Has Games Workshop Finally Started To Listen? Some times trying to get collectors and hobbyists to agree is like herding cats, but did Games Workshop just get the collective attention of both?
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article original published on November 6th 2015 came at a time of great frustration to many hobbyists. The summer of Sigmar has just melted a lot of dedicated player’s faces, and there was a lot of hate going around for people that both defended and held Games Workshop responsible for the general state of malaise that had descended onto our hobby.
However this time period may be important in hobby history because if you backtrack the statements made in GW’s Q&A about when they started developing 8th Edition 40k, (18 months ago according to Pete) that perhaps puts the time frame squarely here to this very post by Warhammer TV.
Did Games Workshop truly start to listen to what we wanted, 18 months ago?
(goosebumps)
We have our first “second edition” codex release with the Tau, which didn’t require hobbyists in the first time in like ever to BUY a new codex book to keep up with their army. Sure there is a campaign set that did sorta, but is there a fine line between “required” and “optional” releases for an army?
I fell like as far as expansions go, those may not be “required” to go with an army. Either way it does seem like Games Workshop is making all the right moves with the Tau release.
We recommend purchasing this, rather than the updated Codex: Tau Empire – this book contains ALL the new rules and formations for the new miniatures, totally unabridged. (Via Games Workshop)
Checkout a far more eloquent missive about the matter below:
Via Aryllon 10-21-2015
I’m kinda lost. GW are listening to us for the first time I can ever remember. And people are complaining about it??
The repeated, loudly broadcast complaint been that GW have been releasing things too quickly hence every time new stuff comes out, people have to fork out another $60 to replace a book which is basically new.
Now GW are recognising that sentiment, so manage the release in a manner which gives you the option of:
Buy nothing, both your current codex and army remains legal
Buy only the new minis you want, get the rules with them for free, combine them with what you already have and it’s all legal
Buy a supplement with fluff, a campaign, plus all the new minis’ rules, plus all the new faction options, all of it combines legally with everything you already have, no need to buy a codex or models unless you want to
Buy the new codex to start playing Tau / maintain a complete collection / whateverAnd people are complaining?
I don’t see the problem. If you already have the codex you can just buy the new models, or just the new rules, or both, or neither. If you don’t have the existing codex you can buy everything. Or some of it, or nothing.
I’m not saying it’s flawless (everyone likes their army to be revisited and that hasn’t happened this time), but we can’t collectively complain that GW repeatedly does A instead of B, then complain when they listen to us and give us B instead of A. It’s ridiculously hypocritical.
Of course the people who complained about A aren’t the same people who are complaining about B, everyone has a preference so it’s not individually hypocritical even if it is collectively. But that doesn’t mean people shouldn’t recognise that GW are trying to deliver what people have been asking for.
Honestly I would rather GW had done this with the last Eldar codex instead of replacing it with the current thing I’m embarrased to use. I would much rather just have got the recut jetbikes and a new campaign book including optional formations (and I’m sure anyone who plays against Eldar would have preferred that too). Don’t think just because you currently have a good book with some flaws, a replacement would fix those flaws – that’s exactly the scenario the previous Eldar book was in (fix the serpent shield & WK cost plus a couple other things, it would have been totally fine). Tau players are one of the luckiest in terms of having a good book with multiple playable options that’s strong but not broken unless you’re playing against a douche. You’re getting a lot of new stuff without being forced to get it or to replace anything. People who don’t have hobby budget won’t suddenly be excluded from playing. Yet you have the option to replace anything or everything if you do want to.
If this is a new business model meaning GW henceforth can give factions new models along with free rules on a fairly regular basis (pulling together multiple releases into an optional supplement for those who want it), but only update an actual Codex when it’s outdated or broken, that would represent the perfect balance between the varied extremes of what individual people want.
Bravo GW, I say. And it’s a long time since I said that.
But wait THERE’S MORE. In perhaps another first, it looks like Games Workshop is asking for feedback from it’s customers.
No we’re not kidding, and this is not an April fools joke…
Send us your suggestions or hobby questions for our upcoming Warhammer TV Advent Calendar 2015. We want to hear from you.
e-mail us at [email protected]
We’ll be opening the first Advent calendar window on Tuesday 1 December and then every day until Christmas Eve, so please check back to see if your suggestion is one of the ones we film.
We can’t guarantee to answer every email personally, but we do read them all.
Thanks
The Warhammer TV team.
Between the Tau release, and the upcoming Horus Heresy hybrid product launch, Games Workshop seems to be hitting all the right marks going into their mid year earnings report.
Is this all for show, or is the new CEO trying to make some positive moves on both sides of the cash register?
Is Games Workshop starting to finally listen to it’s customers, or are they giving us what we want- without telling us?
About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.
Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls.
Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at Las Vegas Open, which attracts over 350 players from around the world.
Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the Adepticon 40k Team Tournament.
With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), he advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1980s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
