It does worry me a bit how people see all this as “normal” marketing. After all the fuss over the B&N “exclusives”, the aspect of GW creating their own exclusives (in a manner as they have limited availability) doesn’t seem to register as much with us.

We jump to the manufacturers whim, buy when they “allow” us to. Can you imagine another sector of a hobby industry working in a similar manner (plastic model kits for example)?

Again why all this intrusion by a marketing department into MY hobby? I have dosh to spend, but I’m not allowed to spend it (again I wasn’t even after these SoB boxes as I don’t play 40K, but I have been impacted with other GW games by this limited release business that made me just walk away from the game). It’s VERY similar to buying from a KS scheme (FOMO), miss the pre-order and you’ve missed the boat. But why this artificial urgency (after all a hobby is supposed to be relaxing)?

In this case the minis will be available later (but will the rules on the cards? or will they sell other versions instead as  GW have taken up with the whole Magic the Gathering/Got to collect them all aspect of rules on cards. Again the urgency to buy now with FOMO is pushed upon us). All companies do this a bit, but of late it’s expanded across the whole of GWs lines, impacting every game, and in effect making any game you buy into a “partial” purchase of what’s available to you NOW (as previous content has been pushed out as “limited” by the marketing dept). It’s all bloody overly complicated, which in itself is indicative of a marketing scheme gone awry. Here’s my money, sell me the “thing” (lets not have it become a collectathon with crazy prices due to the artificial limitations placed upon a product when there’s no real reason to do so)