Did GW listen to us? Petition final update.

Six months-ish since the GW petition closed. I was never contacted by the notoriously secretive GW. They never released any press statements IRT this petition. Just the typical fan aloofness...

If you didn't know about it, well it got over 17,000 signatures, which is nothing to scoff at, and can be summed up as
1- Support all types of players, casual and competitive, with focused rules, faqs, event support and campaign play. Make it worth it for Veterans and new players alike.
2- Support your Independent retailers and FLGS, don't just push your online store. They will try and sell your product instead of your competitors if you make it worth it.
3- Competitively price your products. You can charge a premium because of your quality, but we have finite gaming dollars, and you are pricing us out.
4- Develop an online community instead of just having a webstore online. 
5- Conduct market research and get on social networks.

Detractors of this said "They will never listen". "GW doesn't care about the fans." "This is pointless." "This is hopeless."

I countered with "The point is to at least be heard. To at least make someone step back at GW and consider our side of the equation. 10,000 people's opinion should at least be considered."

So lets take a look at a few things that have happened since Mr. Rountree became CEO (which happened sometime after we passed 10,000 signatures IIRC) and in particular, things that have happened lately. It turns out, maybe we were heard after all.

1- GW announced it is bringing back specialist games
2- GW releases numerous low price "Start collecting" sets
3- GW develops for release low price introductory sets (http://bit.ly/1Ro7xWO)
4- GW plans a return to organized play (tournaments, campaigns and events) and has even attended several conventions, both for players and industry, already (http://bit.ly/1UFh0bk)
5- Both GW and Forge World launch official Facebook pages, finally entering the social media scene
6- Numerous board games with equal quality models to the tabletop game and even rules for table top (Execution force, Betrayal at Calth, Overkill, Lost Patrol) at varying price points and all "good deals"
7- The first FAQs in nearly 2 years (several in December)
8- GW, this week via their relaunched Facebook Page, asked US the PLAYERS to give them questions to answer for an FAQ!

Did... did... um... did GW actually, you know, maybe listen to us?

So if you compare some of these things to what the points of the petition were, it starts seeming like the petition became more of a to do list for Mr Rountree. And if not a to do list, at least a list of concerns that were considered when making decisions.

And as I told the detractors, that was the point of this.

Now I am seeing some counterpoints in places. Things like "The lead times on these things are months, if not years, this did nothing" and the usual "GW never listens"
Well to the second, that is the point of this... maybe they did. Opinions I guess. But to the first point, well you are wrong.
All of the "Start Collecting" boxes are just existing kits in new boxes. Lead time for a packaged carboard box is short. Really short. Definitely in the time span of the petition. And definitely after Kirby was gone from GW.
The creation of Specialist Games again was a decision made AFTER the petition in whole, as there was nothing and they even had to make new job postings for it online!
Some of the low price things are yet to come, like the intro boxes and lost patrol. These will have only been started design in the last 6 months or so, and they don't even use new models!

So yeah, the lead times are not something to consider as a factor as to why this petition "did nothing". The second guy saying "GW never listens" is more valid. And remember, they are asking us for FAQ questions now, and he is STILL more valid. 

I want to make it clear though, I am not a business guy, nor do I think this was the catalyst, this was the THING that did it. I just think this was another stone, and potentially a big one though who is to know, on our side of the scale of bringing GW back. Of them becoming the good guys again. Gone are the days of Kirby! Hail the reign of Rountree! Long live the Hobby!

Lastly, to all the people who signed and shared it: Thank you. If (and yes, I am admitting, that is a REALLY BIG IF) this did have a positive effect on the way GW does business, it is only because of you. So thanks.

It is an exciting time for the hobby. Get out there and enjoy it.
#bringinghobbyback

Apparently GW thinks only 20% of us game. Thoughts on the GW investor article (RANT)

First of all I suggest you read the article from an Investor inside of GW's recent annual investor meeting. This guy is not a hobbyist himself, but an actual investor. What he has brillantly done though is gone through the internet and looked at competitors products to get a good idea of what the communities concerns are, what we want and are looking for, and what is important and topical to today's market.

