Warhammer 40K Tabletop Thread XLII: The Dice Make Fools of Us All

[Brookshw]

That is an issue yes. Print on Demand is something I do think is worth pursuing, but I also feel like the motivation for the FOMO model is that so long as models and books are sitting on their shelves, they aren't making GW money and the "I can always get it later." effect is strong.

Sure, I don't disagree. Seems like there are really two issues at play: (1) how to maximize initial sales, and (2) how to avoid locking your capital in inventory. There's definitely an interrelation between them, but there is some middle ground available which I hope GW explores.

Edit:

space in vans

Where are you shopping

[Renegade Paladin]

I mean. FOMO definitely motivated me to buy my copy of the Imperial Infantrymen's Handbook. And true to form, they completely yeeted it into the memory hole shortly after I bought mine.

Hell, my preorder got canceled.

[Avaris]

Sure, I don't disagree. Seems like there are really two issues at play: (1) how to maximize initial sales, and (2) how to avoid locking your capital in inventory. There's definitely an interrelation between them, but there is some middle ground available which I hope GW explores.

Edit:
Where are you shopping

There’s a third factor as well: production capacity. Much as they might like to, GW can’t produce infinite product. Every minute a machine is making one set is a minute it isn’t making another, and we know they are short of desired capacity from their annual report, which details investment in even more machines. So they want to maximise initial sales, without locking capital up in inventory, and without impacting production of subsequent product.

(Not to mention that every product has boxes and non miniature inserts that aren’t produced in house, further impacting production capacity).

[LansXero]

There are several factors:

- GW has a limited time frame to produce things, and a set capacity to produce them during that time. Upgrading the capacity leads to exponentially diminishing returns, given that not every item will sell out instantly; the investment volume might tie up and delay other more profitable projects and even in the best case still reduces liquidity.
- Forecasting demand isn't an exact science. Plenty of stores out there holding Indomitus and Cursed City, despite online hype.
- Increasing production runs isnt done in discreet units. A new lot might exceed forecast by too much, to the point where falling a little short is preferable.
- Increasing production volume eats up into time to make and release other things, and we all know how packed GW's release schedule is.
- Keeping SKUs active floods shelves in independent stockists too and damages the brand long term and their cash flow short term.

But for me, mainly its this: Undecisive casuals and 'found out too late' customers are a demographic to be avoided. Sacrificing warehouse space, storage fees and production time for their sake is counterproductive. They slim margins because every week stuff doesnt sale it devalues and it has a real oportunity cost of tied up cash, to the point where trying to keep things available for them loses you money.

TCG/RPG/BG distribution is facing real issues with this. Distributors keep getting burned with overstock and have to flush it out through their own parallel outlets, diluting brand value and hurting consumer trust. So print runs get tighter, allocations and pre-orders get more strict, and the onus is passed on to the retailer. Who also can't live tying up cash flow in shelf decoration, so its a game of hot potato at every link in the chain.

This is why so many publishers go to Kickstarter despite being plenty able to fund their own games. No doubts, no hassle: Sell it, then make it, then ship it away and be done with it. Or, cut all the intermediaries so you go straight to consumers and use the increased margin from selling out your partners to soak the time and money wasted luring casuals to window shop at your own site.

[Brookshw]

You need to accept that 'found about it late' or 'was undecided but now wants it' customers are undesireable.

Not really, there are a lot of reasons people change shopping habits, e.g, starting new armies, wanting to try different strategies, etc. This is true of every business, last week I didn't intend to buy a new garbage disposal, now I do. If the model can't support variation in consumer habits then that a problem with the model and leaving money on the table. Supply issues are definitely valid.

This is why many RPG and Tabletop publishers are going direct to consumer and using KS. Nobody likes wasting money on storage or holding things around waiting for casuals to make up their minds and get things.

True. The trick with that is marketing the KS which is harder as there's no foot traffic. I've definitely found out about several KS after the fact and would have gladly backed had I known, and I'm sure those companies would have been happy to take my money. Instead it's just a lose-lose situation.

