I know everyone has already been talking about the price increase that is about to hit us. We all know of the $82 storm raven, and the $75 landraider, but what about the other little things.
Basically all of the eldar aspect boxes are going up by $6. They'll now be priced at $41. Good thing almost any body who would want eldar probably already has them.
Tyranid raveners and warrior boxes are going up to 47 dollars. I remember when the ravener box came out about two years ago, we were outraged that they were $42 when the warriors were only $35, as they were comparable boxes. So they increased Warriors up to $42 for us. In two years the warriors have almost increased as much as the land raider (percent wise)
My favorite little gem is the increase on the Pyrovore. Anyone who has heard of a pyrovore can probably guess they aren't flying off the shelves, and yet they're increasing in price as well. First time was when they switched to finecast, and now once more up to $37.
Most tau models are increasing by 1-3 dollars, with the piranha going from $25 to $30. The exception being crisis suits, most likely because of new models down the line.
Almost all of the necron's stuff is also increasing by a dollar or two, the c'tan shards and the stalker. So buy your necrons today folks.
All I can really do is just shake my head at this horrible business decision. This close to a new edition, when the hobby is already waning and things are on the fence is not the time for this ridiculousness. I've already been only buying bitz and used models since the last price hike. I bought my first actual box in 8 months, last week, and it was a box of scouts.
With these new prices, I just don't see 6th saving the hobby nor the game now. I can still hope for it being good, but it is going to be that much harder to draw people in.
I'm really wondering when GW will go a bridge too far. Is it this time; is it next time? How much do they expect us to pay for plastic dollies?
ReplyDeleteThey've got to be running out of elasticity in their prices.
You cut right to the heart of the matter.
DeleteIf you put a frog in a pot of water and put it on a burner, he will jump out when the water gets hot. But if you slowly increase the heat, he'll cook alive. Rather than slowly increasing the heat, GW has turned it up to high then wondered where all the frogs have gone.
I agree and do not see new people getting into this hobby(40k)due to pricing. It will fade as very little new blood will be introduced. Xbox, a few games and a new bike or a Meh 40k army??? LOL really
ReplyDeleteIt's a niche hobby, and most people who get into it accept the high start-up costs. The gap between board-games, CCGs, and Role-playing games has been so large that another 3-4% increase is not going to choke off new players.
DeleteGW loosing too many of the core gamer population is more likely, but still an outside chance. There isn't really another game for them to go to that's quite the same. Other games don't offer the right ascetic, scale, or hobby aspects that 40K does. For now.
To me, what is probably going to happen is that core gamers will build fewer armies and make fewer purchases. The question is will the amount they spend change. I think GW is happy if the amount they spend is the same, because they get the same revenue with less manufacturing and shipping costs. GW "grows" by reducing costs, not by gaining customers. What happens when there's no fat left to trim?
I think it makes for a very anemic hobby, but GW isn't concerned with the hobby so long as the quarterly statements look good to their investors.
I need to thank GW.
ReplyDeletewith their help. I am a brilliant investor.
the Land Raiders I bought just 3 years ago in '09 for $50 are now worth $75. in 3 years, I have netted a 50% return on my investment, should I sell either of the two.
BRILLIANT!
I did some really loose calculations based on the new prices and some assumptions and here I landed:
ReplyDeleteAssuming GW intends to move the 'standard' game to 2500 points (I've heard that a lot), using the Land Raider as a basis (250 points for $75), and padding for mods and paint and general tweaking...
$1000 dollars for your army.
Now, given that, how many hours are you going to be enjoying your man-dollies? Notice I said enjoying, not playing. Some people really like to build and paint. I don't. I hate it. I like to play. It is a game to me, not a hobby. Different strokes. So, if you assume your fun is worth $10/ hr., you need to get 100 hours of enjoyment out of them. Over whatever period of time you'd like to choose. If you choose a year, that's 33 3-hour games. I couldn't get 33 games in a year if my life depended on it. Then again, I keep my armies for more than a year, so the cost spreads a bit.
