Re: [NetEpic ML] Epic what form will it take.?

From: Peter Ramos <pramos2_at_...>
Date: Fri, 12 May 2000 09:04:02 -0500

Hi!

As a corporation GW has every right to make money and be robust. Of course its the way they go about it and their market strategies that are flawed and perhaps in the end will be their undoing.

I remember in their heyday when I also retailed their stuff how easy it could have been for them to literally wipe out the competition. Although they are top dog, the growing discontent and the appearance of other alternatives to distract their target audience (kiddies) seems to slowly but surely causing problems. It does not take a rocket scientist to have predicted this. Those who have been in the hobby a long time know that its a small niche, it cannot compare in gross amount of money made like true giants like the computer business, food ,clothing, etc. Their is only so much the market will bare before it levels off. For GW I think it has reached that point and as the saying goes "when your at the top there is only one way to go". GW has never understood that word of mouth in the minis business is very powerful. The dissatisfaction of older gamers with their company and practices can be heard in most stores you go to. It is also a relatively simple matter to sway the kiddies into non-GW stuff (Pokemon). Since GW has no loyal base of gamers (having alientated them over the course of the years), its either gather a fresh crop of new poeple every so often of perish. Perhaps their recent stock dvaluation and narrowing profit margins are an indicator that they must re-evaluate their practices or die.

As much as I have grown to dislike them I would not want to see them go. They have produced games we like and I think if guided appropriately they will continue to do so. But they really must change theri philosophy. Heck if they were more intelligent they could make games for both their kiddie market AND long time gamers, it all takes but some commitment. Instead of making all these games that are "here today gone tomorrow" why not support a couple of smaller lines for gamers who like more in their games and keep those available at a low production rate, while their cash cows brings in the money. Of course somehow I doubt they would even try this until their backs were against the wall.

What form will epic take? I haven't a clue. It will resurface, have no doubt of this. I'm guessing later 2001 or spring 2002. I think it will be an all new system, one can only hope with some thought put into it this time. As for the mini size, I really do have a bad feeling that 10mm is the way they will go. This is in keeping with their tradition of making new games where the old stuff is difficult to use as is and it gives them the widest base of potential customers (everyone, since no one has 10mm epic).

We'll see and net epic will be there waiting.

Peter

    Well, I agree. GW is in it for the money, and wil do whatever it takes to make money out of a new/old game. But if they change the minis, it wouldn't really be Epic would it? It would be a whole new game and totally uninteresting. We cant use the minis, and the rules wouldn't be better than the ones we make up here. Just what one could expect from GW.

    The rules would be simpler, after all you cant intoduce a kiddie to netepic wich has hundreds of pages of rules...

    
    
    The moral is; dont let GW get any ideas, don't buy warmaster!
Received on Fri May 12 2000 - 14:04:02 UTC