[LansXero]

NSupply issues are definitely valid.

But they aren't. GW still makes the things, at a higher markup to justify the oportunity cost, and recoup mold costs.

You can still get the models from the sold out box sets at some point. But the FOMO sales make it a sure thing that the initial run will move. Profit can then cushion the depreciation from the single item run.

I'm sure those companies would have been happy to take my money. Instead it's just a lose-lose situation.

You'd be surprised. Scaling production into the next volume tier is geometric, not lineal. Plenty of smaller companies have killed themselves by 'not leaving money on the table' then realizing the increase in demand wasnt anywhere near enough to offset increased production costs

[Brookshw]

But the FOMO sales make it a sure thing that the initial run will move.

Plenty of stores out there holding Indomitus and Cursed City

You'd be surprised. Scaling production into the next volume tier is geometric, not lineal. Plenty of smaller companies have killed themselves by 'not leaving money on the table' then realizing the increase in demand wasnt anywhere near enough to offset increased production costs

If there's no profit to be made, sure, if there's profit to be made, nah. But that's a separate issue from lost sales opportunity resulting from lack of product exposure.

[LansXero]

GW feeds FOMO based advertisement and selling out due to scalpers fans the fire.

Independent stockists, some times against their better judgement, buy hard into it and ask for a bunch of copies to sit on them (everyone wants the casual dough, and be the store that 'always has it all'). GW doesn't care how long it sits at stores not their own, since they made their money. Also, 'F'LGS salivate at scalper prices and try to 'market price' hard to find items, so its not like they're looking out for their comunities or anything.

i.e.: Dominion: Stores thought to scalp hard on it because they overestimated the FOMO on that box, so they asked for a ton more than they could move at launch, hoping it'd trickle out at an inflated price. GW fulfilled it all in one go to clear their warehouses, and now stores are whining about 'dead stock' and 'tied up cash'.

If there's no profit to be made, sure, if there's profit to be made, nah. But that's a separate issue from lost sales opportunity resulting from lack of product exposure.

'profit' isnt a catch-all term like you seem to imply. Tossing a 100k$ to make an extra 1-2k$ profit is worthless. Pushing through a few weeks more of packing, dispatching and tracking for a few grand on top of a succesful KS is also worthless. Its 'profit' in so far as you come up positive, but its no reason to invest more.

[Brookshw]

'profit' isnt a catch-all term like you seem to imply. Tossing a 100k$ to make an extra 1-2k$ profit is worthless. Pushing through a few weeks more of packing, dispatching and tracking for a few grand on top of a succesful KS is also worthless. Its 'profit' in so far as you come up positive, but its no reason to invest more.

Again, missing the point. Also, not sure where you think I'm implying something about the definition of profit, if you make more selling something than the costs involved leading to that sale, e.g., allocable labor, materials, third party costs, etc., that's difference in income vs. expenditure is profit. If you'd like I can make up hypothetical numbers to illustrate when it makes sense, and explain break even points.

[LansXero]

Again, missing the point. Also, not sure where you think I'm implying something about the definition of profit, if you make more selling something than the costs involved leading to that sale, e.g., allocable labor, materials, third party costs, etc., that's difference in income vs. expenditure is profit. If you'd like I can make up hypothetical numbers to illustrate when it makes sense, and explain break even points.

I understand that there is money to be made from reaching out further and keeping stock available. But, even if it feels exploitative and predatory, that money left behind is less atractive than moving on and chasing the next big hit. Leaving things unsupported / unreprinted is very, very common so that should tell you that it keeps working. And people keep fighting to try and get into exclusive tiers and limited time offers. So sure, more awareness or more reach or whatever. But thats extra work and it doesnt pay off at the level that the next FOMO scheme will. So why do it?

[Cheesegear]

My buying habits are curtailed and I only buy something if I have a particular use for it or want to paint it...

