From a thread I was surfing over at RPGnet:

QuoteOriginally posted by Ramien Meltides

Games Workshop is failing to succeed due to a number of reasons. As for my credentials - I am a GW gamer over over 12 years and worked at the GW US HQ in the Studio (I was not an order taker - I was in the middle of things happening on the creative/editing side of White Dwarf) for about 15 months.

GW is failing, that's plain to see. Fewer games being played in my area, fewer new gamers being brought into the fold, fewer painting competitions, fewer everything.

The question is, why?

Reason #1: Fire all the creative people.
GW's made it a habit in the last four years or so to purge themselves of valuable employees. Andy Chambers was one such, and there are other big-name developers who went as well, but I'm also talking about other folks who helped make GW succeed before. They got rid of the guy in charge of the Outrider program. They got rid of most of their events staff (and got rid of the last guy in charge of it recently, I'm not sure who replaced him). They went through several purges at the US HQ targeting marketing, editing, modeling support - no department was safe. I myself was cut along with 14 others, including some of their best modelers and painters who made the displays in White Dwarf and on the web so eye-catching and memorable.

Reason #2: Raise the prices sky-high.
GW's been through a period lately of price "adjustments" that have pushed their products right out of the "hobby" niche and into the "luxury hobby" niche. The price of a box of 10 space marines has increased something like 300% in the last five years. These price increases have pushed things to the point where you have to pay around $10 per model for an individual piece, when you need a minimum of 5 models to fill the unit (the example I am using here is the Wraithguard).

Reason #3: Make sure everyone knows you don't give a damn about the games.
GW's upper echelon made a decision sometime around 2001 that they would no longer sell games. GW was in the business, they decided, of selling miniatures (and paints, brushes, carrying cases, and modeling tools) - but not games. Therefore, everything began to revolve around selling the miniatures at the expense of the games themselves. Support was pulled from making the new and interesting games GW had been famous for in the past (blood bowl, necromunda, etc.) and focused instead on marketing. FAQs and errata became things of the past.

"We don't need FAQ's, because our games aren't the reason we're in business." They were heard to say over and over. Veteran gamers became frustrated with a rule set that badly needed attention. One reasonably proficient editor could have cleared up dozens of rules issues, but GW refused to address this problem. In fact, GW expressly came out and said "NO MORE FAQS" in 2006.

Reason #4: Make sure you don't give a damn what your customers or fans think.
GW made it a policy in the last several years to ignore and belittle any criticism from its loyal fanbase. The official GW forums, for instance, agressively deleted any critical comments, leaving only a "love fest" and a few unanswered questions. GW eventually got rid of its forums altogether in late 2006, preferring instead to carry on as if everything were just fine and dandy. Over in the UK, a similar condition existed, as the once-popular White Dwarf feedback forum was reduced to "positive comments only" and then eliminated altogether.

Reason #5: Take your flagship, internationally recognized magazine and turn it into crap.
White Dwarf has gone over 300 issues worldwide and is translated into quite a few different languages. It has gone through many changes over the years, but up until recently, it was a good magazine for a GW fan - battle reports, new rules, exciting fiction, backstory for the 40K and Warhammer universes, gorgeous paintjobs, and featuring armies played by other GW fans just like the reader. Unfortunately, GW decided that the magazine was not serving its purpose of selling miniatures. Therefore, the company made the following changes: No more rules in the magazine, ever. No more battle reports produced anywhere but in the UK. No more submissions by fans or freelancers - everything to be produced in house (by the reduced staff). No more fiction or backstory information. The US White Dwarf staff has struggled valiantly to try and carry on the previous tradition, going so far as to split the US edition into "US Content" and "International Content", but that effort has been curtailed as well. Now, the magazine is primarily a catalog, shilling paints, brushes, army cases, and miniatures with a few paltry pages dedicated to a UK-generated battle report or painting article.

There are more reasons - I could go on at length about the company's failures with its yearly worldwide campaigns, or how the chain stores strangle out FLGS competition. I could discuss the low pay, long hours, and upper management attitude. I could talk about how the UK management stifles anything not created in England. But all that's for another time.

GW's successes these days lie in their fiction arm - Black Library is doing fantastically well - their video games (Dawn of War, specifically) - and their miniatures still for the most part are very well sculpted and dynamic. What they're lacking is some good games to use those miniatures in, or at least well-supported games. They're getting their tails absolutely stomped over in Europe by Rackham's Confrontation game and in the US by Privateer Press, who seems determined to do right everything that GW has done wrong...and continues to do so.

When GW got rid of their fan forums, I was tempted to say that they've fallen into a death spiral. Time will tell.