You can put different numbers in there, maybe your fun is worth more than $10/hr. to you. My point is, make the assessment and see where you stand. I think GW is friggin' insane for raising the prices again. I think their models, while still among the best in the industry, are NOT worth the prices they charge. A friend of mine pointed out you can buy a 'fake' aircraft that doesn't fly (storm raven) for $80 or a nice RC plane that does fly. I can get a couple of very nicely detailed Tamiya WWII tanks for the price of a land raider.
Sorry for the random brain dump. I hope there was something useful in there.
You have a fair point, Bob. The biggest area that's hurt by the price hikes I feel are those new to the hobby or the more casual gamer. Those who have been playing a long time and built up their army, or armies, generally are only buying a kit here and there. Those getting into 40K though are faced with dumping a lot of cash up front and that's where it hurts.
DeleteThat being said, I don't feel 40K is prohibitively more expensive than any other hobby out there. You can really take any hobby, camping, paintball, skiing, and do the math to see 40K isn't an extreme in cost. What it comes down to, as you said, is your return on investment, the cost to 'fun' factor.
See, I'm on the other end of the spectrum. I play anywhere from 7-15 games of 40K in a month, so 11 being the average for a total of 132 games in a year. With your example of a $1K investment then I'd be breaking even, at a rate of $10 per-hour, in 9-months.
The reality is I have built up armies already though and only buy a new box every now and then so my return on investment is pretty well covered by a game or two of 40K.
And that is where I am at already as well. I have two full armies (tyranids and blood angels) and like three more in the works that I bought bitz, used, or in bulk long ago and have been slowly building and waiting for codex/edition updates.
DeleteMy goal is to get another army or two of mine complete soon, so I can get some of my friends into the game, by essentially giving them some of my armies. I would never dream of asking them to buy their own stuff with the current costs.
yeah I can't in good conscience encourage my friends to take up 40K as an affordable hobby, nor an affordable game.
DeleteI'm not holding my breath for much out of 6th ed other than a money grab by GW to get a lot of people to buy new books, and prop up earnings reports.
I have 2 forces, and part of a third. I will probably sell off most of the IG I used to be able to use with my inquisition forces, and maybe flesh out the Sisters a little more. But my purchases will all be 2nd hand. I'm not really looking to indulge GW any more than I have to.
I remember trying to sell a friend on starting 40K a little over 2 years ago. He was the perfect return customer demographic for GW. But now? I'd just tell him not to bother, even if he was really interested.
DeleteThe basic plastic infantry kits are still good value imo. The hero figs and the special vehicles and so on is where the real joke is. That new ork bomber looks like a good deal though.
ReplyDeleteI'm just wondering when the Forgeworld singularity will happen and FW figs become cheaper than mainline GW.
There's actually a handful of cases where this is already true. Has been for at least a year, with the price increase on the original Finecast models.
Deletelol I know I picked up "de-luxe" Studio Mc Vey figs for my heroes which far surpass anything GW makes and they came in cheaper than the finecast alternatives. £23 for a box of 5 firedragons? GW, are you kidding me?
DeleteStill, the plastics make it pretty easy to create "alternative" versions of a lot of figures. My Incubi are regular Dark Eldar warriors with some fantasy capes and weapons and stuff.
The real problem is that we all talk a lot but we just keep buying and in the end, that encourages GW to just keep moving with their current business model. What else are we going to do though? It really is "Buy or Don't" - that simple.
ReplyDeleteIt is a Don't Buy. I have not bought a core game product in probably 2 years. Specialist game product is getting close to a year. I believe that every game store in the State of Michigan that I have ever bought a GW product (other than ApoC Reloaded which I got at GW Rochester Hills) has closed. I have been back getting close to 5 year now: Old Guard (Sterling Heights), Heroquest (Howell), Planeswalker, Labyrinth, Riders, GW Ypis, GW Great Lakes, GW Novi.
