"is WFB a dead system?" Topic

Has GW's warhammer fantasy battles become just another pretty over priced marketing scam ?I have seen prices sky rocket since 3rd edition on figures or troop types you just "have to have " for this army list or another to make the winable with each new army book to come out.It seems to me that GW has lost sight of the fact it is a game.

you're just now figuring that out

Just speaking from around here, all things GW are alive and well. There's no accounting for taste.

For me it started going downhill some time ago, when I was told I could not use my Essex Winged Hussars I bought whilst serving in Hong Kong before the Kislevs appeared!

Trick is to play with friends, using whatever figures and armies that you want!

Tally Ho!

for our group, though we love the setting and have many fond memories of WFB games in ages past, the rules have been broken since 6th edition, with rampant codex creep, and rules changes for their own sake. plus the core mechanics are way out of date, and it takes way too long to get a game in.

lately we play loads of kings of war with our warhammer armies. it plays faster, and more miniatures get put on the table. plus, it rewards tactics as opposed to killer magic item combos.

I can sum up the response here.
The game is broken, nobody plays it any more, the figures are way too expensive… and sales are through the roof.

Gray Ghost…no,I have been heading down the road of disapointment with GW for some time now.I went to the flee market at williamsburg muster to get rid of most of my GW collection,,,,,,ended up selling only the Empire stuff,,,,,about 300 plus figs,unopened steam tank ,,,and a few white dwarf mags,,,and got no were near 30% of selling price.

It depends. In Spain, WFB is waning on Madrid and Barcelona, but in Andalucia is thriving. With W40K is happening just the oposite. On the other hand, The Hobbit does look like its sales are below expected.

Drove past the GW shop friday and it was still open for WFB newbs training.

As I said on another thread, here in the Midwest it seems as though 40k is going gangbusters, WFB is its weak sister, and LOTR/Hobbit is a collectors' only game.

We can moan all we want but here are some facts:

1. I don't know of any company with a chain of stores that supports miniatures like they do.

2. They have been marketing to the younger disposable income crowd for quite some time. And successfully so.

3. Compared to many hobbies, even high GW prices aren't so bad. Examples include paintball, karting, BMX, RC hobbies, etc.

Someone has to be the high price leader ;-) By the way, my only real gripe with them is when they abandon production or have very little support. Games such as Man O War come to mind. It wouldn't cost much to support these specialist type games and they can draw in customers to their core games.

Although I have yet to play 40K, I do love Epic 40K as an example. Warmaster had the possibility of bringing me over to Warhammer as well. I still have quite a few figures even though I sold my dwarves a few years back.

It will be interesting to see if Warlord revitalizes the fantasy side with some rules. Never understood why another rules system didn't take off that allowed you to use the GW armies and fluff.

When you have to pay 100 New Zealand pesos for a single resin 28mm figure of a knight on a somewhat smallish griffon, it goes beyond stupid. It would have to be made of some sort of precious metal before I paid that for it.

I have a huge Bretonnian Army, mainly because I enjoy painting the knights and foot soldiers – but I have acquired probably 99% of it second hand at a fraction of the cost of store brought.

In the annual report before the 8th edition launch, it mentioned that sales were not justifying the capital involved and thus they decided to release 8th edition to revitalize the line.

If it doesn't work and WFB doesn't grow, it could be that GW will wind the line down, or at the very least, jack up prices enough that the lowered amount sold brings in a higher amount of money.

WFB may outsell the offerings of a 100 other miniaure companies combined, but GW has much higher demands of their products than a one or two person operation.

I'm holding out for 9th edition… maybe 10th…

No way GW closes down WFB. No way. They may very well change tactics, or change support for the game, but there is no way you will see them turn it in to Warmaster or such.

I actually like the cnanges in 8th edition and already have sizable armies collected earlier. The hardcover books are really nice. You don't have to buy the new Special and Rare units to have a good army or game. If you want them, however, they are there. Not into tournament play so do not care about 'competitive' armies.

I bought the 8th edition rules on a whim, and have read a lot of online chatter about the various editions, and to me this current 8th edition seems an improvement. Many of the complaints seem to stem from the "my hero isn't all powerful anymore" or "why can't my 8-figure knight unit break a unit of spears when it charges it head-on" crowd.

Actually, the market for GW games is not the under 15 crowd. It is the @ 18-28 crowd.

Thanks,

John

Play at 1000 points. Things a re fine there.

I'm interested in how you would decide the market for GW games is the 18-28 crowd.
Having talked to a local shop owner he reckons it's primarily kids.
Certainly fits what I see when I wander in a GW shop.

On the original question.
The game is still selling.
Less customers and less boxes sold but increased prices and hence profits.

Whilst I think it's not a particularly great game it's the de facto standard for fantasy.
It would take a lot for that to change.
There again it is something of a mystery to me how come people are buy the stuff given the prices.
My guess would be that it's kids presents and kids logic keeps em going.
You buy a present for a kid you're buying to a budget rather than looking for "value". You already know you're buying junk – they're toys.

As many posters point out over the crowd noise, GW is not comparable to any historical miniatures company at all. GW competes against things like the model train hobby, RC hobbyists, and other higher-end interests.

GW prices are still nothing compared to the asinine prices people pay for golf accessories or other recreations.

That being said, if you troll the various warhammer-specific forums, you come to realize these people largely are ignorant of the greater miniatures hobby--little to no knowledge of all the niche manufacturers and rules, etc. It is funny when periodically someone will "discover" Old Glory or someone else.

ended up selling only the Empire stuff,,,,,about 300 plus figs,unopened steam tank…

Hey, I bought that steam tank!