If true then words are barely adequate in conveying the idiotic incompetence displayed by the upper echelons of GW. As a gamer I broke away from them around the time they stopped supporting WFRP and transformed White Dwarf into a glorified catalogue, but still. There's an enormous creative legacy within the company that certain parties seemed determined to smother into extinction. Of course, they're still a huge part of the gaming industry, and have more money than Croesus, but if this is what passes for corporate policy then I can't see them being around for more than a few years. One has to wonder at the real motives of those at the top.

Thoughts?

I never played the miniatures stuff since I hate paiting and paying for them. However once i went into my local GW interested in the 40K ccg, which I actually like, and was told they don't stock it.

Hmmmn.

Quote from: DrewOf course, they're still a huge part of the gaming industry, and have more money than Croesus

Ooh. Don't we read the classics.

Interesting article, though. For my own part, I spent a long-time as a "Holy shit those are cool" type enthusiast, staring at their great minis and creative settings - 40K grabbed me from the first instant I saw it, and that love affair lasted until I discovered Necromunda, which was both more my speed and more my price range.

Some years later I got that life's first paycheck one summer, and I set off down to the local Games Workshop store to buy myself some gangers, paints, and whatnot. I walk in, walk around the shelves, and ask the clerk where I would find their Necromunda figs.

"Oh, Necromunda's been discontinued."
:eek:
"Yeah, we can't sell the minis we had in stock for it either."
:aaa:

They've never gotten a dime of my money. Even if they go under completely, it'll just make WFRP 2e a 'dead' game, and some people would sell it for cheap.

Quote from: DrewFrom a thread I was surfing over at RPGnet:




If true then words are barely adequate in conveying the idiotic incompetence displayed by the upper echelons of GW. As a gamer I broke away from them around the time they stopped supporting WFRP and transformed White Dwarf into a glorified catalogue, but still. There's an enormous creative legacy within the company that certain parties seemed determined to smother into extinction. Of course, they're still a huge part of the gaming industry, and have more money than Croesus, but if this is what passes for corporate policy then I can't see them being around for more than a few years. One has to wonder at the real motives of those at the top.

Thoughts?

Greed, they start to loose money so put a tighter strangle hold on things,
things get worse so they increase the strangle hold, their greed feed fear of the lose of money clouds their understanding so they will continue to strangle themselves to death,

You reap what you sow,

In the eyes of armchair quaterbacks, Games Workshop has now been self destructing for as long as I can remember.

They are gonna be right one day, probably, but 'even a stopped clock tells the right time twice a day' was invented for situations like this.

Me? I think they do well because of the way they operate.






But jesus guys - get a new song. GW are a big evil company who don't care about poor fans who really care. We get it. I even understand how unfair it is that they don't listen to you. If you want to be a big fish in a small pond instead of a small fish in a big pond then GW probably isn't for you.

Remember kiddies - if you don't want it, don't buy it, but don't think you'll be missed if you don't.

See, you get morons who say things like:-

QuoteLast I heard, GW expected to keep their average customer for 2 years, so they weren't really that worried about chewing them up and spitting them out, because they already had the next generation coming in.

And we all see how well that works.  

YES! DUMBASS! WE DO SEE HOW WELL IT FUCKING WORKS, KNOBEND! ITS HOW GAMES WORKSHOP OPERATE DIPSHIT! YOU KNOW! GAMES WORKSHOP! BY FAR THE BIGGEST COMPANY IN MINIATURES GAMING! OPERATES A CHAIN OF SHOPS! HAS NEVER GONE BUST, WHICH IS SOMETHING DnD CAN'T SAY! ACUTALLY MAKES A DECENT PROFIT OUT OF GAMING! IF YOU DON'T OPERATE LIKE GW YOU SHOULD BE ASKING YOURSELF WHY!

MORON! FOOL! PILLOCK!

Quote from: Erik BoielleIn the eyes of armchair quaterbacks, Games Workshop has now been self destructing for as long as I can remember.

They are gonna be right one day, probably, but 'even a stopped clock tells the right time twice a day' was invented for situations like this.

Me? I think they do well because of the way they operate.






But jesus guys - get a new song. GW are a big evil company who don't care about poor fans who really care. We get it. I even understand how unfair it is that they don't listen to you. If you want to be a big fish in a small pond instead of a small fish in a big pond then GW probably isn't for you.

Remember kiddies - if you don't want it, don't buy it, but don't think you'll be missed if you don't.

Yeah, but this is the first time I've joined the choir.

The information presented in the comments I quoted seems pretty credible, and coincides with GW's announcement of shrinking profits and tumbling share prices. It's no secret that they aren't doing anywhere near as well today in terms of growth or even market retention.