I - or someone I know - has been burned on pretty much every release I can remember, as far back as Forgebane and Shadowspear, at least. I personally, was burned on both of those things, and wasn't able to get Eliminators for nearly 9 months. Whilst they were dominating 8th Ed., I was sitting at home without Snipers that could see through walls.

Pre-Order now!

...I'll wait for reviews.

Reviews say this thing is pretty naff.

...Haha. How dumb would you be to pre-order that!?

~3 months go past and GW buffs everything bad to be good.

...Well now I want it. But it's sold out forever. Cool. Coolcoolcool.

Remember when Armigers were a trash fire? ...And then one day there one among the Top 5 units in the entire game but you couldn't get them anywhere? I remember.

I bought two copies of Death Masque and scalped both Eldrads.

Remember Prophecy of the Wolf and how you couldn't get Ghazgkull for...Six months? Despite the fact that he is/was mandatory to play Orks competitively.

FOMO is 100% real, because the community has been taught to...Fear, I guess. We have experience after experience stating that if you don't get Indomitus right now, you're not getting Bladeguard for a while. It doesn't matter if they're not good at launch. They might become good, sometime between 3 weeks and 3 months...Whilst you wont get the kit, for six to nine months - and maybe not ever (looking at you, Obliterators) - way, way after everyone who bought the 'launch box' or paid outrageous prices from scalpers are playing with their toys.

[Brookshw]

I understand that there is money to be made from reaching out further and keeping stock available. But, even if it feels exploitative and predatory, that money left behind is less atractive than moving on and chasing the next big hit. Leaving things unsupported / unreprinted is very, very common so that should tell you that it keeps working. And people keep fighting to try and get into exclusive tiers and limited time offers. So sure, more awareness or more reach or whatever. But thats extra work and it doesnt pay off at the level that the next FOMO scheme will. So why do it?

When the market demand results in a product line no longer being profitable, absolutely. Otoh, if there's money to be made and doing so won't disrupt your standard profit model, then why leave the money on the table? The world's largest educational publisher (at least at the time, about 8 years ago at this point) had a new CEO come in, that CEO sold off the IP to a lot of the lower tier products which, individually, weren't as profitable as the larger product lines, focusing instead on the larger. The next year the company's profits were down, sales and marketing plans had to be revised, etc.; the amount of missing profits that caused the disruption was, coincidentally, the same amount that the sold product lines would have otherwise brought in. This cycle continued, resulting in further shrinkage of the product lines, mass layoff, loss of income and stock value. Just because a thing doesn't make "as much" money doesn't mean its not worth doing.

But that's a bit beside the point. If GW can keep pushing a FOMO model and adjust it so that they can still pick up the money that's sitting on the table then there's no reason not to, they're a business, they're out to make profit. With Indomitus and similar product lines where the individual units do, eventually, become available, it's harder to say they're leaving money on the table. With Cursed City, despite certain models re-appearing as stand alone purchase opportunities, it's still a boxed game that exist separate and self contained outside of the general AoS product line and cannot otherwise be replicated by purchasing the stand alone models. For purchasers not looking for AoS, they're just going to go somewhere else, and we have a lose-lose scenario. Offering periodical print on demand opportunities provides GW an opportunity to split the difference. Going back to Cheese's earlier point about 3D printing - a technology constantly getting cheaper - with an initial investment in the appropriate equipment and a few print on demand centers set up (in various countries to cut down on shipping costs, tariffs, etc.) may offer a good opportunity for them.

Incidentally, I'm surprised they haven't made PDFs of older specialist games' rulebooks available for purchase. I'd pick up a copy of the Gorkamorka rule book if they sold a PDF of it (queue additional Whale opportunities), they already do via Omnibuses containing older out of print products, and DriveThru RPG still makes money selling old D&D products. Ib4 controlling their markets.

FOMO is 100% real

Sure, no argument here. Also, Pay Your Taxes.

