GW / GCN

I'm not exactly sure if GCN (Gaming Club Network) spreads outside the UK, but for those interested, GCN recently put out this statement:

"Gaming Club Network
A Statement from the GCN President

This morning, I was informed of a thread within a forum which stated that Games Workshop was ordering the removal of GCN posters from all GW stores. Having checked the validity of this, it is fact that this had been promulgated in an internal GW store newsletter.

The GCN had already agreed to a meeting with GW management to discuss future relations, which included such areas as advertising and child protection policies. As far as I was aware any changes would rest on the decisions of that meeting (which in the case of the GCN would have required a vote of the general membership) and this statement has come as a complete surprise.

This is especially disappointing considering the tumultuous year the GCN has endured following the sudden death of the last president which has involved a complete restructuring and creation of a new website, due to come online by the Autumn. We have also expanded the number of companies and manufacturers we are involved with to whom we have a policy of favouring no one over any other.

The meeting on the 8th August has not been cancelled and we will, of course, inform you of any developments."

I saw a thread on Dakka about this. Looks like GW's typical short-sightedness and closed shop mentality. There are such mixed messages coming from GW at the moment. If they only want you to play at their stores and not at independent clubs then why are they constantly downsizing the stores, removing gaming tables and cutting staff? If they want their stores to do well, why do they sell to independents at 50% trade discount, allowing those stores to sell at 20-30% discount on GW store prices? If they insist that independents must be brick and mortar stores and not just online then why (and how???) do they spend £4m on a new website?

MAKE YOUR DAMN MINDS UP!!!

From my understanding they are going to be creating a new FW website similar to the Citidel website.

Quote :

Forge World mail order store. To protect our sales we are building a new Forge World mail order store on the same platform and hosting environment as our Citadel mail order store and migrating all products and imagery. It is on track with a scheduled go live date in the summer of
2015. It will cost £1.1 million.

This will hopefully allow you to order FW merchandise via a brick and mortar store and wave the shipping cost. According to the financial report (found here : http://investor.games-workshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/2014-15-Press-statement-final-website-final.pdf) they are also spending money on renaming their brick and mortar stores Warhammer instead of being known as Games Workshop.

Quote :

We have taken the decision in the year to rebrand our stores ‘Warhammer’. It is what our customers call us. This will be rolled out progressively, as and when we open new or refurbish our existing stores. At the year end date we had 13 Warhammer branded stores

I'm really not sure what they are doing, it is beyond my comprehension. If it was my business I would want my merchandise accessable by more people not close it down to just my stores and website. I understand that websites allow people to access them just about anywhere but when it comes to exposing people to the merchandise, it being played and sold in LGS means more exposer and thus more potential sales... Maybe my limited understanding of economics is getting in the way.

And the website spending goes over the £5m mark...

How? Seriously, HOW is it even possible for a company to spend that much on a website?

Especially such a bare-bones website, really. Bugger all added content.

They have no clue. It doesn't cost 5m for a website. I know several people who'd build them the same for a fraction of that. Their "ignorant of the digital era" decision makers tendered out the contract to the company with the most quicksilver tongue. And they're paying for it. Either that or they're siphoning profits from the company to give to their mates web development firm. That's always a possibility in the realm or corporate dealings.

GW sends people out talking about the community and feedback and the like but when it comes down to it they're all about smashing the community and anything beyond their immediate and total control. You can't play GW games in GW shops because they're tiny and lack tables and staff to man the tables. But screw you if you think you're gonna play elsewhere. Maybe they're worried that if you play at a club you'll be exposed to non-GW products and might jump ship? GW products are to be played only by children in their bedrooms, with their immediate friends. This sadly isn't how the tabletop gaming community works. Sure it's how most of us started but it isn't what fuels the hobby and gives it longevity. Gaming clubs and tournaments are the engines that drive wargaming.

Yet again GW shows they have no clue of how to manage its playerbase. They smash and withdraw support for anything beyond their control but they offer no alternatives in return. The model of keeping back some items to sell only through their own stores/website is a good business strategy. But when you cripple the ability of indies to retail your popular products you cripple your own ability to saturate the market with any of your products. GW does nothing to encourage people to play it's games other than relying on kids to walk past their storefronts and beg their parents for money to buy the shiny toys.

GW should be working with gaming organizations and clubs. They should be supporting tournaments. They should be running their own internet communities. They should be integrating all their products/franchises and licenses and funnelling it all through their web presence to provide cross-platform advertisement and migration (how many people have played GW license video games that aren't aware of their miniature games?). Their global presence is crap unless you already know of them. They've been relying on word of mouth forever and they';re wondering why their struggling to grow. The web presence is appalling for a 21st century business. It's almost neolithic.

I swear GW thinks it's a toy company, yet they don't advertise like a toy company. It certainly isn't a game company because you compare them to Hasbro and their subsidiaries and you realise how much of a joke they are.

I think GW is a company with a split personality. The execs think they run a toy company for kids. The designers know they run a gaming company. the sculptors think they run a miniatures company. The execs work well with the sculptors - make us a model we can copyright and make it awesome! But the designers are left in the cold - make the game sell this model NOW. Now make the game sell THIS model. The designers know they need a community to underpin their games but the execs have no concept of what that is. They only understand money and profits. How else could it be that they'd spend 5 mil on trying to get Forge World to sell more models (how many more must they sell to recoup that investment?) whilst they continually antagonize and hound retailers for selling their products and alienate anybody trying to forge a community out of their games?

I feared this would happen when they floated on the stock market. Fortunately I think most people don't care what they do. Players these days have more and better options for tabletop gaming. 40k players seem to just take what they want from the game and largely ignore GW and their ludicrous policies. This seen in the rise firstly of the 2nd hand Ebay market for models, then the rise of bitz sellers and finally the rise of the Chinese/Russian resculpter. People just take what they want now and don't give back half as much as they used to back when the company was run by gamers for gamers.

The cause of the situation has been revealed, and apparently its down to GW not quite understanding child protection laws:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9h7AEz_WnzgVWNSQ3A5XzNnbUE/view

Quote :

We have taken the decision in the year to rebrand our stores ‘Warhammer’. It is what our customers call us.

Well this doesn't seem terribly sensible. I have never heard anyone call the shops or the company this in 20 years+. (There you go GW, some free market research! ) Also, the name Games Workshop does suggest to the uninitiated that this is a place where games are sold. Warhammer stores ... are going to confuse a fair few DIY enthusiasts and perhaps the odd potential recruit for the TA*.

I wasn't aware of a formal non-GW league but to me that would only help the hobby - I hope they do come to a good resolution with GW.


*that's Territorial Army, not T&A which has its own thread.

Yeah, I must admit I've never said or heard anyone else say "I'm just popping into Warhammer to pick up some paints".

In my experience,"Warhammer is not what players call the store and company, but it is what family and friends who have no contact with the hobby call it.
Is that what they mean?

Well, the nail is in.

Games Workshop and the Gaming Club network, despite a very long history or working together, have parted ways:

http://www.gamingclubnetwork.net/news/2015/9/21/announcement-regarding-the-cessation-of-the-gaming-club-network-and-games-workshops-affiliation

And it looks like others such as Warlord Games are already jumping in to fill the void and sign up with the GCN.

I bet Mantic and other companies are currently having an absolute blast with GW's 'business' decisions. They've basically given the Warhammer Fantasy franchise to Mantic for nothing.