Normally I'd just let stuff like this slide and wait to see what happens, but when what appears to be a genuine insight into the company's misfortunes appears then I tend to sit up and listen. For better or worse GW have been one of the constants of the international gaming scene for over 25 years, there's a huge body of work they can be justifiably proud of. Hearing things like this though casts real doubts in my mind as to whether the company can survive in the long term if it remains on its current trajectory.

Meh. It how they have always done things.

Charging to much and Not Listening To The Fans are, as near as I can, Why GW succeeds, not its problems.

Fans are stupid. Listening to them is stupid. You gotta figure out what people actually do, not what they say they do or wish they would do.

In short:- first, shoot all the trekkies.

--

GW has an enormous number of disgruntled ex-employees - in part because they really can say - if you don't like it quit - you are easy to replace.

This is no fun for the employees, and certainly something you should consider before working for them, but its also not acutally a bad way to run their business.

Just don't, y'know, work for them. Keep it as a hobby and let some other poor dumb schmuck figure out hes just another cog in the machine.

Quote from: Erik BoielleSee, you get morons who say things like:-



YES! DUMBASS! WE DO SEE HOW WELL IT FUCKING WORKS, KNOBEND! ITS HOW GAMES WORKSHOP OPERATE DIPSHIT! YOU KNOW! GAMES WORKSHOP! BY FAR THE BIGGEST COMPANY IN MINIATURES GAMING! OPERATES A CHAIN OF SHOPS! HAS NEVER GONE BUST, WHICH IS SOMETHING DnD CAN'T SAY! ACUTALLY MAKES A DECENT PROFIT OUT OF GAMING! IF YOU DON'T OPERATE LIKE GW YOU SHOULD BE ASKING YOURSELF WHY!

MORON! FOOL! PILLOCK!

Why don't you stop being so subtle and beating around the bush and just say whats on your mind,

:pundit:

Jeez dude up set much?
GW may have been the "BIGGEST COMPANY IN MINIATURES GAMING"
but that was then, what will be could be very diffirent

Quote from: pathfinderapbut that was then, what will be could be very diffirent

Meh. Its like waiting for the fall of the American Empire - It'll come, but it could take a couple of centuries, and theres no guarantee you'll like what comes next more.

Better to just not worry, and make hay while the sun shines.

But seriously, that thread has people calling GW a 'might have been'.

ARE THEY CRAZY OR JUST STUPID!

CHRIST, THATS SO FUCKING DUMB!

Quote from: Erik BoielleMeh. Its like waiting for the fall of the American Empire - It'll come, but it could take a couple of centuries, and theres no guarantee you'll like what comes next more.

Better to just not worry, and make hay while the sun shines.

But seriously, that thread has people calling GW a 'might have been'.

ARE THEY CRAZY OR JUST STUPID!

CHRIST, THATS SO FUCKING DUMB!

No, you have someone talking from the perspective of someone who has worked at GW, first hand knowledge, seen it from the inside out,
If he claims things there are wrong, how can you dispute this?, do you work there?

Quote from: Erik BoielleSee, you get morons who say things like:-



YES! DUMBASS! WE DO SEE HOW WELL IT FUCKING WORKS, KNOBEND! ITS HOW GAMES WORKSHOP OPERATE DIPSHIT! YOU KNOW! GAMES WORKSHOP! BY FAR THE BIGGEST COMPANY IN MINIATURES GAMING! OPERATES A CHAIN OF SHOPS! HAS NEVER GONE BUST, WHICH IS SOMETHING DnD CAN'T SAY! ACUTALLY MAKES A DECENT PROFIT OUT OF GAMING! IF YOU DON'T OPERATE LIKE GW YOU SHOULD BE ASKING YOURSELF WHY!

MORON! FOOL! PILLOCK!

heh!  I love this place.  Never the less, GW's profits just keep falling.  I think if they moved their target window up to 3 years retention they could probably turn that around with the extra $1000 per person they'd make.

It's pure greed.

I had considered getting into Warhammer but after seeing the prices of the miniatures I chose not too (Along with the fact that they change things to make past miniatures obsolete and whatnot).

It took awhile but now they have competition from other companies and their greed is coming back to bite them.

Serves them right

GW continues to be one of the strongest companies in gaming.  For one thing, it IS a company and not two dudes in a garage like half my favorite outfits in the game 'industry'.  On the other hand War Machine seems to be slowly replacing 40K as the game of choice for the people who dig that sort of thing.  At least locally.

I think it´s not wise to not actually support the game system underneath anymore.