I've come to the decision, after looking at Games-Workshop prices and the fact that they're inevitable to rise like they do yearly, that I am going to stop collecting at the rate I have. Honestly, when I started I could deal with paying $35 for a ten man squad of tactical marines and the battle forces all being well worth it. A great example, the Tyranid Battle Force was $90... it gave you 8 Gene-Stealers, 8 Termagaunts, 8 Hormagaunts, various rippers, 3 warriors, and a Carnifex. That's an amazing savings. Now it's pretty much the same just lacking the Carnifex and the increase in $15.
Now let's look at the next problem with the hobby... Everything is crazy expensive. You have some companies out there that claim that they want you to buy their products, and in turn they price them to the point where you will! A great example is Dust Warfare. I haven't received my rulebook yet but I have a strong feeling that when I do it's probably going to show me that I need crazy amounts of infantry. I don't have a problem with that however because if I buy from the manufacturer, I can get a large amount of beautiful all ready assembled models together or if I just simply buy the starter kit I save even more money.
Assault on Black Reach... I remember when that cost $75... I bought two of them only to find out that the miniatures really weren't that amazing in terms of customization and what they could do. Honestly though, I'm ok with that as long as I can run an army competitively and successfully. Games-Workshop is not going to be drawing in young children if they continue to raise prices. No one is arguing that the miniatures are beautiful, not one bit... And no one is arguing that the game itself isn't fun... Hell I own probably 6-7k of Space Wolves... I have probably 2.5k in Grey Knights, 1.5k-2.5k in Tyranids, 1.5k in Dark Eldar, 1.5k in Orks, then some various Imperial Guard and Tau laying around. (No not thousands of $$$ but rather points game wise.) I'm announcing that I am not going to be purchasing at the rate I had been.
I'm not going to be giving up on the hobby entirely. I enjoy the miniatures, and I enjoy painting and assembling them alot more than the gaming aspect but I enjoy the gaming aspect as well. I'm at the point where, I had been maybe spending $250 minimum a month on games-workshop, that money will be going elsewhere. I understand how business works and I understand when there is a premium product you can charge a premium price for it but when it costs $20 dollars for a single HQ choice, a single FINE CAST product... or when you charge $50 for 3 Wraiths when a company has proven that they can make a unit of Wraith for $27... 3 wraiths in each option and honestly the difference between the two is not worth another $20... I'm sorry Games-Workshop but you've priced a valued customer out of the hobby.
Some amazing miniature companies that I will still be drooling over will be Fantasy Flights (and their Dust lines.), Mantic's Warpath, and I'll still be watching Games-workshop's 40k... just most likely slowing down to maybe a unit every few months from them.
Actually I just read somewhere that the cost for GW to make a plastic kit and maintain it for a year and supply to nearly every GW store worldwidebis about $250,000. (Although thi was said to be data from 2001 but I'd suspect that number would just increase) so think how many plasti kits GW makes and how much they invest. Suddenly paying 47 for wraiths doesn't feel so bad.
ReplyDeleteMaybe to maintain the product, exports, shipping, taxes, ect., but the cost of making it is definitely no where near that number anymore. The guys on the Beasts of War forum were debating this and it can be seen when you have companies like Defiance Games, Wargames Factory and even Miniwargaming that's starting to dabble into miniatures when they just held a fundraiser and said it was like $10,000-$20,000 to make a mold.
ReplyDeleteThen you have guys at Puppetswar that do 3d molding/printing and crank out models at a crazy rate in comparison to GW. Puppets has a new product almost every week and is always throwing up new artwork such as new heads, weapons, kits, ect., along with their sculptors. If it was truly as expensive as it was in 2001, we wouldn't have as many companies jumping into the vast ocean as we have here.
And Jay I know for a fact that you've been in the hobby for a while so I know you've seen how local hobby shops get hurt because of the pricing. I've had one local store go under and the other contemplate going under several times in the past two years.
Have you seen the wraiths that Puppetswar put out? Or the Scarab (A spyder rip off) or the tomb blades?
Yes your right I have seen much in my years. I live next to a Gw and independent retailer and both ican safely say are prospering. However I too have seenthe relity of retailer going down with many sad gamers. But still I continue to play but why? Ian a husband, doctor, and gamer in that order. An I don't think icould ever give up a single one of those things :)
ReplyDeleteyes also I have seen the POW models. Though nice I find them o be a litte cartoonish. I have begun to say now GW designing turning the corner and producing amazig models. The necrons and DE are testiments to that new breed. So I will continue to playbuntil maybe Iam willing to accept wht you already have begun
Well I haven't said I've completely stopped. They still make one hell of a model. In comparison to cartoonish... I think even they understand that. Ork's look relatively cartoony in comparison to say what LoTR look like. I'm the same way though...
DeleteGaming comes last. I won't sell my minis, no no... They own a bookshelf, a closet, and respective collecting space where ever my large ass does not qualify sitting in. Haha. But it does hit home when one realizes that it's something that is hard to convince a friend to get into when they need a couple hundred dollars, several dozen hours of time, and the inevitability that you can rarily ever collect just one army. Most of us may love our first for being the first but when we see nice models like the Necrons it's... hard.
My first starter kit was the 3rd edition Marines versus 20 Dark Eldar and that's what did it. When I saw the Dark Eldar kit get redone... I knew I was diving head into the hobby again. The game store we used to play at-43 at announced they were closing, it was YourMoveGames in Cambridge MA. They were purchased by Pandemonium Books and Games and they decided to merge merchandise and close up that shop. They've had some short comings and they've announced it several times. I'll tell you what would get my money no matter what the price though... Plastic Sisters of Battle. Matt Ward has to do the codex though, make it crazy over powered like Grey Knights. Haha.
Haha yeah. My Brother had playedbthis game since rouge trader. Hell he even had a good job at FW, which is how he started his DkoK army which I later inherited :) But I got into this for myself when I saw the movie Predator. Those commandos and alien were amazing. Few days after i saw a some catachcan models and tyrnanids and I knew I had to Do this.
ReplyDeleteBut flashbacks aside I have tried to convert many people to the hobby but either they sarted and quit or laughed. Fortunately heig a doctor pays good otherwise idbhave given up the hobby alon time ago(or when I got married >:) But now I limit myself to just Necrons and my death korps of krieg.