Reply To: Overpriced GW

[onlyonepinman 18062xp 1]

@redscope I am not “creating” anything nor am I trying to reinforce my position because I don’t really have a position on this.

I am simply pointing out a simple fact, that being that in almost (this is the key word here, almost) every context, Games Workshop are the most expensive option.  It doesn’t matter whether you are buying a single squad, a beginner set or whether you are buying the full army, the cost is higher if you are buying Games Workshop models.  I am not saying it as a positive or a negative factor – being expensive isn’t necessarily a good or a bad thing.

You can’t compare citadel plastics to Victoria Miniatures or Raging Heroes resin – you would need to compare those to Forge World.  I have, so far, only compared like for like products (so multi-part plastics to multi-part plastics) and in that arena, they come out more expensive nearly every time.  For reference, a squad of ten FW Death Korps is $79, a squad of 10 from Victoria Miniatures is $60.

Is Infinity more expensive that Kill Team?  Possibly yes.  But it’s also metal miniatures and it’s CB’s flagship game whereas Kill team is not GW’s flagship game so it’s not a great comparison.  However, much like Deadzone (see below), once you have bought that starter box, your ongoing costs are comparable because while the miniatures are more expensive (but also, metal, so again probably better compared to other metal or resin miniatures) you don’t have to buy any books.  All the rules are free as is the army builder app.

However let’s look at something that is a perfect comparison – Deadzone from Mantic Games.  Deadzone’s RRP is £25 higher than Kill Team’s, however you get significantly more scenery, I would say that you also get a better quality of scenery as you get actual buildings rather than a handful of barricades and you get a comparable number of models (possibly slightly more in Deadzone).  You also get the rules for ALL Deadzone factions, not just the two teams you got in the box, which means that in the long run, you don’t have to buy more books when you want to try a new faction.  If I want to expand beyond the factions in the box, I can do so for the total cost of £25 for a new faction starter, with Kill Team the price to branch into a new faction is over £60 because I have to also buy a new rule book as well.  So again, Games Workshop are not really coming out favourably on price when you compare them to like for like products.

There’s no point trying to deny that Games Workshop are more expensive than their competitors when they clearly are;  I don’t really think that is the question that people need to ask either.  The only question is, are you prepared to pay the prices GW ask, which is really down to the individual.  For anyone who answers yes, more power to you;  enjoy your hobby.  For those who answer no, there are cheaper, alternative ways to enjoy the hobby – and by hobby I mean wargaming not the Games Workshop definition of hobby.