Topic: More Blood Bowl Fun!

[MrDWhitey]

http://www.tabletopgamingnews.com/2009/11/17/31483

All in good fun!

[patsy02]

So they're punishing their customers by withholding a product they could be making money off of because other miniature companies are filling the gap they themselves failed to take care of, which is creating models for their own game?

 

[Merrick]

They're retarded. Is this a case of sites actually advertising Blood Bowl miniatures, or are people on forums and stuff merely recommending them...




They've also sent Christer, creator and admin of fumbbl.com, this letter.
I was going to create a thread for it, but then I saw this pop up.

http://fumbbl.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1574

Great.
Shut down the only decent way of playing Blood Bow online.
The Cyanide game is kinda crap, this is a much better community and game. And I can't run the PC game on my laptop, denying me a regular way of playing Blood Bowl.

I love the game, but Games Workshop are suddenly taking away the largest Blood Bowl community, and what also seems to be their largest advertisment of the game. Not only that, it's free advertisment. The Blood Bowl revenue they must have generated thanks to that site must surely be noticable, via word of mouth as well.

It's a sad time for Blood Bowl, if I'm honest.

[Dihenydd]

"It is not enough that I succeed, everyone else must fail."

   - attributed to unknown meat popsicle in a suit at GW Mother Corp.




It is the support of the fans that have carried this game when GW ignored it.  It's a great game and has only had it's success due the direhard supporters. 

"We don't make these mini's, we have no plans to ever make them, we publish rules for them.  But someone who loves this game wants to make them and sell.  How dare someone else create mini's for a game genre we literally stole from RQ decades ago!  They must be crushed ruthlessly and at all costs"

[sgtshamrock]

I wish GW would realize that they are the industry standard in this niche market and stop trying to be a damn monopoly! I mean seriously, rather than being @$$holes about this hobby and industry they should embrace the fact that they are the standard at which every other company in this market sets themselves to instead of being self concious and "taking their ball and going home." Imitation is the best form of flatery, and if they feel like they can't compete or continue to set the standard with other companies then they should step their game up so we the consumer/gamer benefit instead of putting a lockdown on the hobby/game system and making us suffer. I about had it with Grandma Wendy, and I'm a die hard fan of her too...

[Nicholas Bies]

If I remember correctly Jervis's last Standard Bearer and Rick P's into on the 25th leatherbound rule book. Both talk about the Fan nature of their game and the friendly nature of everyone playing etc.

I struggle to believe these two "icons" of GW would not be appalled at the way the legal side of GW treats these fans. I was wondering if sending a letter to Rick explaining these actions against the Fan based side of the game would have any merit.

[ZeroTwentythree]

First, regarding the article, as I understand it (and this may not be correct), that's not necessarily an official GW statement, nor has it been verified to be their official policy. It's apparently a second hand statement.

Also, they are within their rights to try to protect their IP. Even if it means offending the fan base to whom they are trying to sell. