Why is this place so GW-bashy?

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[Thorbjørn Nielsen]

*rant*

Why is this place so prone to "GW-bashing"?

I just don't get it? 

I'm stumbled upon numerous threads now, where people bicker about GW.

I'm so confused... their rules are the silliest ever (the standard answer for most 40k debates) and their models are rotting on purpose.

Every other ruleset in use here is subject to change by the players.. but when it comes to GW it has to be perfect in the box. No one even considers (apparently) changing what they don't like.. 

I'm not even a GW-enthusiast myself. I own a lot of GW, but I don't much enjoy their games when play in clubs or competitions. But not due to GW - due to the players...  I do enjoy playing GW games in CLOSED circuits. 

*rant out*

EDIT: Oh and if you don't agree with me - try searching for Evil Empire, GW or other tags.

[answer_is_42]

It's good to have a common foe, and unlike the smaller companies GW does not have a human face you feel bad about mocking. Plus, their models are awfully expensive. 
For the record, I modify GW’s rules, which are some of the best out there with a little tinkering.

[Dewbakuk]

Most non-gw forums are 'GW bashy'. Hell, quite a few GW-fan forums are GW Bashy.

I have issues with the prices etc, it should be noted I had issues with the prices etc when I still worked there and stopped buying stuff. I don't like 40k as a game. I play it occasionaly because I know a lot of people who really like it but I don't think it's a very good game at all. I do like the background, although many don't. Several of the other games I do like and play.

Necromunda is still probably the best game of any kind ever written and I'll stand by my decision on that statement. Although I do alter the rules slightly

Most of the problems are with the GW players and the way it has become a tournament atmosphere, even in games clubs. Things I hear said and done at clubs amaze me, they certainly wouldn't happen at Lenton head office. We used to regularly play games with modded rules and weird scenario's etc, it was fun, the fact it wasn't in the books was irrelevant.

[Lowtardog]

In all honesty I dont mind what they produce either, however sometinmes their policies of revising rules, miniatirues ranges etc repeatedly is a little annoying and a lot of the older folk here remember the old citadel days when they produced all sorts for their early ranges and early rules of WFB and rogue trader when anything goes rather than the Codex era where you can only use xyz miniature with the rules and so on.

I also think as said they are the only corporate force in gaming so can be viewed as the big baddies

[gamer Mac]

I do own and play GW games. In fact for a lot of years that is all I played.

What is starting to get to me is the price of the figures. I know a lot of people here don’t like plastic figures but I do, especially when you are trying to bulk out the rank and file troops of a large army.
I have had a Skaven army for years and only managed to field a decent sized force after the last lot of plastic figures came out but have you looked at the price of the new plastic ones. 20 plastic Stormvermin for £30
That’s dearer than when they were metal.
How can they justify the price of their plastic? It’s not as if they don’t sell it in bulk

[Lowtardog]

I agree on the pricing however there are a lot of other small companies especially in the sci fi and Fantasy genres that can charge equal to or more (quality, media and sculpting style aside) I understand this where in the main they are garage companies and need to break even to exist but this is where GW would struggle to win an arguement, though to coutner it not many companies have bricks and mortar shops etc so it is a debate that can go on and on

[Froggy the Great]

For me it's that GW stuff is everywhere, and it is the baseline against which all other games are measured, at least to people who have a casual (or less) acquaintance with the gaming industry.  I just get tired of seeing nothing but stormtroopers when there are so many other lines out there.

I do find it fascinating and occasionally hilarious how two GW players can meet randomly and then realize they just finished a half-hour heated discussion of tactics.

[Backyardpatrol]

Actually this forum is one of the less ranty about GW.

[JollyBob]

I don't think this forum is particularly down on GW. Certainly not compared to other sites I could mention (and frequent).

There have been a lot of very positive threads, especially about the old school stuff (see what Pil has done, for example).

I agree that their stuff is pricey, the faceless Company is not a good image for them, and their tournament players can be irritating but that last is true of any system where people are in it for the competition, not the fun.

On the other hand, some of their models are lovely, even the new plastics, their paint is really good for the most part and they do have some excellent resources on their website for painting and modeling.

Really, I think the main problem that GW have on this site is that a majority of members have moved on from their stuff and have more "grown up" tastes if such a thing is possible. And once you've seen one uberarmoured steroid marine you've pretty much seen them all, so why not try a different system, or make your own and have you seen these new figures from Company Y, imagine what adventures you could have with them...

What am I talking about....? 

Anyway, not so much GW bashing as tired of the same things being rehashed every couple of years and more inclined to experiment, and the typical wargamers' butterfly attention span.

I am not even sure this post makes sense. Long day. Sorry.

