If you were GW for a weekend...

[scrotatohead]

If I was Games Workshop for a weekend I would hold a tournament. A massive tournament. A tournament that would have an extremely diverse range of brackets for players to select from. Different point levels. Forgeworld allowed. Forgeworld not allowed. Expansion rules allowed. Expansion rules not allowed. Things like that. And I would have a massive staff of tournament volunteers (compensated with free model kits) responsible for watching the event and taking copious notes. Notes on such things as:

* what made the matches enjoyable for players. What drove them crazy.
* Which armies dominate, if any? Which armies are at the bottom? Which armies aren't even present?
* What models and armies were fielded and which combinations contributed to wins and which to losses. Yes I know there are other elements that contribute to winning, but we all know that unit selection is critical.
* What rules were hotly contested.
* Why do players pick the armies and models that they fielded?
* Win or lose, are the players having a good time with my product? Are they talking outside of the matches? Are they griping about the matches, their opponents, my company, my products? If yes, what is at the core of the gripes?
* What are the common things players of all armies are saying that would make the game better

I'd have my volunteers compile all that information and then I'd look at the trends, the data that really stands out as being the most common, most impactful positives and negatives about GW. And then I'd challenge the department heads to come up with answers and strategies for how to optimize the positives and minimize the negatives.

That's what I'd do if I ran Games Workshop for a weekend. What would you do?

[lictor534]

i'd make it rain... couldn't resist

[Inquisitor Stingray]

Go postal.

Fire the entire design studio and outsource the job to people better suited and more competent.

[j0rdan]

I'd overhaul the entire ruleset of the game. Making it intuitive while maintaining the depth.
I would hire from the folks who make warmachine, as well as MtG.
I would set a timetable for actually advancing the storyline of the 40k universe along.
I would instate a policy of extensive playtesting and review of all written game material, and let the fanbase know (politely) that if they get mad waiting longer than a month per release, they can suck it, because the current timetable is unrealistic.
I would hire an R and D department, to take care of ongoing state of the game issues, and administer adjustments to rules/point costs/etc as needed.

[Deleted]

I'd make the pyrovore not suck. If that's all I accomplish ruleswise I'll have done more than they've done in two editions.

[scrotatohead]

Fixing Pyrovore would make a lot of retailers happy. Would get all those dust covered metal kits off their shelves.

[milkybarnid]

Scrotatohead, your post covers all bases that someone would think of, that is coming from a consumer point of view.
You also need to think about it from a business point of view e.g. profitability, expenditure such as employees wages and production costs, shareholders wanting returns on their investment. GW cannot focus on one, doing so would jeopardise the company as a whole and could collapse which we don't want.

Referring back to the first point I do think you have it spot on, people need to be able to enjoy each others company and get along well as it takes two to play a game. Doing so will encourage more people to play the game

[chuckles]

Jan 28, 2014 18:55:58 GMT milkybarnid said:

Scrotatohead, your post covers all bases that someone would think of, that is coming from a consumer point of view.
You also need to think about it from a business point of view e.g. profitability, expenditure such as employees wages and production costs, shareholders wanting returns on their investment. GW cannot focus on one, doing so would jeopardise the company as a whole and could collapse which we don't want.

Referring back to the first point I do think you have it spot on, people need to be able to enjoy each others company and get along well as it takes two to play a game. Doing so will encourage more people to play the game

Businesses make money from consumers...

Me I'd shut down a lot of the more remote hobby stores and set up like 3 national major hobby centres in London, Birmingham and probably Manchester (possibly one in Edinburgh or something), like slightly smaller Warhammer Worlds, with lots of gaming tables and stock concentrated in there. In smaller hobby centres there would be a vastly reduced quantity of stock and move to a more mail order centred model, as having unsold stock floating around is a pretty significant source of wasteage and paying rent/lease on the number of small properties GW is currently responsible for is exorbitant in places like Kendal or Leamington Spa.

I'd also take a good long look at the design team and the way they do things. I'd probably shift over to an e-pub model of releasing rulesets, I'd have a policy of revising them periodically with free downloadable updates if you've bought the book concerned (assuming that's possible but I suspect it is), and I'd insist on beta tests, either closed or open, with a good long lead-in time before the official release so things don't fall through the cracks.

The short version is I'd try and get them to handle this stuff more professionally.

