking my head at many of the decisions they make. =/ And if I didn't like the WH40k setting so much I don't know that I'd still be sticking with the game system.

[ddsa86]

Unfortunately, we all have been shaking our heads at GW lately.

[Verilance]

just as a question, how many people here are subscribed (or just know) GW studio has a youtube channel, Adam Troke, Phil Kelly and Jes Goodwin did a wonderful series on the Dark Eldar when the codex was released, they also did a bit on Tomb Kings sadly not much else though I hope they do a feature on Ogre Kingdoms.

They are using the medium but are people watching? That I don't know. For all the people who play GW games the views seem low to me only 29,000 or so with only 5000 subscribers

in comparison HCBailey who lets plays video games has 43,000 subscribers

[ddsa86]

I did not know about the youtube channel as I guess many of us don't. How did you find out about it?

[Kawauso]

I remember the Dark Eldar videos, because they were posted on the GW blog on their website.
They need to have more cross-promotion going on there for those of us who don't bother with Youtube accounts and just watch videos there sometimes. :P

And while those development articles/interviews are nice (as are the ones they had after the DE release with all the sketches, etc.), they need to do more stuff about things that -are- being worked on, I think.

[flekkzo]

I remember the Dark Eldar videos, because they were posted on the GW blog on their website.
They need to have more cross-promotion going on there for those of us who don't bother with Youtube accounts and just watch videos there sometimes. :P

And while those development articles/interviews are nice (as are the ones they had after the DE release with all the sketches, etc.), they need to do more stuff about things that -are- being worked on, I think.

Loved the Dark Eldar videos, I really would like to see more of it. I also quite enjoy their blog. And both of them are free:) Forgeworld did a few videos as well, which were great.

Part of the problem is that I do follow GW and Forgeworld's blog/newsletter, but I can not for the life of me stand youtube. The whole thing is a cesspool that would make all chaos gods proud. The community is often vile, the UI is horrid. Only the videos are actually good. So yes cross-promotion is an absolute must here.