Games Workshop has gone full retard

[PhoenixFire]

GAMES WORKSHOP, KINGS LYNN wrote:

Within the next few months you will notice a few changes to your local Games Workshop. The first of these will be arriving in the next couple of weeks.

The most important of these changes is that we will be bringing to a close our open gaming. This is great news as it inevitably means that you local store will be hosting fantastic new activites and events designed to give you a whole host of new hobby challenges and our trained staff will be on hand to support you and make sure that you get the most out of this awesome new programme.

I am sure that many of you will have already noticed a huge surge of GCN clubs we have recently been helping promote and start. We have done this to ensure that all your current hobby activites are continued to be supported in appropriate locations available to all.

Finally I wish to allay any fears or rumours some of you may have or have heard. Namely that Games Workshop is "getting rid of its regulars". Please do not be concerned as this is not the case. GW intends to support ALL of their collectors be they new or old, and the coming changes are entirely geared towards us being able to do this for now until forever - YOU ARE CATEGORICALLY NOT BEING TOLD TO LEAVE.

I know that some of you may have questions after reading this, please do not post them below - instead please talk to a member of staff.

Hopefully you trusted me in Kings Lynn, and I ask you trust me now, this will be a great an wonderful journey for the store (there is going to be some seriously cool stuff coming) and as ever we have all your best interests at heart.

Thank You

source http://www.lounge.belloflostsouls.net/showthread.php?30607-GW-Ends-Open-Gaming-in-Stores

Good news for stores like Battlegrounds who are in the same area as a GW store since it seems GW is doing everything they possibly can to push their customer base away.

[Sir_Prometheus]

So ignoring all the corporate double speak, I really have no idea why they would do this.  Isn't  people playing in the store a great advertisement?  I doubt it really costs that much, and is the epitome of "loss leader".

Is their plan to have all the local hobby stores support their customers for them with play space, and drive as much business as possible to them directly through the internet? (I'm mostly think of miniwargaming, and how he said more models were getting pushed to Direct Only, and stores would be limited to purchases of $500 of direct only)  I can see how they would like that, but how do they think that works in any way long term?

Worse is really the image problem--doesn't it look hypocritical as hell to say "Here Hobby store, you really should let people game on your retail space bu we'll have nothing to do with it"

[Battle-Bruvah Sillynoah]

just a question, has Warhammer 40k used stickers for insignias, or is that a recent development to attract "a younger crowd"?
(i recently started and inside the Dark Vengence you could paint the figurines AND thier insignias, not just paint the entire thing one solid color and lazily place the stickers on them)

[Loranus]

The sticker thing has been around forever to me at least. They were just a quick easy way for people to put major chapter insignias and have them look decent. I myself have never used them I have a whole stack of them at my house.

[Sir_Prometheus]

The adult hobbyist term is "decals"   Completely different.   

[andalucien]

Yeah I would be interested in hearing an explanation for why GW is doing this.   Nothing is occurring to me.   Not that it makes much difference to me, never having even seen a GW store.

[Benjamin]

Unbelievable.

[Chase]

I'm not entirely sure what this even really means.

The only way I'd consider telling people that open gaming at Battleground is no longer allowed is if I had some massive, awesome, super sweet schedule of "events" from open to close every day that was going to take up the entire store.

I'm sure the dude has some good ideas, but I don't really see how this can really even happen.  If I show up with a buddy looking to play a game, will I be told no?  Are they getting rid of their tables?  If they're getting rid of their tables, wtf can they really have going on?  Maybe the store is super tiny and only has 2 tables to begin with?

One thing that is absolutely a fact is that GW is slowly pushing more and more sales to their website, which is unfortunate and short sighted (like everything they've been doing recently).  It's such a bummer because they are seriously awesome to work with here in the states.  My 10 minute convo with GW every week is by far the most enjoyable work related phone call I make (and there's a lot of them).

[Thomas callahan]

meh untill GW gets their heads back down to earth, i think im done buying from them and going back to hordes. just bought me new rule book and ordered models. Maybe in a couple of months GW will see the error of their greedy ways.

[MM3791]

It's probably partly because GW doesn't want its staff being conned into running a daycare. Having a bunch of unsupervised kids running around your store can be a massive headache.

Online business is the future, the demographics are literally limitless and also has no overhead. I imagine they will eventually sub out the new player recruiting aspect to the indepentant retailers, and exist solely to sell and distrube their books and models. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I didn't think Privateer Press has its own stores. Either way it doesn't effect me or my enjoyment with the Warhammer games.

[Grand Master Steve]

It's probably partly because GW doesn't want its staff being conned into running a daycare. Having a bunch of unsupervised kids running around your store can be a massive headache.

Online business is the future, the demographics are literally limitless and also has no overhead. I imagine they will eventually sub out the new player recruiting aspect to the indepentant retailers, and exist solely to sell and distrube their books and models. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I didn't think Privateer Press has its own stores. Either way it doesn't effect me or my enjoyment with the Warhammer games.

I really hate it when parents treat shops like day cares

[Mannahnin]

If it's a question of being free babysitting, it would be easy to set a minimum age for unaccompanied minors; say 16.

Bear in mind also that in the UK there are relatively few independent FLGS; GW has largely replaced them, and is all over the place.

[blantyr]

meh untill GW gets their heads back down to earth, i think im done buying from them and going back to hordes. just bought me new rule book and ordered models. Maybe in a couple of months GW will see the error of their greedy ways.

Hmm...  Yah.  I was involved with 40K for quite some time.  They have always been considered Full Retards, and have yet to see the error of their greedy ways.  Lots of folks have been waiting for an attitude adjustment for quite a while.  I guess you are allowed to hope.  For the most part, I'm doing FRP these days.

Has there been a real problem with free day care locally?  I've seen quite a few younger players in other stores.  For the most part, those old enough to get into 40K seem to be self day caring so long as they have a model to assemble or an opponent to fight.  The major store staff time consuming factor used to be impossible to interpret GW rules resulting in perpetual disagreement, and I'm not sure if the kids were more or less confused than the adults.  They hopefully might buy enough stuff that the day care isn't really free?

[Chase]

Day care is a complete non-issue in Plainville.  I'm fairly sure it's not an issue in Abington either.

[Grand Master Steve]

day care was a problem at one time in Abington years ago