Idearz

[thatguyjames]

You know what they should do? Release the entire game system. All the rules, all the codexes, all on one piece of computer software. If they need to fix or clarify a rule, patch the program just like World of Warcraft. And just for kicks, it could have a built in search engine so you could find a rule in 15 seconds instead of minutes.

How nice would that be?

[Catachan Colonel]

for a company to expect so sort of continuing profits by developing their game sculpting and molding thousands of figures and assessories storing all of this in warehouses for the months to years it takes to finish off "All of the armies and all of the options" and then expect to be able to advraties each of their products in an efficent manner is just plain wacked!

If they did this than people would still want more or changes.

GW has released new rules and updates since 4th edition.

Take a look at the wargear book it changes many pieces of wargear like Overcharged engines and Red paint job updating both for 4th edition
(in both cases eliminating refrences to can get out or charge after moving over 12"

Count the number of players in rochester who bothered to buy the thing?

they release updates that people dont buy, why should they go for an even worse business model?

[Hagbard The Mighty]

Electronic distribution of the rules and supplements is not a poor business model. The need for mini's still exists so production of their largest source of profits does not change. I would even go so far as to say that it;s the hardbound periodicals that drive GW's overhead costs through the roof. If they stopped producing hardcopies, waited for their warehouses to empty and then went to strictly distributing the rules and supplements via cd, dvd, or web then they would see profits instead of losses. The electronic piracy would not be any more signifianct than what is already being photocopied. It's a win-win scenario.

Ask any game store owner - which stores are starting to make money? Those who deal with online sales more than in store sales are the one's showing profits. Just ask Boldo and Shaun.

[Catachan Colonel]

i agree online sales are the wave of the future but books on CD are not, they don't have the same self advertising appeal, companies who try to distribute their books solely in electronic format end to fail.

Many a role playing game hit its death trying to go to a only by PDF format, Hero system died and was sold to its next company because of that. (Who promptly put it back in printed format and made a bundle)

Although we are all arguably geeks, the total of GW buyers probably are not as tech geek as all of us.

What mom is going to buy her 13year old the $150 total rules CD? Thew wont understand it.

(And this is not even getting into the pirating made easy by making it all pdf)

The electronic piracy would not be any more signifianct than what is already being photocopied.

right (comparing)because Copying CDs was as big of a problem for record companies as distributing MP3s across the internet.

[Hagbard The Mighty]

Eelectronic piracy does not impact the music industry as much as they claim. I don't see U2 declaring bankrupcy or concert tickets sales declining or music stores closing en masse. If piracy really was a big issue for the music industry they would go back to selling vinyl or some other difficult to copy/distribute medium.

I do however see decreased tournament turn outs, reports of game store closings (one article listed that the number of game stores has decreased by 40% over the last two years) and GW reporting losses for several quarters in a row. Their current business model obviously isn't working and they seem to be unable or unwilling to adapt or even attempt to adapt to the changing market place.

[thatguyjames]

I'm not talking about books on pdf. I hate books on pdf. I tried reading a book on pdf from an author I loved and I couldn't do it. Acrobat is great for a lot of things, but large format electronic distribution ain't one of em. Look at army builder, a far superior interface where you can learn almost everything you need to know about an army with a few quick clicks. And that's just one way of doing it, there are even better user interfaces out there that could make accessing information a snap.

If GW put it out on a cd, it would just be another set in stone copy, because not everyone would bother patching it, and then the whole idea flops. I'm talking about an online database that is accessed clean every time a user logs in.

Yes, I agree people will always want more, and want changes, but that's a good thing. Look at World of Warcraft, when everything started the classes were either lacking in focus, completion, or balance. Now, after a year of rolling revisions, Blizzard has made an amazing amount of change for the better. Not only have they continued to add to the games existing content, but almost every facet of the game has been looked at and improved with direct feedback from the players.

Yes, GW has released new rules and updates since 4th edition. And, as you point out, virtually no one bought it.
So what kid's mom is going to buy him a $150 CD? Well really, we're talking basic rules ($50), army codex ($20), and then the publications that give you the proper updates. It's not 150 to get yourself started, but really, it's already close.

If you can think of a worse business model than paying to have something printed that doesn't sell, I'd love to hear it.

Having worked in the printing industry, I can say that a lot of the cost for these books comes from just getting the stupid thing on the shelf. What if the buy in for the game wasn't $100+ for the print version, or $150 cd? What if the buy in for the games was a $25 cd with a uniquely generated key code that had to be activated to access the content online? I know I keep pointing to it, but World of Warcraft seems to have a healthy number of paying subscribers.

Would you pay $5 a month to be able to point to one single place and know that everything you need is right there? I know I would. And honestly, I think a lot of other people would too. Enough to support a simple system like this, and enough to give GW that baseline profit they want to continue production of the mini's. As you point out, they're already paying to have these guys update the rules. The information is there, we just need a better model to distribute it to the gaming masses.

Now am I saying tomorrow GW should have everyone burn their books? Goodness no. But really, try offering it, if enough people buy into it, they can cut back on the expenses of having books manufactured.

Then maybe, just maybe Tommy, you could get in a relatively peaceful gaming session where people don't interrupt you every 5 minutes asking you about something in the rules. Maybe we'll be able to figure it out ourselves!

[Ranger Dude]

One flaw in this idea that I see is brought to the fore by your comment about Tommy having peaceful games. The whole idea of being able to look for a rule online is great. But we don't have net connections when gaming. Can't look up a rule during a game if you don't have access to it. I'd think Tommy would have less peace in a game were this model to be adopted.

Don't get me wrong. I think this idea has merit. It isn't the ultimate answer, but it would help GW financially, and it would solve some problems. But there are those of us who like having it in print. Like Tommy, I get a large number of the books they put out. Even for armies I don't play and have no intention of ever playing. The only reason I haven't bought the wargear book yet is my cashflow issues.

[Hagbard The Mighty]

I think james shoudl be the new CEo fo GW. I'd vote for him.

[dragons3]

COLONEL CATACHAN OVER THE LINE:
JUST BECAUSE I PLAY THIS FECKLESSLY WHIMSICAL INANE 40K THING, DOESN'T QUALIFY ME AS A GEEK!

GREEK MAYBE!

HAVE A NICE DAY, JUST NEED THE ZING!
;D ;D ;D

[Hagbard The Mighty]

Sorry, Dragon - it most certainly does put you in the GEEK category. You may not be tech geek like the majority of us, but you are still in the GEEK family - at least part GEEK anyway. Embrace it! Do not deny your inner being...

[raufar more manly than me]

Or how about everyone really buckles down, reads the rulesbook and learns the rules themselves
so Tommy can have a peaceful game?? ;D

[dragons3]

IT’S TRUE, I CAN’T STOP MY “INNER SELF” FROM THE 40K COGITATING SAGA.
“I DOOMED TO HANG WITH GEEKS”
THE SHAME OF IT ALL, WHAT WILL MY CHILDREN SAY.
“MUST BREAK THE CURSE”
I KNOW! I’LL JOIN A NEW ROCK BAND, LIFT HEAVIER WEIGHTS, GET A NEW TATOO.
“ IT COULD WORK !”
;D ;D ;D