Games Workshop AGM: A relentless profit machine

That title says something we really all know already right, but I am going to pull out a few highlights. RANT MODE ON! (There will be no foul language, but know I am cussing out loud when I write this).

Here is a highlight from the article "I’m told that the word “Game” in Games Workshop encourages the misconception that games are its business, but that only about 20% of Games Workshop’s customers are gamers."

This is coming from a company, who in their own financial report have the following
"The Group does not undertake research activities." and the words market & research cannot be found anywhere together. I am pretty sure Tom Kirby even bragged about this in past reports.

They have no reliable data to form this (mis)conception. Sure they have figures on total sales and sales in their store, and in the UK most of the gaming happens in the "warhammer shoppe", however most US gaming is at an FLGS or at HOME! I know I have played WAY more outside a store than in one. At least ten times as much. I have NEVER played any games of Fantasy or Specialist Games in stores, but that does not mean I have not ever played them!

As well, if 80% of us were collecting and only 20% gaming, how come there is an EXTREMELY PROLIFIC and LUCRATIVE Ebay aftermarket. This aftermarket is driven entirely by gamers looking for cheap pieces to get onto the table top.

As well, if 80% of us are collecting, then why did you Nuke WHFB and come out with AoS (I will let you decide what the S stands for)? You have an awesome lore and background. You even spend a whole WD right before AoS dropped bragging about that. So why did the game fail if we were all collecting? And why did you have to competely re-invent the world and mechanics for only 20% of us. I will tell you why. Because WHFB rules had become entirely unbalanced and broken in 8th. It WAS THE GAME that killed it. Because people bought and collected WHFB to play the game. And if (I personally believe when) AoS fails, it will be because of THE GAME. Same goes doubly for LotR, which should have been twice as collectible as anything warhammer related, but it did FAR worse.

And don't base your expectations of AoS off of "other metrics, downloads and Sigmar themed magazine sales," that "management seems more than satisfied" with. NEARLY EVERYONE downloaded the rules out of curiosity. They were FREE so why not? I wonder how many went into the recycle bin after the first read. Furthermore, the WD came with a free model. I specifically bought it for that and a copy of the rules, out of curiosity. What was $4? I wanted the model for terrain TBH and used it as such. What you should really look at is your inability to move the core box set and limited edition books. The equivalent Limited Ed in 40k sell out IN HOURS.

On top of that, how can they reconcile that statistic of "20% gamers", which is at best a guess and at worst irresponsible ignorance, with their stated goal and business plan to recruit teenagers/young adults? Especially this generation know for its gaming and gamer culture. Another indicator should be the resurgence of board games and the wild success of FFG and Privateer Press. People want games. If I wanted a collection I would choose one that has potential value increase... which for 95% of hobbyists our paint jobs don't do that. I consider myself an above average painter. Not professional, but I rarely meet people in person that can match me IMO, but I still don't expect to get back the cost of the model for most of my work (which is why it becomes a collection rather than me selling it off).

Also from the article is this "I’ve got bad news for disenchanted gamers complaining on the Internet. The company’s attitude towards customers is as clinical as its attitude towards staff. If you don’t like what it’s selling. You’re not a customer. The company believes only a fraction of the population are potential hobbyists, and it’s not interested in the others."

Yet this is what Mr. Rountree claims in the Financial Report ". I'd like to think our Hobby - modelling, painting, collecting, gaming - is for anyone."

So what they are putting on record and actually telling investors seems to be two different, and irreconcilable things. Sure they may not have bluntly put it like the article's author, however that is the perception and message received by investors. One of exclusion and no compassion for the costumer, without whom the company would FAIL btw.

Games workshop stopped being a hobby company when they started only focusing on making models as they come in the box. Games, conversions, conventions, events, all make you a hobby company. You are a now model, or even TOY company, but stop feeding us the line that you actually care about a hobby. Unless by hobby you mean buying outrageously priced models, because that is what you seem to think hobbying means. So to deem FFG as a lesser company, as you do in the article:

"When another shareholder asks if the company would sell games with pre-painted easy to assemble miniatures like the popular Star Wars themed X-Wing game, there’s a collective growl from the Games Workshop people. It wouldn’t be a hobby business then, it would be a toy company."