[Wraith]

Incidentally, I'm surprised they haven't made PDFs of older specialist games' rulebooks available for purchase. I'd pick up a copy of the Gorkamorka rule book if they sold a PDF of it (queue additional Whale opportunities), they already do via Omnibuses containing older out of print products, and DriveThru RPG still makes money selling old D&D products. Ib4 controlling their markets.

Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if part of it isn't because they don't have the original proofs any more. I'm sure I'd heard some time ago that they lost a big chunk of stuff and it set back one of their games/codices because it wasn't backed up, but I'll be damned if I can find the source.

Being willing to pay for a .pdf of Gorkamorka is one thing, but would you if it was literally just a scan of a grungy old book that was lying around the office for 20 years? Because that's probably what it would come down to at this point.

And yeah, like you said, market control. If you're buying .pdfs from DriveThru, you're not buying new books and the models you need to use them. Never look back, only forward, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

[Brookshw]

Being willing to pay for a .pdf of Gorkamorka is one thing, but would you if it was literally just a scan of a grungy old book that was lying around the office for 20 years? Because that's probably what it would come down to at this point.

Have you seen the quality of some of the stuff on DriveThru? Those old D&D 1e files ain't looking so hot

[LansXero]

WJust because a thing doesn't make "as much" money doesn't mean its not worth doing.

Thats literally what oportunity cost is. From their annual we know they are already operating at capacity, any investment on increasing that capacity has to yield maximum return or there is no point to it. We're just gonna go in circles though, even though the reality is lines get axed all the time, even though they were 'popular' and 'sold just fine'.

With Cursed City

Didn't the factory making their cards close up shop and thus they can't do anything about it because its China and they have 0 power there? Otherwise it would've followed Blackstone Fortress' model.

For purchasers not looking for AoS, they're just going to go somewhere else, and we have a lose-lose scenario.

IF GW was at some point backed up from leftover product that said shift in demand caused, absolutely. They aren't though; US retailers keep whining about unfulfilled orders because GW just cant keep stuff stocked anymore. So where in the endless need to resupply their main lines do you think they're hurting because they can't chase tabletop gamers?

Offering periodical print on demand opportunities provides GW an opportunity to split the difference. Going back to Cheese's earlier point about 3D printing - a technology constantly getting cheaper - with an initial investment in the appropriate equipment and a few print on demand centers set up (in various countries to cut down on shipping costs, tariffs, etc.) may offer a good opportunity for them.

I strongly doubt they'll ever acknowledge 3D printing or worse hand out .stls for others to print. I'd bet they'll shut down first before allowing that to happen.

Incidentally, I'm surprised they haven't made PDFs of older specialist games' rulebooks

Thats on Warhammer+, to an extent. But also because it eats into demand for the eventual reprint / reimagining / remaster of that system for newer audiences, even if its just a boxed set and then forgotten forever (RIP Apocalypse/8)

[9mm]

Didn't the factory making their cards close up shop and thus they can't do anything about it because its China and they have 0 power there? Otherwise it would've followed Blackstone Fortress' model.

That's the working theory, an actual explanation of what happened has never been put out.

Meanwhile I'll just be getting the rule book and compendium for Kill Team.

[Brookshw]

Thats literally what oportunity cost is. From their annual we know they are already operating at capacity, any investment on increasing that capacity has to yield maximum return or there is no point to it. We're just gonna go in circles though, even though the reality is lines get axed all the time, even though they were 'popular' and 'sold just fine'.

Partially agree, for GW's labor output production is little more than cutting a few POs unless maybe your considering employee labor at point of sale. All that shipping and logistical support is going to be outsourced, opportunity cost becomes negligible. However, given the supply and logistic chain problems that occurred a'la Covid, it the labor simply isn't available then that's perfectly understandable as I mentioned previously. Anyway, I agree that we're going in circles at this point.

Didn't the factory making their cards close up shop and thus they can't do anything about it because its China and they have 0 power there? Otherwise it would've followed Blackstone Fortress' model.

