Reply To: Is GW's constant "limited release" marketing starting to bite back?

[limburger 21709xp 1]

@phaidknott every industry follows that pattern … or is going to.
It works, because it targets our weak points and it helps them to minimize dead products in their warehouses.

As for marketing departments entering our hobby ? White Dwarf has been GW’s primary advertorial disguised as a hobby magazine since day 1.  They may not have been as overt as they were during the dark years, but it has always been used to test/promote/hype new products.

Battlefront, Corvus Belli and Warlord aren’t any different with their newsletters promoting their latest products.
And you can bet they’re analyzing every click and sale they make after every single one of them.

@twodeesick those tiny companies are either dead or are run by the same type of beancounters that GW has.
Passion gets you started, but it rarely survives growth.

I’m not defending their methods, but I can understand how it makes sense from a business perspective.
GW can’t afford to drop the ball and let a competitor eat into their share.
And you can be sure that if any of their competitors were in a similar position they’d be doing the same.

I’d love to see GW reduce the amount of armies they support to something that allows them to stock every single unit at retail.
However that is not going to happen, because angry fanboys aside (remember the Squats!) the current model works for their primary goal of selling minis.

The first thing to do is to understand why they’re doing things like this.
It makes it easier to ignore the hype and be rational about your reasons for purchasing.

Also remember : it’s ok if you don’t like things. You may not be part of their target demographic.
GW is selling a mass market product with all the pros and cons that entails.
Pro : easy to buy, lots of people familliar with the product
Con: not the best quality in aspects that matter and lots of hype

I can’t deny that they do sell the best plastic kits within the industry (especially when the artistic design is on par with their technical capabilities).
It’s a shame that their rules don’t have that high level of design and execution.