You are DIMINISHING the entirety of the HOBBY of WARGAMING. I think NO LESS of my X-WING brethren than I do of a 40k player or Blood Bowler. Just because they are prepainted doesn't mean it is any less HOBBY. It is easy to do a repaint. BUT not everyone wants to just paint, or has the ability to paint as well of even the prepaints. To them this is an attractive way INTO THE HOBBY.

Really GW, you are no different than LEGO. They also sell high priced, highly regarded IP based, unfinished plastic kits. To a very wide array of collectors and "gamers" ie people that play with legos (of whom there are FAR more than collectors btw).

You will be a hobby company again if you start caring about all aspects of the hobby. Like you said Mr. Rountree, it is "modelling, painting, collecting, gaming" SO DO ALL OF IT ALREADY.

Then there is this: "I asked one of the board members if he played, or if he modelled. He used to do both, he said but now he finds running businesses is even more fun. Not for the first time that day the thought crossed my mind that Games Workshop’s management might view staff, customers, and investors as figures on a tabletop that they must manoeuvre ruthlessly to victory."

One major problem indicated in the article is leadership no longer invested in their product. I trust apple and Microsoft to try and make good products users want because they too use these very products. I get the feeling from GW that the customer is distasteful and they sully themselves by making our addiction, but there is a dollar to be made so they do it anyway.

And by the way, your profits keep falling GW. So maybe, JUST MAYBE, your attitude is affecting that.

My final thought on the article is not so much a thought, but a love for the closing, and very poignant, statement

"Sigmar sounds like a good product, and I think maybe I should buy it for Joe for Christmas. But as I walk back along a tow-path to the railway station the spell wears off.
He just wants to play. He’s not an anointed one. He doesn’t have Warhammer DNA. I don’t think he’ll ever walk into a Warhammer store because he wants to paint a Stormcast Eternal.

Maybe we’ll get him X-Wing instead."

I could keep going on, but I shall give you a reprieve. I will leave you with this. Over 16,500 people have signed at the time of this article. There is one month left of the Petition. If you feel that GW is laying the bricks on its own path to its demise, you are welcome to sign.

Refocus your business model on the sale of a game and support of a gaming community vice the pure sale of collectible miniatures.

Or GW could keep doing this

GW: Bring Back Blood Bowl

I found this on the Blood Bowl facebook group (which you should join if you play or even are vaguely interested in Blood Bowl) and thought I would share.

I know with my own experience with petitions to GW that they yield nothing, however I still think as a consumer it is important to have our opinion at least voiced.

So if you believe in Blood Bowl, or would be interested in starting if it was reprinted, then feel free to check out and sign this petition.

Bring back Blood Bowl!

I personally would like it to come back, but I think it would be best if Forge World was the one to do it, along with any/all of the other specialist games. They could do them in small enough of runs to make it profitable and yet build player interest and community size.

Petition to Games Workshop: 9 months and 15,000 signatures later

So it has been 9 months since I put up the petition to Games Workshop.

Refocus your business model on the sale of a game and support of a gaming community vice the pure sale of collectible miniatures. (click to read it or sign)

A lot has changed in that time. The End Times came and went, 40k got a machine gun fire of releases, Age of Sigmar dropped and now 30k plastics and an uncertain future of 40k looms on the future if a lot of the rumours are to be believed.

I am not sure what, if anything at all, GW took from the Petition. The point was just to at least express the community's frustration (at least 15,000 of us), whether it was heard or not.

I think some things did get through, and the rapid fire 40k releases may be indicative of that. As well, GW is apparently going to Gencon, altough in what manner has yet to be seen. They are going to have a very steep leaning curve at conventions IMO, and I hope they are better prepared for it than just "This is Age of Sigmar. It has pretty models. You should play it."

I will say for one, I have never EVER met someone who quit GW games to move onto something else because they didn't like the models. GW has, is and will most likely always get that part right. BUT nearly every example of someone I know who quit GW for anything other than financial reasons is because the rules were just not there. They either found them horribly unbalanced, woefully supported, or just plain old out of date. AoS seems to be taking some stabs at this, at least in the "out of date" and support department, BUT it is too new to really judge. We have yet to see how well they can support and update the AoS rules over the course of months, let alone years.