Possibly, but that's a strange reason for them to have given every indication the line is completely shut down. There are plenty of printing companies out there that can handle cards, finding another vendor shouldn't be that difficult if they wanted to.

IF GW was at some point backed up from leftover product that said shift in demand caused, absolutely. They aren't though; US retailers keep whining about unfulfilled orders because GW just cant keep stuff stocked anymore. So where in the endless need to resupply their main lines do you think they're hurting because they can't chase tabletop gamers?

Again, I said earlier in the discussion that shortage of supply is a valid reason.

I strongly doubt they'll ever acknowledge 3D printing or worse hand out .stls for others to print. I'd bet they'll shut down first before allowing that to happen.

They definitely won't hand out .stls, absolutely. Whether they may keep them internally, possibly with limited access in their systems so only their IT can access the actual file, we'll see in time I suppose.

[Avaris]

With regard to all of this question of FOMO/supply etc, my ideal solution (which I sadly doubt GW would ever do) would be to allow people to order individual sprues from the webstore. As far as I can see, a significant bottleneck for GW isn’t model production (which they do in house and have complete control over), but all the other stuff: boxes for product, rules inserts etc. Those are all produced elsewhere and shipped to GW. They can’t produce another run of Cursed City without having to also produce all the cards and other accessories (and in that case, the board tiles, which may well be the problem). But they have customers who want specific sprues. So why not allow people to order them individually a few weeks later, likely at a higher price than if dividing the full box, and put them in a generic box? That way, GW can simply run off a few sprues when they are ordered at a much lower opportunity cost than if they also had to assemble the box sets.

As I say, never going to happen. Though who knows, maybe the new webstore coming this year will do it! (It won’t).

[Cheesegear]

They definitely won't hand out .stls, absolutely. Whether they may keep them internally, possibly with limited access in their systems so only their IT can access the actual file, we'll see in time I suppose.

3D scanning is almost near where 3D printing needs it to be.

Back towards the middle of 8th Ed., when 3D printed armies started winning tournaments - and the only way we could tell was because the pilots told us they were printed - I gave GW about 10 years before the miniatures side of their company collapsed. Similar to Marvel Comics, I predicted that they would end up actually producing very little, and the true value of the company [GW] would end up lying in its IP...

Wait...Hang on. Life is a simulation.

[Brookshw]

3D scanning is almost near where 3D printing needs it to be.

Back towards the middle of 8th Ed., when 3D printed armies started winning tournaments - and the only way we could tell was because the pilots told us they were printed - I gave GW about 10 years before the miniatures side of their company collapsed. Similar to Marvel Comics, I predicted that they would end up actually producing very little, and the true value of the company [GW] would end up lying in its IP...

Wait...Hang on. Life is a simulation.

That's true for lots of companies. I kinda like some 3rd parties re-imaging of GW's lines, there's a lot of good not!Seraphim models out there, I'm very impressed with Archvillian Games' stuff.

[Sinewmire]

Most recently I had been considering buying Cursed City as something to use to get my kids into tabletop gaming, only to discover it wasn't available anywhere outside of scalpers and was a non-starter.

In fairness, my understanding is that Cursed City was cancelled due to import issues relating to the printed materials being priced abroad. That's why they released all the components and follow-up models as AOS models, rather than expansion kits like Blackstone Fortress.

[Cheesegear]

That's true for lots of companies. I kinda like some 3rd parties re-imaging of GW's lines...

My point is that there are second-party (the consumer) reprintings - and of course, recastings - of GW's actual miniatures currently on the market and in use.

If you can paint well enough, nobody can tell with photos. Of course it can become pretty obvious once you touch them and/or pick them up, and they're not the right weight that you thought they would be. It's just sad funny awkward shameful reality, that there are people right now, playing games with a single 'real' model, and then four or five more (total six) models that are not 'real'. What? You going to catch them out when you see photos of tournament tables? Of course you aren't. You can't tell anything.

