Bigred
08-02-2012, 10:53 AM
This may be one of the most interesting posts on a rumor forum I've seen in a long time.
Not so much for what its saying about the specific rumors, but much more importantly what is says about HOW, WHERE, and WHY rumors exist.
via Warseer: (http://www.warseer.com/forums/showthread.php?347147-Flyers-inbound&p=6351682&viewfull=1#post6351682)
I was told, that GW is trying to invert their release order. Instead of two follow up waves after a Codex release they will release one or two smaller waves of models before every codex, one big release with the codex and some stragglers thereafter (mainly re-releases and model updates). This is widely known and not hard to deduce. But I was also told that this is only a test run for two upcoming releases and GW is fully prepared to switch back to the old modus operandi or a completely different release schedule. GW has used the period of reduced LotR activity to produce new ranges far in advance. GW sits on a whole pile of army books/codexes and finished masters and has the flexibility to alter their release schedule seamlessly. The next two releases (Warriors of Chaos and Dark Angels) follow the old pattern, but the next two releases (Tau and Eldar) after these are deployed in the new fashion. The Tau Codex was pushed back because of this, but only the book. The first batch of models will be released even earlier than planned (maybe even this year) – and yes, there are Kroots and no, there is no Lamprey – this whole set of rumours is 105% fake. GW has tighten their information policy for all releases around the end of the year. This includes everything not just the Hobbit stuff because one major source of info are business plans and logistics tables that are shared with subsidiaries and external companies. Most unregulated sources sit at one of those joints. The blackout period lasts from October to February and ends there because it is not sustainable for a long time. There will be no wave of fliers this year outside of the blackout period (my source does not know if one is planned for this period or not, but if it is the info is definitely not avaible for regional distributors - whatever that is). One last bit: GW has buried the plastic character stop gap and switched to multi-part finecast kits, with emphasis on “multi-part”. The sheer number of bit of these kits is on par with plastic releases. The first kit will be the re-modeled Avatar. The four Greater Demons are worked on. All of them will be larger than their predecessors and come with a lot of variety.
(First and last post with this account)
So where to start...
First off this:
GW has used the period of reduced LotR activity to produce new ranges far in advance. GW sits on a whole pile of army books/codexes and finished masters and has the flexibility to alter their release schedule seamlessly.
Then this:
GW has tighten their information policy for all releases around the end of the year. This includes everything not just the Hobbit stuff because one major source of info are business plans and logistics tables that are shared with subsidiaries and external companies.
And most importantly this:
Most unregulated sources sit at one of those joints. The blackout period lasts from October to February and ends there because it is not sustainable for a long time.
So what this tells us is GW has been very busy indeed, stocking up on inventory and various codices and model ranges far in advance of the actual release dates. This was apparently done to give them a "full hand" to play with, so they have a set of products ready to ship at any point based on needs of the business and changing market conditions. The counter argument is that by modern business standards this is monetarily wasteful and against the mantra of accurate forecasting and just-in-time inventory management that preaches that manufacturers should have effectively zero inventory, and be producing exactly what is required to meet market conditions - no more, and no less.
Next up is the entire "New Line Clampdown" is perhaps a fabrication and that instead is just GW experimenting with internal information control. The Hobbit Blackout period instead seems to be a somewhat smaller window covering all products from October 2012 to February 2013.
Finally is the real gem that most "unregulated sources" (~read leakers) come from the points in the organizational chain where schedule and product details that are necessary for the business to function leave the company and move to business partners and 3rd parties. This tells me that while GW may clamp down as hard as they can internally, there will always be a certain degree of leaks unless they became a true vertical monopoly, and owned every store that carried their lines, along with the suppliers, and shippers as well (which will never occur).
Very interesting read.
Not so much for what its saying about the specific rumors, but much more importantly what is says about HOW, WHERE, and WHY rumors exist.
via Warseer: (http://www.warseer.com/forums/showthread.php?347147-Flyers-inbound&p=6351682&viewfull=1#post6351682)
I was told, that GW is trying to invert their release order. Instead of two follow up waves after a Codex release they will release one or two smaller waves of models before every codex, one big release with the codex and some stragglers thereafter (mainly re-releases and model updates). This is widely known and not hard to deduce. But I was also told that this is only a test run for two upcoming releases and GW is fully prepared to switch back to the old modus operandi or a completely different release schedule. GW has used the period of reduced LotR activity to produce new ranges far in advance. GW sits on a whole pile of army books/codexes and finished masters and has the flexibility to alter their release schedule seamlessly. The next two releases (Warriors of Chaos and Dark Angels) follow the old pattern, but the next two releases (Tau and Eldar) after these are deployed in the new fashion. The Tau Codex was pushed back because of this, but only the book. The first batch of models will be released even earlier than planned (maybe even this year) – and yes, there are Kroots and no, there is no Lamprey – this whole set of rumours is 105% fake. GW has tighten their information policy for all releases around the end of the year. This includes everything not just the Hobbit stuff because one major source of info are business plans and logistics tables that are shared with subsidiaries and external companies. Most unregulated sources sit at one of those joints. The blackout period lasts from October to February and ends there because it is not sustainable for a long time. There will be no wave of fliers this year outside of the blackout period (my source does not know if one is planned for this period or not, but if it is the info is definitely not avaible for regional distributors - whatever that is). One last bit: GW has buried the plastic character stop gap and switched to multi-part finecast kits, with emphasis on “multi-part”. The sheer number of bit of these kits is on par with plastic releases. The first kit will be the re-modeled Avatar. The four Greater Demons are worked on. All of them will be larger than their predecessors and come with a lot of variety.
(First and last post with this account)
So where to start...
First off this:
GW has used the period of reduced LotR activity to produce new ranges far in advance. GW sits on a whole pile of army books/codexes and finished masters and has the flexibility to alter their release schedule seamlessly.
Then this:
GW has tighten their information policy for all releases around the end of the year. This includes everything not just the Hobbit stuff because one major source of info are business plans and logistics tables that are shared with subsidiaries and external companies.
And most importantly this:
Most unregulated sources sit at one of those joints. The blackout period lasts from October to February and ends there because it is not sustainable for a long time.
So what this tells us is GW has been very busy indeed, stocking up on inventory and various codices and model ranges far in advance of the actual release dates. This was apparently done to give them a "full hand" to play with, so they have a set of products ready to ship at any point based on needs of the business and changing market conditions. The counter argument is that by modern business standards this is monetarily wasteful and against the mantra of accurate forecasting and just-in-time inventory management that preaches that manufacturers should have effectively zero inventory, and be producing exactly what is required to meet market conditions - no more, and no less.
Next up is the entire "New Line Clampdown" is perhaps a fabrication and that instead is just GW experimenting with internal information control. The Hobbit Blackout period instead seems to be a somewhat smaller window covering all products from October 2012 to February 2013.
Finally is the real gem that most "unregulated sources" (~read leakers) come from the points in the organizational chain where schedule and product details that are necessary for the business to function leave the company and move to business partners and 3rd parties. This tells me that while GW may clamp down as hard as they can internally, there will always be a certain degree of leaks unless they became a true vertical monopoly, and owned every store that carried their lines, along with the suppliers, and shippers as well (which will never occur).
Very interesting read.