Commissar Elvis
New member
I\'m going to skip over most of Page 2, as I don\'t really have anything to add. To be fair re: Games Day, you\'re only paying US$40 (no, that ain\'t much) for a limited edition miniature, and whatever you decide to paint or make at the Miniature and Terrain Paint/Make\'n\'Takes (or whatever the f*** they\'re called). That\'s not so bad.
On the other hand, while I missed the Stones in \'02 because tickets in Miami were $150 for shit seats :|~ , they ARE the greatest band in the history of history...to be fair.
On the other hand, GW asking you not to use \"3rd Party\" items in converting their miniatures is a little bit over and above the RIAA telling you that you\'re not allowed to make MP3s of CDs that you bought and paid for so that you can listen to them in the car MP3 player, on your computer, whatever.
\"Fair use\" is still something being squabbled over in Federal courts, and the draconian and blatantly unconstitutional and anti-worker DMCA is still in effect. All of these limit your digital freedom and the lobbyists of the RIAA and MPAA are much higher-powered than Joe Sixpack who has turned to downloading music because he\'s not going to spend $18 on the latest garbage that the record companies\' so-called \"talent\" scouts decide to force down our throats.
Getting back to GW, this is utterly insane. They\'re basically telling you that, \"Even though you bought our model, and bought models from another company, you\'re not allowed to combine them, for any reason whatsoever. You may only use GW parts to convert your models, even though we enjoy raping you hard-core with no KY.\"
I can really understand why some people get so pissed that they leave the hobby. On the other hand, I\'m hardly up to Golden Demon standards, I generally find little enjoyment playing against cheese-mongering \"tournament players\", so I rarely enter any tournaments at all, much less Games Workshop tourneys. Having said that, when I start up another Guard army, there\'ll be plenty of female models in it courtesy of Shadowforge!
Now we\'re getting into personal gripes about Games Workshop, however, instead of the fact that they are in violation of US Federal business law, namely anti-trust law with regards to price-fixing, retailer coercion and manipulation and generally unsavoury (had to spell it the British way) business models and practices (which should be a crime).
On to the pricing schemes - not everyone in the UK is rich, but I will say they this - they are substantially better off than the average college-age or so (we\'ll say 18 - 30, for sake of argument) American worker. Labor unions still have power, they have national benefits and the minimum wage is almost double that of the Federal equivalent (I think their minimum wage just increased to something like US$10-$11/hr. after conversion). Are things more expensive in Britain? They certainly are. Are they taxed more? Definitely. But they actually get something for their taxes like healthcare, unemployment benefits, and a pension.
I\'ll steer myself back on course for a moment. Miniatures gaming, and gaming in general, has generally been the domain of college geeks (I say that with respect, as I am both a computer and gamer geek ) and, to some extent, remains so today. GW\'s focus switch around 1999 - 2000 jacked prices up ridiculously and focused it on little Johnny\'s mommy buying him a Land Raider for getting that A in Social Studies or that Thousand Sons boxed set for his birthday. Where does that leave the struggling student, who\'s either dreaming borderline-illegal quick-money schemes or slaving in some pizza kitchen for $8/hr? Out in the cold, that\'s where.
And now, I found out that half or MORE of the gaming community refuses to deal with me because I didn\'t lay out several tens of thousands of dollars and sink myself in overhead so that I can open a brick and mortar store.
This short-sightedness and price inflation is going to sink many companies, and I think Games Workshop will be leading the charge straight to the bottom in the next decade or less, if they don\'t get slapped with Federal suits before long (although there are no \"gaming lobbyists\" in Washington, other than casino gaming, and the current administration wouldn\'t have taken Standard Oil to court at its most heinous heights).
OK, time to go renew my PO Box and take a deep breath. lol
**EDIT:
@Braveheart - No worries, baby. TCB, man, TCB.
On the other hand, while I missed the Stones in \'02 because tickets in Miami were $150 for shit seats :|~ , they ARE the greatest band in the history of history...to be fair.
On the other hand, GW asking you not to use \"3rd Party\" items in converting their miniatures is a little bit over and above the RIAA telling you that you\'re not allowed to make MP3s of CDs that you bought and paid for so that you can listen to them in the car MP3 player, on your computer, whatever.
\"Fair use\" is still something being squabbled over in Federal courts, and the draconian and blatantly unconstitutional and anti-worker DMCA is still in effect. All of these limit your digital freedom and the lobbyists of the RIAA and MPAA are much higher-powered than Joe Sixpack who has turned to downloading music because he\'s not going to spend $18 on the latest garbage that the record companies\' so-called \"talent\" scouts decide to force down our throats.
Getting back to GW, this is utterly insane. They\'re basically telling you that, \"Even though you bought our model, and bought models from another company, you\'re not allowed to combine them, for any reason whatsoever. You may only use GW parts to convert your models, even though we enjoy raping you hard-core with no KY.\"
I can really understand why some people get so pissed that they leave the hobby. On the other hand, I\'m hardly up to Golden Demon standards, I generally find little enjoyment playing against cheese-mongering \"tournament players\", so I rarely enter any tournaments at all, much less Games Workshop tourneys. Having said that, when I start up another Guard army, there\'ll be plenty of female models in it courtesy of Shadowforge!
Now we\'re getting into personal gripes about Games Workshop, however, instead of the fact that they are in violation of US Federal business law, namely anti-trust law with regards to price-fixing, retailer coercion and manipulation and generally unsavoury (had to spell it the British way) business models and practices (which should be a crime).
On to the pricing schemes - not everyone in the UK is rich, but I will say they this - they are substantially better off than the average college-age or so (we\'ll say 18 - 30, for sake of argument) American worker. Labor unions still have power, they have national benefits and the minimum wage is almost double that of the Federal equivalent (I think their minimum wage just increased to something like US$10-$11/hr. after conversion). Are things more expensive in Britain? They certainly are. Are they taxed more? Definitely. But they actually get something for their taxes like healthcare, unemployment benefits, and a pension.
I\'ll steer myself back on course for a moment. Miniatures gaming, and gaming in general, has generally been the domain of college geeks (I say that with respect, as I am both a computer and gamer geek
) and, to some extent, remains so today. GW\'s focus switch around 1999 - 2000 jacked prices up ridiculously and focused it on little Johnny\'s mommy buying him a Land Raider for getting that A in Social Studies or that Thousand Sons boxed set for his birthday. Where does that leave the struggling student, who\'s either dreaming borderline-illegal quick-money schemes or slaving in some pizza kitchen for $8/hr? Out in the cold, that\'s where.And now, I found out that half or MORE of the gaming community refuses to deal with me because I didn\'t lay out several tens of thousands of dollars and sink myself in overhead so that I can open a brick and mortar store.
This short-sightedness and price inflation is going to sink many companies, and I think Games Workshop will be leading the charge straight to the bottom in the next decade or less, if they don\'t get slapped with Federal suits before long (although there are no \"gaming lobbyists\" in Washington, other than casino gaming, and the current administration wouldn\'t have taken Standard Oil to court at its most heinous heights).
OK, time to go renew my PO Box and take a deep breath. lol
**EDIT:
@Braveheart - No worries, baby. TCB, man, TCB.