This is why I think that this Petition is still valid, and it is still there for you to sign if you wish. Maybe for some it is more valid than ever (Fantasy Old Guard perhaps?)

Petition to Games Workshop reaches 10,000 Supporters!

Today marked a momentous milestone in the GW Petition, 10,000 signatures! I never thought it would ever be so successful. I just felt I had concerns and that there had to be others that had the same concerns for their beloved hobby, and sat down and wrote from my heart. Now only a few weeks later, so many people from all around the globe have spoken up with me, and it really is great to know that there are so many people equally impassioned by this game and universe we call Warhammer.

For those who have not read it but are interested you can go to it here

Refocus your business model on the sale of a game and support of a gaming community vice the pure sale of collectible miniatures.

Here is my latest update on change.org:

In my last update I said I wouldn't update again until the unlikely event the Petition reached 10,000 signatures... WELL IT DID!

Thank you everyone for your support to this. Know that the petition is open for a full year (standard change.org petition length) so you can keep sharing: tinyurl.com/kjqng2g  #GWPetition 

I want to give a special thank you to one California signer who promoted the petition. You were the first, and it is truly awesome that you felt strongly enough to do so!

Even if GW doesn't enact the changes, I am gald that we, as their customers and fans, at least stood up and said what we felt needed to be said. In the words of Princeps Senioris Mikal of the Legio Praesagius, The True Messengers, "It does not matter if we are defeated today, it is enough that we fight. The artifices of the Machine God have been perverted to a traitorous cause and we cannot allow that to pass without response." 

I want to reiterate that this is not attempting to champion tournaments, but rather a game that can support all types of play, both hardcore competition and narrative/relaxed, and that GW should focus on making a GAME and the excellent models that are for that game, and not just models that a game just happens to exist for their use.

The plan from here is to print and mail the Petition and a copy of all the signatures to Tom Kirby and the other executives at GW.

Speaking of reaching out to the executives, change.org informed me that 5 of the email contacts for the recipients of the petition are invalid. If you know or have access to the following individuals emails, please contact me so I can update them here.
Elaine O'Donnell- Non-executive Director
Chris Myatt- Non-executive Director
Nick Donaldson- Non-executive Director
Rachel Tounge- Company Secretary
Erik Morgenson- Web Store Manager

As I said before, I do not want to spam your inbox, so don't expect to many updates (every few thousand or so from here on out OR if GW reacts/contacts me/change.org). I may from time to time post related content or updates on my blog instead, so if you want more consistent coverage, just follow/check out www.sepulchreofheroes.blogspot.com 

Petition to Games Workshop Currently Approaching 2500 Signatures!

Well this became wildly more successful then I thought it would!

Even this Space Marine is reading the petition!

Check the original post here.

Or go straight to the petition here.

Refocus your business model on the sale of a game and support of a gaming community vice the pure sale of collectible miniatures

Share and Sign. Fellow bloggers, feel free to re-blog if you want.

And just a nod for the detractors- I too realize that the likely outcome of this is nothing. But it is out right as the consumer to express our opinion and we can only hope that GW at least discusses this or takes the dissatisfied consumer into consideration with future business decisions.

A Petition to Games Workshop Limited

So on BoLS there is a post and a set of videos discussing GW's corporate strategy. Take a minute to view it now. It is worth it.

This got me thinking about all the open letters to GW in the past. Well, why not an organized petition. With the internet and social media these days they are easier than ever.

So that is what I did. I wrote a petition for Games Workshop Limited to:

Refocus your business model on the sale of a game and support of a gaming community vice the pure sale of collectible miniatures.

If you agree, please click the link and sign. The recipient of the petition is: investorrelations@gwplc.com if you wish to contact them directely

UPDATED WITH A 5TH BULLET

It reads:

As competition from outside organizations grow and GW revenues and profits fall, your company seemingly continues to pursue a business model not in alignment with your customer base's desires and expectations.

Your business model states "We make the best fantasy miniatures in the world and sell  them globally at a profit and we intend to do this forever". Realize that you produce a game, and that the models are playing pieces in that game, not the end product themselves. Without the game, there is no need to purchase Games Workshop models. They are not collectible in the same sense as scale military tanks and aircraft, nor are they as utilitarian as historical wargames miniatures, applicable to multiple game systems and supported by real world events. GW models are only useable in the context of GW games, the primary of these being Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer Fantasy Battles. 

