Message from GW CEO Mark Wells

[Colonel Voss]

As a long term fan of Dungeons and Dragons, I can assure you that every edition change has been met with some.... resistance from the users. Though I had the original game, I really started with AD&D and I played it a lot. When 3rd Edition came out, everyone was very sceptical and half of our gaming group said they wouldn't touch it. They thought Wizards of the Coast (Or was it TSR back then) were loopy for throwing out the old system for this new fangled mumbo jumbo. No THAC0 rolls? No thank you!
However, our host ran a gaming shop so he got copies in to sell and a few of us started reading them. After that we all wound up playing it and it was a good game.
Then 3.5 came out. WTF!?!? Half an edition? What the jimminy jilickers did Wizards think they were trying to pull here? We had to buy ALL the core books again just for some minor amendments. Some folks got really steamed about it, but at this stage, there weren't that many dedicated forums around to go online and bitch about it.
Roll on a company buyout (Hasbro) and a good few years of playing a very nice system and 4th edition was announced. The D&D websites virtually imploded under the pulling of hair and gnashing of teeth. The company had changed the ENTIRE system. Hasbro had literally had the game rebuilt from the ground up to make it play like an MMORPG. Many people, myself included have never bought a D&D book again. I've been in the RPG equivilant of a Spevna Stance for years now.
And now, there is D&D Essentials.
http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2010/08/23

I can sympathize with this. Though for me it has been shadowrun. 2nd to 3rd was painful, but the change to 4th killed it for me and I haven't bought a thing since. It happens all the time with companies. Sad but true.

[AndrewGPaul]

The thing is, the ranting about D&D or whatever was, as far as I could see, about the product, and the personal insults were directed at the folks with their name in the credits. With GW, you've got people quoting the annual accounts and reports on forums, trying to see how the perceived imbalances in the latest Codex is affecting the pre-tax profits. I don't ever remember hearing someone trying to start a campaign to go to the WotC AGM to complain to the CEO that Wizards are unbalanced at high levels.

[me_in_japan]

I think the reason that GW ranters complain about the board is because of the perceived shift in the GW ethos from "by gamers for gamers" to "by businessmen for customers". A lot of people seemed to really like the chummy, somewhat slapdash old GW more than the current regime. I don't think people have a huge problem with GW product (sure, individual folks have individual minor gripes, but as a whole the products seem to be sitting pretty). The problem people have is price hikes and shoddy quality control (assumed to be manifesting for money-saving reasons), and in this neck of the woods, sales embargoes have pissed a lot of people off. Thus, as money-grabbing is the perceived problem, it's the board that get it in the neck. With WotC the perceived problem was with game design, thus the designers get the flak.

[ashmie]

I've just managed to order Dreadfleet from the GW website. (A heinous crime I know but it looked so good and I really want to paint those cool ships). Spevna stance penetrated.
Mostly I was surprised I could do it. The whole thing back in May led me to believe we couldn't order from them internationally anymore. Does this mean it was only Maelstrom and Wayland companies that couldn't offer an international service.
What's going on? I tried to order some stuff back in March for my birthday and it couldn't be done. Now it seems it's OK. Once again sorry from ordering from the beast but just couldn't help myself.

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/home. ... id=5886340

[Primarch]

I've just managed to order Dreadfleet from the GW website. (A heinous crime I know but it looked so good and I really want to paint those cool ships). Spevna stance penetrated.
Mostly I was surprised I could do it. The whole thing back in May led me to believe we couldn't order from them internationally anymore. Does this mean it was only Maelstrom and Wayland companies that couldn't offer an international service.
What's going on? I tried to order some stuff back in March for my birthday and it couldn't be done. Now it seems it's OK. Once again sorry from ordering from the beast but just couldn't help myself.

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/home. ... id=5886340

You can order internationally from GW direct, but not from Maelstrom or Wayland. Because when Maelstrom and Wayland undercut GW stores in other countries it's bad, but when GW do it themselves it's good.

[ashmie]

Lol, well that's kind of a relief I suppose. If I want to be a mainstream bloke who gets ripped off by GW then at least the option is still there in some form. From all the talk I thought GW weren't offering international mail order either.

I'm half tempted to get an Ogre army but I just can't afford that right now.

[me_in_japan]

Shame! Shame on you! OOOOOOOh let's all point at the scabber!

*note*

*edit* I agree with Spev. A picture is worth a thousand words. Or in this case, 1009, as it has text on it.

[Spevna]

I've just managed to order Dreadfleet from the GW website. (A heinous crime I know but it looked so good and I really want to paint those cool ships). Spevna stance penetrated.
Mostly I was surprised I could do it. The whole thing back in May led me to believe we couldn't order from them internationally anymore. Does this mean it was only Maelstrom and Wayland companies that couldn't offer an international service.
What's going on? I tried to order some stuff back in March for my birthday and it couldn't be done. Now it seems it's OK. Once again sorry from ordering from the beast but just couldn't help myself.

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/home. ... id=5886340

[ashmie]

Hahahah. Shit! Yabai as they say over here.