If you haven't heard it by now: GW is raising prices.
The best part about GW news (hell any news from anywhere really) is to read the blog chatter about it. Like wildfire the news will spread between popular blogs and websites. Granted the most vocal people (the ones with websites) aren't always the best informed or even have best perspective of the event they are commenting on. I like to think that by reading several different sites I'll get a better idea of the whole picture.
The sad fact is, you do not, in fact, get a better picture. You get a bunch of poorly informed fans screaming into the guano strewn, dank bat-cave that is the Internet. Why you stepped into the putrid hole we'll never know. Perhaps you thought there would be a kernel of truth amid all the offal?
What I have learned is that everyone can really be broken down into two camps: 1. pillars of frothing rage vs. 2. melancholy indifference.
The later category might be the most intriguing because of their sad and resigned tone; as if they were expecting this sort of behavior and have become inured to it.
The first group, the angry crowd, tend to focus on how GW is destroying themselves as a company. These posts generally read like a date who was dumped before prom night, someone in the throws of a "deep relationship" who has suddenly and unceremoniously been blown out of the water by the other person's behavior.
A bit of advice, sugar, is GW doesn't love you, it is not your friend, it is and always will be a business with shareholders to appease.
I do not have a business degree. I know enough about money to handle my own finances. As such I am free to comment about the business practices of GW my words ring a little hollow with my amateur-at-best understanding.
Despite this, though, there is an underlying theme of general dissent and displeasure about the company even from some of the more stalwart apologists. However, despite that GW's business practices have paid off because I believe they posted record (for their recent trend at any rate) earnings.
Let's get a few things straight though: we are a niche market. The demand for this particular product is low. Most people who wander into a GW store think they sell traditional board games (Monopoly, Scrabble, etc) and often walk away confused or chortling, "NERDS!" as they walk back to their SUV's. This is not a poor man's hobby. Even if you somehow manage to scratch build an entire force you're still going to sink a significant amount of cash into the project, nevermind time.
Then you have all of the other miniature companies who are not raising their prices.
What. Does. That. Mean?
I don't know but it upsets everyone to the point that many are flocking to other gaming systems. A friend of mine is a long time 40K player. He jumped ship to Flames of War and Privateer Press in response and he is not alone!
Only time will tell what happens. It would be hard to imagine a world without GW. But a franchise THAT big does not go down easily.
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