[Doomhippie]

I guess it's psychology. If people admitted that GW is great why go for something else? Or maybe the reverse: since a lolt of people play soemthing else that is not nearly as successful as GW it could mean that it's not as good. That in return means you have to defend your position against a percieved (but probably wrong) threat from GW.

For me GW has always been a company with a very good fan support, lot's of hints, tips and ideas (even if the ideas are not new) for the fans. I became tired of the visual aesthetic of the models: too bulky for my taste (apart from most LoR miniaturs - most of them are really great). Also GW doesn't produce anything in the way of historic or pulp range. But that only means I'm not buying their products because I have no use for them (again apart from LoR). As GW is a large company they are of course percieved to be a the big baddies. People tend to cheer for the underdogs.

As to GW-bashing: the name Company of Evil always sounded ironic to me. More along the way of telling myself why I am the good guy. Some people might actually have issues with GW but I guess GW doesn't have issues with them (as they are really not that important to a company like GW). I'd say if you don't like it, don't buy it. Don't force others to justify themselves for enjoying GW. Just as I don't want you all to listen to my kind of music (...by the way, why aren't you???).

[Hauptgefreiter]

I guess it's mostly about their marketing and IP related behaviour. Prices have been mentioned but for me it was mostly the end of the fan project "Damnatus" and their dealing with companies like Dream Forge. Something looking like their stuff, quash it...
Which hasn't been able to help me getting rid of my GW addiction, so I still buy their Space Marines 

[Poliorketes]

Most non-gw forums are 'GW bashy'. Hell, quite a few GW-fan forums are GW Bashy.

Right. How do you find out if a forum is GW-bashy? Easy. is it about miniatures?

Mind me, I'm no GW basher.

[Gallowglass]

Some people might actually have issues with GW but I guess GW doesn't have issues with them (as they are really not that important to a company like GW). I'd say if you don't like it, don't buy it. Don't force others to justify themselves for enjoying GW. Just as I don't want you all to listen to my kind of music (...by the way, why aren't you???).

Very well put. GW - as a corporation - don't give a rattling damn about anybody who doesn't lay their games, and I fail to see why they ought to. I am aware that there's a school of thought that they don't give a damn about anybody who does play their games, but that's a whole other discussion.

If you like GW stuff (rules, models, paints etc) buy them. If you don't, well steer clear.

I played WFB 3rd Edition. Loved it. Played Rogue Trader. Loved it. Space Hulk. Loved it. Then I started to develop an interest in historical gaming, and my tastes changed. Instead of WFB, I started playing WAB. The style of GW's figs changed from the style I liked in the late 1980s/early 1990s to a direction that simply didn't appeal to me.

I went after Flintloque rules, then started Sharpe and Harper games with actual French and British instead of Orcs and Elves. My fantasy armies turned into Celts and Romans, Normans, Vikings and Saxons. American Civil War became a big interest, as did the Second World War. pretty soon, I wasn't "doing" anything GW related until the LOTR game and miniatures came out. I liked these, and still do.

Do I feel the need to bash GW? No. I like some things that they produce, dislike some others but the vast majority of their stuff just isn't on my radar. I think their paints are good, and the washes they released last year or whenever are excellent. Some of their models are daft, but then so are many of the other fantasy and sci-fi miniatures out there. I don't see much of a reason to bitch about any of them though as the last time I checked no representative of ANY game company was holding a cocked .45 to my head and encouraging me to "Buy our stuff, or else".

People should buy what they like, play what they like and pretty much shut the fuck up at that point. If you consider a model to be too expensive, then don't buy it or else go and get a better job to pay the asking price. Don't like a certain edition of the rules? Play the edition you're happy with. And, ultimately, if you don't like GW, well then cowboy the fuck up, accept the fact that you don't, get a grip on your need to tell the whole world about it and move on. You and everybody else will be much happier for it.

[Hammers]

Well, you're asking for it, so here goes.

-They train their employees to be annoying, pushy and to treat their customers as if they were retards.
-Their products are way overpriced.
-They market their products as if they invented wargaming, theirs is the only take on the Hobby and it's theirs. Well, quite frankly, they are proselytizing.

I think they do get cred around here if they do something good (WHH Great War, useful plastic sprues, some terrain items, scenery articles...) but that's mostly because people are pleasantly surprised by them breaking a bad habit.

[Captain Blood]

Well, you're asking for it, so here goes.

-They train their employees to be annoying, pushy and to treat their customers as if they were retards.
-Their products are way overpriced.
-They market their products as if they invented wargaming, theirs is the only take on the Hobby and it's theirs.

Amen.
Couldn't have put it better myself - especially points 1 and 3.
(Frankly, I don't really care about their pricing. If people are stupid enough to pay five or six pounds for a single 28mm metal figure, that's their own stupid fault).