DeleteI'm rather new to this hobby but from day 1 I was buying bits only since we have no GW stores or retailers here in Brazil.
DeleteAfter GW got us south-americans on their black list forbidding maelstorm and other internet retailers to ship us products I decided that if they don't what my money I would not force feed it to them, so now my armies grow with proxies and conversions only. TWC, I'll have some circle of orboros models. GK, scibor. Tyranids, second hand models (glad they suck, old players here do not what them o more) or alternative models like ramshackle games or reapers. IG is the one I have most fum with as I can get any model that I want to play them with.
Must confess that the biggest problem I had was with special weapon like plasma and melta but after I've found a 3d printer and rendered my own weapons I'm rolling on the pre-heresy meltas and missile launchers.
To hell with them and their 75 usd LR,I'll freaking scratch build one!
(shrugs) I haven't bought a thing from GW in over a year now. My Necron book was bought with tourney winnings.
DeleteIn the short term, there's always eBay, but even those prices won't stay low forever either. GW is just going to drive people straight into the arms of after-market IP infringers like Chapterhouse and eventually other game systems.
ReplyDeleteWarmahordes is a lot more fun and cheaper. I just completed buying an army with the point equivalent of 2000 points in 40k for $250. And there are summer sales for starter armies that don't actually suck. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE the 40k universe. Rich character development and awesome gameplay at the beginning of 5th edition. But constant price increases not just for the gamer but the dealer have just turned me to the point of "Lets just take a break". And for the love of God, PLEASE take some advice, to build up support of something, don't keep it hidden for Christs sake! 6th edition is a total reboot of the game, and instead of hyping it up for months on end, you are hiding every little detail. In previous years, GW released Apocalypse and let loose a huge amount of model deals, and huge amounts of info before it released. And you know what? It was and still is one of their biggest launches ...ever. nuff said.
ReplyDeleteFlames of War has about the same costs for buying an army. Sensing a pattern here GW? No, I didn't think so. :)
DeleteGW has so much potential. They really do. I still remember when they lowered prices back in 07' I think that was the year, it drove up sales and enabled me to buy two new armies that year.
ReplyDeleteI think that may have been when I started. I had been eye balling and hearing about it got me committed. I can dream about those days again can't I?
DeleteNope. There is a price increase starting up on your dreams next week. GW owns the rights to those now too.
DeleteBought a Warmachine faction book and a few points worth of models yesterday and I've heard good things about Dust Warfare. Their starter (with 2 armies) is only $70 on Amazon right now... I think I'll just do what was mentioned and 'take a break' from 40k.
ReplyDeleteFYI, that's the Tactics starter. You'll still need to buy the Dust Warfare rule-book. And you'll probably have to buy the PDF version as the first printing has sold out.
DeleteThanks! I had missed that. Maybe I'll just hunt down the book first.
DeleteHaven't bought anything in a year.
ReplyDeleteeriochrome, I play in Grand haven/Muskegon. The only reason our store is open is that it castes 15mm historicals as its prime buiss.
ReplyDeletethe last thing i bought was the dark eldar kabalite warriors and wyches when they were released, before that i hadnt bought anything for 2 years. i makes me sad that this great game is being killed by greed. and most other hobbies dont have such a massive outlay as this. i got a really good airsoft aeg for $250 and could start playing straight away. you cant even compare it to other things like my mtb or motorbike as these are used on a near daily basis. its easier for me to jus turn on bf3 these days too as none of my friends can afford to finish their armies anymore. i was a fanatic to this game having been a collector/gamer for 23 years but i feel its time to give it up as the crazy price hikes never stop.
ReplyDeleteyou guys are right. best thing to do is stop buying and to tell everyone you know not to aswell.
the only thing this company understands now is sales so maybe, jus maybe they will sit up and listen if nobody buys their goods
Nope....they won't. I don't hate GW.....I just am tired of it. If the game was stellar and amazing beyond all imagining, then I would PAY to play it. Its just sub-par now.
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