I and many others collect your models to play the game. Only a fraction of the community do so purely for the experience of owning, building and painting Citadel miniatures. This is why when armies are timely updated and released, model sales for those armies jump. It is not because of marketing through White Dwarf and Online Stores. It is because people want to play with the newest "Toy". Collectors continue with these factions to keep playing the game, not just own miniatures.

Your fanbase and the dedicated gaming and hobby community ask that you adopt the following policies

1- Support gamers, conventions, and tournaments, primarily through well-developed rules and encouraging competitive play. Despite GW's desire for Warhammer to be a "Beer and Pretzels" game that is simply a reason to buy and collect GW miniatures, gamers want a system that can be used for competitive play as well. Just because this is supported does not mean that fun, narrative driven relaxed play is not possible. Appeal to both sides of the gaming community, not just the one you want to more. You cannot interface directly with the small group playing a campaign in their basement. You can with the 100+ players at a tournament. Doing so will improve your corporate image, impassion your playerbase and ultimately encourage the playing or your game which directly correlates to the sale of your miniatures. This means releasing fairly balanced, well play tested rule sets, and timely FAQs which address the issues players are encountering. The relaxed narrative players will appreciate these clearer and improved rules just as much as the cut-throat tournament gamer.

2- Reduce the number of "Direct exclusive models" and support the FLGS. Game Stores are where your community exists. It is not in their home, alone, painting. Most of the hobby may occur there, but it with the objective in mind that on the weekend they will travel down to their local friendly game store and set up across the table from someone and play a game. That is why they put all the hours into building and painting their army. Sure it may be fun to build and paint it, but it is a means to an end, not the end itself. Since the objective of collecting is to play a game, game store owners are going to promote games they can sell in their store. If majority of your product is exclusively available from your webstore, game store owners will not push your product as they lose potential sales. Without that push or those sales, their gaming community abandons GW games, and without the game they abandon GW/Citadel models. 

3- Competitively price your products. You have some room to charge a slight premium because of the quality of your miniatures. But since the ultimate objective is to play a game at the end of the week, players are going to financially invest in what they can better afford. All wargaming is a luxury market. If a player can get the same amount of game time for less with another game and have just as much, if not more fun, then that is where I will invest my dollars. This is a big factor as to why so much competition now exists whereas very little did before. A potential aide to this point would be to allow sales of bits, aftermarket 3rd party add-ons, and discount online retailers. This all encourages throughput of your products, and for players to gather larger or more forces for their games. Sales for GW have only become worse with the policies that eliminate these possibilities.

4- Change your website to be hobby and gaming driven with a webstore option attached for support. This used to be the way it was. Your website should not just be an online marketplace. Your site should be the one stop shop for painting, tactics, gaming communities, upcoming tournaments, etc. etc. The webstore should then be a feature that a player can access after reading a tactica article or a painting guide. It is in game performance that drive sales of models the most, so discussing the performance and ways to use particularly models in game can only benefit you by swaying consumers to purchase it. Beautiful photos and well painted models help, but a vast majority of your playerbase knows is cannot paint as well as your webstore and White Dwarf images, so they fail to be lured in by that trap.

5- Conduct market research and increase player involvement. With the advent of social media this is easier than ever. Rather than just having youtube videos for new releases, have discussions of in progress design concepts to allow hype to be generated and discussion to occur, then systematically feed this back into your development process. Release trial rules again and gather important commentary from the players to fine tune them. Furthermore understand your consumer base and what they need and want to continue collecting, converting, painting Citadel miniatures and playing GW games rather than just assuming another huge kit or wacky limited edition gaming aide is what they need to be fed. With a generation thriving off constant connectivity and insight into early product development in virtually every market, particularly the growing tech and video games industries which manage to steal potential hobbyists daily, a policy of secrecy and blind assumption only will accomplish an alienation of the consumer.

In short, rededicate your company to supporting the selling of a game. This is your main product. Your models are the key playing pieces of this game, and will make you the most money. Without the game though, they are worth nothing.