As long as the pilot paints a marking that they understand onto the 'real' model, they can present that model to people IRL, and not allow people to touch - and especially pick up - the others. Which isn't unreasonable because not picking up other peoples' models is very much social etiquette 101.

The cat is currently peeking its head of the bag. GW knows it, and is trying to keep the cat in the bag for as long as it can. But the cat has been seen. It's only so long before the cat wants out, and is willing to rip apart the bag from the inside to get out.

[LansXero]

My point is that there are second-party (the consumer) reprintings - and of course, recastings - of GW's actual miniatures currently on the market and in use.

If you can paint well enough, nobody can tell with photos. Of course it can become pretty obvious once you touch them and/or pick them up, and they're not the right weight that you thought they would be. It's just sad funny awkward shameful reality, that there are people right now, playing games with a single 'real' model, and then four or five more (total six) models that are not 'real'. What? You going to catch them out when you see photos of tournament tables? Of course you aren't. You can't tell anything.

As long as the pilot paints a marking that they understand onto the 'real' model, they can present that model to people IRL, and not allow people to touch - and especially pick up - the others. Which isn't unreasonable because not picking up other peoples' models is very much social etiquette 101.

The cat is currently peeking its head of the bag. GW knows it, and is trying to keep the cat in the bag for as long as it can. But the cat has been seen. It's only so long before the cat wants out, and is willing to rip apart the bag from the inside to get out.

I read Saturnine long before it was available for sale.

It still sold out when it released as HB. So did the special edition.

You act like piracy is anything new. 3D printing is piracy, its just proxies all the way, same as using oyoumaru to clone bits or even whole models or making your own from greenstuff. Its just more in vogue / easier / more convenient.

Can GW sustain its numbers purely out of people who scoff at piracy? Dunno. Between stinking up a room for a whole night or picking up a 40$ box of models, 'convenience' falls on either side for people due to many reasons. But if .pdfs being available before official street date haven't killed dead tree sales, I doubt 3D printing will kill plastic toys.

Tangentially, people getting 3rd party bits / recasts / 3D printed clones then whining about WYSIWYG as if it were a sacred part of the hobby are hypocrites.

[Cheesegear]

It still sold out when it released as HB. So did the special edition.

Yeah. And it was on eBay immediately.
It's like people talking about cinema box office numbers and TV ratings in a post-COVID world where people can't go to the movies anymore, and nobody is watching TV anymore in a way that makes ratings meaningful.

The thing you're talking about, isn't relevant.

I don't care if anything GW creates sells out. That's no longer an achievement because I know that it's being done out of artificial scarcity.

You act like piracy is anything new. 3D printing is piracy, its just proxies all the way...

Quality piracy, is new. Piracy, to the point where you can't tell the difference between the real thing, and a fake, is new and emergent.

Can GW sustain its numbers purely out of people who scoff at piracy?

No. Because it sustains its numbers by licensing its IP and making an M:tG set. By licensing its IP and selling Bandai Space Marines for a bajillion dollarydoos a pop, etc.

Tangentially, people getting 3rd party bits / recasts / 3D printed clones then whining about WYSIWYG as if it were a sacred part of the hobby are hypocrites.

I care about WYSIWYG. Because I want to make sure the thing I'm looking at, is the thing it's meant to be.
I do not care how much money you spend - or don't spend.

If you recast a Plasma Gun to make infinite Plasma Guns, and then put those recast Plasma Guns onto your models. I can tell that those are Plasma Guns, they look like Plasma Guns.
If you find some cool 3rd Party bit that looks like a Plasma Gun, kind of, and tell me it's a Plasma Gun. I can run with that. Because the bit looks funky and weird and at the very least, special.

If you tell me a model holding a Boltgun, is actually holding a Plasma Gun. That's a problem. Because it's holding a Boltgun. I can see that it's holding a Boltgun.

As I've said since day dot; I can work with Counts As. I can't work with proxies. That's a different thing.

