Anyone else read the Standard Bearer article for March WD (UK)?
I find it particularly interesting, as it’s all about the reasons why they have not added a ‘new’ army, and their treatment of the existing armies.
Which is obviously hugely relevant for us.
I’ll do my best to summarise;
Back in the day GW were ‘whimsical’ about adding and taking away armies. They were creators and not collectors, and didn’t appreciate how people would fall in love with armies.
They decided their ‘most important goal’ was to support existing armies really well. (doesn’t sound good so far).
However, they recognise that their customers are collectors at heart, and they do want to surprise them now and then.
The next bit is worth quoting;
By now some of you will be saying ‘Well that is all well and good, but when are you actually going to get round to doing new models and armies?’… That is a another good question, and the answer is that we’ve already started making new things for you to collect - we just haven’t got round to adding a whole new army just yet
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hopefully, one day we we’ll be able to do whole new armies for our games too. None of this is going to happen incredibly quickly… we’re in this for the long haul
So what do you make of all this?
There were some things I found interesting but this is all based on my feeling of what he said.
They do still appreciate that we (CD fans) exist indirectly (who else would he be talking about??). He was bombarded and hounded enough at Games Day to want to write a whole Standard Bearer article on it. He appreciates that they can still sell stuff to people based on nostalgia (my interpretation).
He said ‘incredibly’ quickly, as opposed to just ‘quickly’…? Does that imply possibly that something is on the not too distant horizon?
There is no mention of Forge World doing anything, a factor which imo is very important.
They clearly do not want to release CD until they have enough models to make a decent army, but (imo) there could already be finished CD models sitting around somewhere and they are just building up the units slowly. Infact we know this is the case already as they have been rumoured to be spotted.
The timing of all this is interesting, as he actually wrote it after games day UK, but he has written a fair few Standard Bearers since then I think? Better late than never. Maybe he writes them months in advance of the 3 months before publishing?
By now some of you will be saying 'Well that is all well and good, but when are you actually going to get round to doing new models and armies?'.... That is a another good question, and the answer is that we've already started making new things for you to collect - we just haven't got round to adding a whole new army just yet
Well Chaos dwarves are not a new army and have been about longer than necrons dark eldar not to mention the tau so would this mean that games workshop want to take a new market martiians? or are they just re inventing the umber hulk again ?. I admit that some of the things that games workshop do supprise me as a whole but I cant say I can safely see chaos dwarves comming out so soon. The Hellcannon did a great deal to start the rummmor going but a entiire army of chaos dwarves this soon perhaps not. What games workshop may do alike they did with the slann is release chaos dwarves as part of the next generation of the warhammer boxed game ? that would make more sence for product development ?
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hopefully, one day we we'll be able to do whole new armies for our games too. None of this is going to happen incredibly quickly... we're in this for the long haul
As I mentioned it made more sence for games workshop to give the public the slann and lizardmen when they did wiht a entire new release of a boxed game as it then eliminated having to get many people interested in another greenskin race let alone one with scales.
"hopefully, one day we we’ll be able to do whole new armies for our games too. None of this is going to happen incredibly quickly… we’re in this for the long haul"
which seems to confirm what GW have been saying for years now: No new armies on the horizon. They simply do not have the resources or shelf space to support any additional armies. I would not read anything into the word “Incredibly” quickly, it’s just a figure of speech.
I Get it! Chaos dwarfs will be one of the armies in the next box game. on a markering level that works wonders for them, the’ll reach all the nostalgic game nerds (like us) and they kinda force new players to play chaos dwarfs or the orter army. thus getting around the part not enough people we buy the mini’s
I Get it! Chaos dwarfs will be one of the armies in the next box game. on a markering level that works wonders for them, the'll reach all the nostalgic game nerds (like us) and they kinda force new players to play chaos dwarfs or the orter army. thus getting around the part not enough people we buy the mini's
It all so clear to me now.
Bolg
Truely that is just true speculation but I must admit the idea that if games workshop were to put the CD's into the next edition of the boxed set that woudl automaticaly grant them a foothold back into the affections or haterd of all warhammer players old and young with the warhammer kiddies loving this brand new army without knowing that they have been here a long time just games workshop didnt support them wholey .
Shelf space shouldn’t be an issue since they are reducing number of shops in favour of mail order and email order.
GW should have better marketers if they dont know what are their customers needs, or this is only excuse, i balive it is the other since every marketer learns that knowledge about your customers is a key factor in any marketing plan.
I doubt about lack of resources, more choices = smaller number of individual sales in a given field. What leads to increased cost of production of indyvidual sales, which could lead to reduce of prices but would turn the hobby from it’s price positioning. I guess everyone realizes that warhammer is expensive and most people who would like to enjoy it quits after hearing the prices.
I read it, and too be honest it didn’t sound all that hopeful. All that stuff about we don’t want to do anything unless we make it as good as we possibly can, suggests that there won’t be any kind of stop gap White Dwarf type article. It will be all or nothing, which means we could be in for a long wait, especially now there is a new edition on the horizon.
To be a wet blanket on a hopeful discussion, the article provides nothing for CDs… It toes the company line of “we will get to it eventual but probably not anytime soon” statement that has been used for years.
What the article does say is that they will be expanding the collectors ranges and providing additional support for existing armies before the get around to doing a full army.
I heard a rumor on warseer a while back saying that there might be a new race of…drum roll…Fish people!..yeah…
And that is no joke seriously it looked authentic, but i wouldn’t give chaos dwarves much hope though, they’ll probably intrpduce the fish people before they reintroduce chaos dwarves, i don’t want to be negative but i don’t think its likely to happen.
I hate to break it to you but Fishmen is (or at least started as) a joke. After all how would they go about fighting on land, or would the Brettonians have to charge their knihgts out into the sea? ;) The trouble is it has been mentioned so many times, that now people are starting to take it seriously. There is even a fan made Nauticans book.
Firstly, they’d have to create all new art and concepts for the whole army.
Then they’d have to develop an all new army list which still fits into a gaming niche.
then theose would have to be heavily playtested and the background written.
All new models have to be sculpted, tooled and moulded.
The entire lines has to then be released in fairly short a space of time.
Though it may not seem like it, remaking an entire army or creatibg one from scratch is a LOT of work all at once, unlike the continual piecemeal, easy to budget work they do now for the most part.
