The Weekender XLBS: Grumpy Wargamers Raw
June 8, 2013 by warzan
For some website features, you will need a FREE account and for some others, you will need to join the Cult of Games.
Or if you have already joined the Cult of Games Log in now
What difference will having a FREE account make?
Setting up a Free account with OnTableTop unlocks a load of additional features and content (see below). You can then get involved with our Tabletop Gaming community, we are very helpful and keen to hear what you have to say. So Join Us Now!
Free Account Includes
- Creating your own project blogs.
- Rating and reviewing games using our innovative system.
- Commenting and ability to upvote.
- Posting in the forums.
- Unlocking of Achivments and collectin hobby xp
- Ability to add places like clubs and stores to our gaming database.
- Follow games, recommend games, use wishlist and mark what games you own.
- You will be able to add friends to your account.
What's the Cult of Games?
Once you have made a free account you can support the community by joing the Cult of Games. Joining the Cult allows you to use even more parts of the site and access to extra content. Check out some of the extra features below.
Cult of Games Membership Includes
- Reduced ads, for a better browsing experience (feature can be turned on or off in your profile).
- Access to The Cult of Games XLBS Sunday Show.
- Extra hobby videos about painting, terrain building etc.
- Exclusive interviews with the best game designers etc.
- Behind the scenes studio VLogs.
- Access to our live stream archives.
- Early access to our event tickets.
- Access to the CoG Greenroom.
- Access to the CoG Chamber of Commerce.
- Access the CoG Bazarr Trading Forum.
- Create and Edit Records for Games, Companies and Professionals.
Can you get some pictures of the scatter minis in the news section? Would love to see if they are any good….or a web link? Maybe a full week dedicated to them with a battle report, painting tutorials and original gaming scenarios………or am I missing something………. ; )
Ok just my thoughts on the whole ‘who will buy GW’
If it was disney I think it would be amazing, mainly because they now have star wars. if they buy GW and start making sculpts how many of us would buy a star wars wargame? I am guessing alot, GW can make large models, which they have been doing pretty much every release, and dare I say some of them seem a bit more cartoony than usual?
just my 2 pence worth
Who will buy GW? Thats a good question.
I say Privateer Press! Just so they could rub it in there noses.
But really, the best scenario would be Disney or WB or Hasbro. They can make almost anything into money. Ho! It just came to me, how about Facebook owning GW.
The comparison with Marvel and DC is an interesting as the core industry of both those brands, the monthly pamphlet comic book, makes very little money as there’s a very limited market for it. Instead they are the base upon which the IP is exploited to make billions of dollars. GW have to ruthlessly squeeze every penny they can from the 28mm toy soldier market just to generate £120 million in revenue each year. They’ve pushed that market about as far as it can go and if anything the likelihood is it’ll contract in future. It already seems to be… Read more »
A very interesting discussion guys. I haven’t been invested in GW for the better part of 10 years but obviously they are still the heavy weights in an industry that I care about. As Warren said, Marvel / Disney have been very canny with their IP of late and movies like the Avengers are being watched by people who probably never read a Marvel comic. DC, arguably, have had similar success with video games. The Lego Batman games, the excellent Arkham Asylum and City, even the recent fighting game though I forget what it is called.. they have all reached… Read more »
I think GW have reached beyond their core brand with the Black Library books. I know a fair few people who read them but don’t mini game, let alone play 40K. The comment about Dawn of War not drawing people to the hobby misses the point. It’s not about using the IP to draw people to the core product. It’s about exploiting the IP the core product has generated to reach people who will never play toy soldiers. The toy soldier market is small and has natural limit to it. For GW to grow they need to be able to… Read more »
About the talk about more codexes, if you watch the GW “comercial” about the Iyanden eldar suplement, it mentions :
“The first in a new range of Codex supplements beginning with Iyanden – A Codex: Eldar supplement.”
So, yeh, I think thats what they are planning for the likes of Imperial Fists, considering the new Space Marine codex rumored to come this year;-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmaykUjsBPM
One key issue I think you guys missed out on in relation to marvel/dc being able to expand their brand into moves and such is Characters. If GW had a “hollywood” movie, who would it be about? There is really no “main character” in 40k. I don’t think anyone is going to connect to a 40k character to the same level as they connect to a crime fighting hero. To be able to make it so that the average movie goer could understand what was going on I think the content would become too diluted and not resemble the 40k… Read more »
I think any company who intends on purchasing GW would hope that in ten years the IP would be very profitable even if they never sold another mini. Focusing on growing the core business is not what I would be interested in if I was a Disney, Time Warner, even a Hasbro. That market is close to saturation point as it is in terms of the profit it can generate.
Gaunt maybe but surely Eisenhorn would enable a more varied movie/series. Tracking down artifacts/herestics. Squad based combats the odd space marine, demon, battle. Could be really dark and gritty. Needs to be to make a truely classic movie to suck the masses in.
It is interesting that the panel mentions ignoring the negative comments about their work but then asks GW to presumably do the opposite. Reopening their facebook page etc would however be a good outlet for people to vent even if GW do ignore most of it. It was a massive shame they pulled it. For 40 yr olds plus to keep going back to the 40k mythos says it all. They have us…..it really is an opportunity for a big company to print money whilst pleasing a lot of teens and grumpy old wargamers. I think they need to keep… Read more »
“It is interesting that the panel mentions ignoring the negative comments about their work but then asks GW to presumably do the opposite.”
VERY Fair point well made, the only thing that I feel should be taken into account is the difference between a single Youtube personality putting their hobby on display, and a corporation trying to meet the demands of its customer base (and shareholders).
They are very different IMHO…
Yeah, good point. Its much more personal (and cutting) on Utube vrs individuals and in most cases they havn’t taken anyones money….but then GW is largely made of people/hobbyists who must feel some pain from nasty comments (Matt Ward is probably scared to leave the house). Either way GW really need to give the online community a forum to comment. Not having one is just silly….almost a two finger salute to the community. But then if it comes back we shouldn’t be surprised if they don’t dwell on the negative/mistakes since that’s a basic survival mechanism most people and organisations… Read more »
That depends on who you think “the community” is. I suspect GW believe they generate the bulk of their income from a different demographic to the one which frequents internet forums and is one which constantly criticises them online. Why expose your money-making demographic to a barrage of negativity from this less lucrative demographic when you don’t have to?
I completely agree with your reasoning about why GW pulled the site and just before they did I remember seeing two? negative megathreads with about 3k comments on each…..suggesting Facebook is perhaps too easily hijacked. But that doesn’t mean avoiding social media/forums is a good thing for GW going forward. Perhaps they need to develop their own solution/forums (like BOW) for the whole demographic to enjoy. Also, If my own household is anything to go by I reckon mature gamers spending power is a mighty large slice of the GW pie and we deserve a place to grump in their… Read more »
i think it would be great if BOW bought GW think it would be ran really well with the community and hobby in mind. imagine if this happened and swampy Darrell and Andy were in charge of Writing 40k it could be the cheesiest game ever 🙂