[milkybarnid]

Businesses make money from consumers...

Where are you trying to go with this?

EDIT: I need to learn how to use this site's features properly, ill get round to it eventually

[gman25639]

I'd release a beta version of new rulebook/codices, just with experimental rules and no fluff via a free download and have an open comment period where people can playtest and give their feedback to imrpove the game. and then I would take the comments into account and fix any issues to make the game near-perfect and blanced, where no single codex is the top dog and everybody is on an even playing field.

[scrotatohead]

Jan 28, 2014 18:55:58 GMT milkybarnid said:

Scrotatohead, your post covers all bases that someone would think of, that is coming from a consumer point of view.
You also need to think about it from a business point of view e.g. profitability, expenditure such as employees wages and production costs, shareholders wanting returns on their investment. GW cannot focus on one, doing so would jeopardise the company as a whole and could collapse which we don't want.

Referring back to the first point I do think you have it spot on, people need to be able to enjoy each others company and get along well as it takes two to play a game. Doing so will encourage more people to play the game

I agree. Companies must support their shareholders and owners' expectations when establishing business plans. I work for a company that provides an essential component for other manufacturers. They have to have our product. Even then, we realize that if we don't understand our customers, if we don't understand their needs, if we aren't aware of what they think of us, what they think of our customer service, they can and will find a competitor to provide the same product. We've had businesses come to us, willing to pay more money for our product, because their previous supplier failed them one too many times. If GW doesn't increase efforts to really understand us, then they're going to find themselves in a counter-productive spiral of price hikes, cost cutting, and confusing product management. Which is no good for consumers, investors, or owners.

[milkybarnid]

Jan 28, 2014 19:38:45 GMT scrotatohead said:

Jan 28, 2014 18:55:58 GMT milkybarnid said:

Scrotatohead, your post covers all bases that someone would think of, that is coming from a consumer point of view.
You also need to think about it from a business point of view e.g. profitability, expenditure such as employees wages and production costs, shareholders wanting returns on their investment. GW cannot focus on one, doing so would jeopardise the company as a whole and could collapse which we don't want.

Referring back to the first point I do think you have it spot on, people need to be able to enjoy each others company and get along well as it takes two to play a game. Doing so will encourage more people to play the game

I agree. Companies must support their shareholders and owners' expectations when establishing business plans. I work for a company that provides an essential component for other manufacturers. They have to have our product. Even then, we realize that if we don't understand our customers, if we don't understand their needs, if we aren't aware of what they think of us, what they think of our customer service, they can and will find a competitor to provide the same product. We've had businesses come to us, willing to pay more money for our product, because their previous supplier failed them one too many times. If GW doesn't increase efforts to really understand us, then they're going to find themselves in a counter-productive spiral of price hikes, cost cutting, and confusing product management. Which is no good for consumers, investors, or owners.

Thank you, this says what I was trying to say.

[chuckles]

Jan 28, 2014 19:22:17 GMT milkybarnid said:

Businesses make money from consumers...

Where are you trying to go with this?

EDIT: I need to learn how to use this site's features properly, ill get round to it eventually

A business which does not please its consumers does not make money. It is very much in their interest to please the people who they want to buy their stuff, so making statements about "that's from the customer's perspective, not the business" doesn't make sense. While you obviously can't just give everything away for free the way consumers would want, you do need to act in a way that makes them thing positively about you as a company and the products you make in order to continue to function. Treating your consumers as a resource is a mistake, and one which bigger and more successful companies than GW have found out to their considerable cost.

[N.I.B.]

Jan 28, 2014 18:52:15 GMT scrotatohead said:

Fixing Pyrovore would make a lot of retailers happy. Would get all those dust covered metal kits off their shelves.

Have they ever been in metal? Regardless, they are already flying off the shelves, because Biovores...

[scrotatohead]

Jan 28, 2014 20:48:40 GMT N.I.B. said:

Jan 28, 2014 18:52:15 GMT scrotatohead said:

Fixing Pyrovore would make a lot of retailers happy. Would get all those dust covered metal kits off their shelves.

Have they ever been in metal? Regardless, they are already flying off the shelves, because Biovores...

I've got two metal kits collecting dust on MY project shelf. But true that in regards to Biovores being so important and what non-nid player would know the difference?