A fond farewell to Games Workshop

I suppose this was going to happen sooner or later, as it probably did with many of those before me. Games Workshop has consistently produced good looking models and fun (if tactically simple) games, but price-wise, they're pretty much a rip-off. While there are those who have the means and desire to continue their hobby, my time playing and purchasing their games has come to a close. Me and others like me no longer are the target demographic of their company, unwanted customers that don't have the means to continue to support them. My days as a Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer Fantasy player have ended. I'm sure that everyone who has given up on GW probably has written some rant on why their favorite miniature company is the ultimate force of darkness, along with some allusions to Nazi Germany and the evils of capitalism. Rather than lash out, instead I'd rather take a short time to analyze exactly why I am no longer content to play, and how they could've avoided this situation.

I have to admit, that even before I got into 40k at the age of 14, GW had always had expensive miniatures priced ahead of the inflation rate. But there is a reason for this, that being the scale of their games at the time. Back in the 80's Warhammer 40k 1st and 2nd edition were both considered skirmish games, meaning that you probably had 50 models at most per side. In those times, you were allowed to have around 25% of your points dedicated solely to your HQ units, meaning that with the wide variety of wacky weapons and gadgets, you could bulk up on points fairly easily. In a 2000 point game between Space Wolves and Eldar, you'll probably get around 25 models per side, because of all the additional add-ons and elements represented in the game's rules, rather than the pieces of play on the field. An Ork warboss loaded with mega-armor, various cyborg attachments, and perhaps a grenade launcher loaded with vortex grenades could be around 1/8th or 1/4th of your entire points budget (depending on how many points are agreed upon per side). Mind you, the aformentioned game between Eldar and Marines could take 4 hours of play, but that's alright and to be expected, because the rules are balanced around you using that many models, and add the tactical options available with each playing piece. Yes, the models were pricey, but it was fair, because you didn't need that many to play.

Not so in 2010. With each new edition released (c'mon, you're supposed to update all the codexes for 4th edition before moving on to 5th!) the average game size increases. I don't mean that in the sense of points values, since the worth of a model changes from edition to edition. With the exception of perhaps the Imperial Guard, armies in 2nd edition consisted of 3 or 4 squads reinforced with a plastic tank or two. In 3rd edition, the average army size is a reinforced platoon, 5 or 6 squads, not including command, with 3 or 4 armored vehicles. With this the rules are simplified, but the scale has been increased to accept a platoon-sized game in about the same amount of time it took for the 20 models to duke it out. Plus, these troop choices are now in plastic, so it's not too much of an increase in price, since you're getting more in each box. The problem comes in the fact that in recent editions, with the focus on apocalypse sized games, that 2000 points could very well be an entire company. In current codex updates, the points value of individual models are reduced, with army wide special rules not being represented in "invisible" points that effect the entire army. So the average points allowance of a wholesome "balanced" game is upped to 2000 or 2500, while the points value for units and troops decreases, and the monetary cost of these models of decreased game value goes up all at the same time.

The rules for 40k are now not too tactically exciting or really get me thinking and strategizing. Subjectively, it now feels like games are decided by little personal skill, at least compared to 2nd edition. This is okay though, because modern 40k is what we consider a Beer & Pretzels game. The focus is not on a slide-rule simulation of speculative future combat, but seeing power armored space marines with chainsaw blades, giant electrified Nintendo Power Gloves, and machine gun rocket launchers fighting space elves, demons, and green-skinned football hooligans, all while you and your friends are having fun cathartically rolling buckets of dice and trash-talking! That's totally awesome! There's no other sci-fi universe like it! But let's look at this from a different perspective. Twilight Creation's Zombies! is a Beer and Pretzel game, rules-light and a ton of fun. Initial investment? probably 20 or 30 bucks. Gorka-Morka is a Beer and Pretzel miniatures game with those green-skinned football hooligans in dune buggies with big guns and axes. Initial investment? around sixty bucks for the starter box, enough for 2 players. A complete Warhammer 40k army? Six Hundred Dollars. Alternatively, you could get 2 new XBOX 360s, a budget gaming computer made DIY, or 10 brand new video games. The point I'm trying to make is that you probably won't spend a lot of money for a strategy game where you won't get too much opportunities for strategy, and, after all, you're playing strategy games because you're a big enough nerd to find thinking and strategy fun.

Alright, so 40k isn't worth it to me anymore. But what about the company itself? surely it would go out of business if people woke up and realized what a waste of money their games are. The thing is, I don't think that's who's buying and playing their games. When GW raises the price, the more reasoned and casual players opt out, but the hardcore fans keep buying and playing, because they feel it is still worth it, and thus put up with the price. So even though there are less customers, the ones that remain are paying more, making up the loss. While this may be good for short term growth, it's not good for sustainability. As time goes on, even the hardcore will no longer be able to afford it, and by 2040, Games Workshop's customer base will consist of a club of about five hundred insane, eccentric billionaires that meet at their secret chateaus in the Swiss alps to play 10,000 point games with their armies of space marines and demons bought for $200 per tactical squad or rhino APC.

As it stands, GW is in a delicate neutral point, having a large enough following to remain somewhat profitable, but having no idea of how to actually invite new players except by trying to hide the sticker price of their model kits and hope the customer doesn't notice. They might now be a niche industry since miniature gaming is to board gaming, what board gaming is to video gamers. It doesn't have to be that way though, the 40k universe being so cool that liscensing it out to video games, comic books, movies, and board games could likely be far more profitable than miniatures. GW may have re-released Space Hulk for the absurd price of $100, but Fantasy Flight Games is replicating the experience to the best of their power in the form of the Space Hulk card game, at a reasonable price point. If they keep things like that up, they could be the Tengen to GW's Nintendo. Games Workshop may die or become the TSR of the new millenia, I'm sure the 40k universe has enough fans to continue on in a format that won't break the bank, and is also more accessible to a larger audience of potential customers.

So in conclusion, goodbye Games Workshop. I had a good time playing your games with my good friends, but it is time to depart. There are new horizons and games to explore and embrace.