Counts As: 1+1 = 2.
Proxies: 3 = 2.

[Brookshw]

My point is that there are second-party (the consumer) reprintings - and of course, recastings - of GW's actual miniatures currently on the market and in use.

Yup, I'm not disagreeing. I find it a bit funny/odd that some 3rd parties make,..superior? More aesthetically pleasing? Versions of GW stuff, it a tangential point.

I know Blackhawk, or maybe Wraith, have mentioned a few times a game that uses a bring your own model approach. I'm curious to see if the rise in 3D printing will expand that game's reach and market position, though there are definitely some complications in achieving that (that I'm too lazy to type about from my phone). Can't recall the name of the game though.

[Blackhawk748]

Yup, I'm not disagreeing. I find it a bit funny/odd that some 3rd parties make,..superior? More aesthetically pleasing? Versions of GW stuff, it a tangential point.

I know Blackhawk, or maybe Wraith, have mentioned a few times a game that uses a bring your own model approach. I'm curious to see if the rise in 3D printing will expand that game's reach and market position, though there are definitely some complications in achieving that (that I'm too lazy to type about from my phone). Can't recall the name of the game though.

Kings of War. Thye make an "official" line for most of the armies, but that's largely for convenience and for them to make more money. And they are nice minis, I have a fair few of their line for stuff.

But yes, you can bring whatever minis you want to an official Mantic tournament and they'll geek out over your quirky army as much as you do. Just make sure you have a clear delineation between what is what.

No using a Balrog to be two different things in the same army, unless one has a whip and one has a sword. then that's probably fine.

[Cheesegear]

I know Blackhawk, or maybe Wraith, have mentioned a few times a game that uses a bring your own model approach.

Gaslands is almost literally about making your own models.

[Brookshw]

Kings of War. Thye make an "official" line for most of the armies, but that's largely for convenience and for them to make more money. And they are nice minis, I have a fair few of their line for stuff.

But yes, you can bring whatever minis you want to an official Mantic tournament and they'll geek out over your quirky army as much as you do. Just make sure you have a clear delineation between what is what.

No using a Balrog to be two different things in the same army, unless one has a whip and one has a sword. then that's probably fine.

That sounds right, thank you.

[LansXero]

I don't care if anything GW creates sells out. That's no longer an achievement because I know that it's being done out of artificial scarcity.

We do have sales numbers though, and they are steadily rising. Plus, audiobook subscriptions.

Quality piracy, is new. Piracy, to the point where you can't tell the difference between the real thing, and a fake, is new and emergent.

So wrong. Recasters have been producing 1:1 GW models for ages now. Hell, its how I restock bases for the store, and I started before 8E launched. 3D printing has nothing on recasting.

I care about WYSIWYG. Because I want to make sure the thing I'm looking at, is the thing it's meant to be.

Get onto the 3D print patreons and see how much of that isn't true, at all. Then people aren't even consistent of which pirate to use, getting a mishmash of bits printed off diferent patreons / sources, ending with visually clashing weapons, models and terrain.

[Forum Explorer]

Quality piracy, is new. Piracy, to the point where you can't tell the difference between the real thing, and a fake, is new and emergent.

It's new for miniatures maybe, but it's been happening for a while now for video games and movies. And it does have a impact on sales, sometimes.

The factors I've personally seen:

1. Convenience: If it is easier to pirate your product then buy it, people will just pirate it instead. It's why stuff like Steam is so successful I think. Yeah, I could pirate a game, but Steam makes it legal, easy, and often decently cheap. Which brings us to

2. Cost: This obviously varies from person to person on what their personal line is, but if something is deemed too expensive, then it is worth going through the inconvenience of pirating it. I usually see this with TV. 'I only want to watch two or three shows/channels. Yet they are charging how much for a package of hundreds of channels? F- that, I'll just pirate what I actually want to see.'

3. Morality: The creator does something that deems them unworthy of being supported so everyone pirates their product rather than buy it.