Games Workshop's release schedule - thoughts?

[Jack Shrapnel]

When looking at the releases this year for 40K and fantasy and I started writing down exactly how much has been released this year, it is pretty staggering: (NOTE - I am not counting Forgeworld releases but that makes things even crazier!)

40k

Adepta Sororitas
Chaos Daemons
Dark Angels
Eldar
Space Marines
Tau
Tyranids (still a rumour that’s unconfirmed December release)
Iyanden supplement
Inquisition
Black Legion
Farsight
Apocalypse
Pandorax
Damnos
Clan Raukaan (up for preorder right now)
Sentinels of Terra
Death from the skies (almost forgot about this one!)

Fantasy:

Daemons of chaos
Dark Elves
High elves
Lizardmen
Warriors of chaos
Triumph and Treachery

Now the list for 40k is longer significantly than Fantasy, that's a pretty well known stat... but lets put WHFB into perspective... the last time five army books were released in one year was 1993 (and that's not counting the Triumph and Treachery release). Between 1994 and 2012 there was ONE year where four army books were released, and the rest was either three or less. So even with WHFB, which has not seen the crazy pace 40k has been in, we are still looking at the most releases in TWENTY YEARS.

Okay let's look at 40k for a minute... SEVENTEEN releases in one year... if you even don't count the supplements (5) or Apoc (3), that's NINE codex (codecii?) releases in 2013.  Sure sisters and Inquisition are currently digital only, but it's still a complete codex as far as updated rules and running a complete army out of it (or detachments)... okay, even more devil's advocate here and lets just look at hardback codex releases - no digitial, no supplements, no apoc, and we won't count nids until they're in my greedy little claws... we're still at five.     

The most ever released in the history of 40k before this was four codecii in 1999, and two mini-dexes (the old supplements)... so that was 3rd edition, and 14 years ago, and still didn't even come anywhere close.

So here we are in the deluge of releases like has NEVER happened before.  There are some doom and gloomers crying that GW is going out of business and just releasing like crazy to try and cash in what little market they have left (financials actually do not support that GW is in trouble in the least, they're still reporting profits and paying their shareholders), others are saying they're finally listening to the community who were fed up with two new books per system per year (or in some cases less!)

In the 40k online world, the competitive net-list community are having a REAL hard time keeping up with all the releases.  There's no one net list to rule them all anymore (remember MSU 5th edition anyone?) and with each new release the balance shifts again, and again, and again. No consistent armies are winning every tourney (although we're seeing alot of Tau-dar builds these days in big tournies, armies like old tyranids pull out major wins at huge tournies). Those who want to bandwagon for the new "best list" can't keep up and are getting frustrated (once proverbial internet competitive site YTTH rarely puts up anything anymore other than just decrying 40k is dead and no one plays it and getting 200+ attendees at big tournies is not a sign that the game is healthy and growing... I'm serious, he says crap like that).

So what does it mean for our little pond over here?

Do you LIKE all the new releases and plastic crack or are you getting overwhelmed?  Are there just too many choices now a days?  Is this getting to the point of TOO MUCH releases or do you still want GW to keep firing things our way???  

This is a pricey hobby no doubt, and it'd be pretty much impossible to buy absolutely everything that gets released (unless you're independently wealthy and have the ability to paint miniatures full time to keep up!).  The new big kits that accompany new releases (especially in WHFB) are pretty expensive, but really beautiful models in alot of cases (that must take a LOT of development time / dollars)

So what are your thoughts on this unprecedented release schedule?

(if you include everything that's 23 releases in 2013 between the two systems!!!!!)


 

[thesanityassassin]

I'm all for it myself, and that is coming from a direction where I can't often afford to buy a ton of new stuff. Keeping things from getting stagnant is huge in a system like this though.

Also, reading stelek's crap is hilarious.

[voodoo]

Nov 19, 2013 10:03:31 GMT -5 Jack Shrapnel said:

that's NINE codex (codecii?)
 

Codices

Personally, I like the release schedule; granted my gaming budget is somewhat limited but I don’t have a compulsion to play every army that comes out so it’s all good. It does “keep it fresh” and have the mouthbreather net list guys scrambling to find the broken meta like big sweaty palmed ants. I’d like to see them keep this pace for greedy reasons of my own… I want to get my hands on that Death Guard/Nurgle Supplement.

[Admiral Agrippa]

Even though I am no longer a GW fan boy, I see no harm in the quantity that they are releasing as long as the quality is still there.

My only fear for them is that if they release so much now and so quickly, will they ever run out of ideas leading to a term of stagnation

Perhaps they are working at such a feverish pace so that ALL armies are updated (has every army ever been up to date in the last 15 years for either system?) so that they can then release their next editions to start all over again?

[canadianguy]

I find for me it means i will have fewer armies as it becomes too expensive to keep up with all of them

[Jack Shrapnel]

interesting article on the subject:

darkfuturegaming.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/the-worst-thing-about-getting-what-you.html#more

[Admiral Agrippa]

If everything does go in a digital format with hard copies as a "novelty" as that article suggests, I would hope that perhaps GW works on a way to create errata and fixes similar to a patch that you find in games.

Problem with the Str of a gun listed as 2 when it's really 3, download the patch and it fixes your copy instantly instead of having to reference silly extra pages or print outs.

[Jack Shrapnel]

well apparently the new inquisitor min-dex updated itself with some new content recently... (or you had to click a few links to get the update - not sure, don't own it) but it wasn't any extra cost for the update

[voodoo]

If they go 100% digital, I can see GW teaming up with someone to offer a tablet with a subscription service to their books. Cheaper than a regular tablet but can have apps pre-loaded onto it that would make accessing the rules easier, maybe even with a version of an army builder made by GW. They could even have Bluetooth in it so you can e transfer your list to your opponent for viewing before a game that could link to special rules you may not know about and have detailed wargear options much like army builder does.

But it’ll probably just stay as pdf downloads that will eventually force everyone to bring a tablet to game with.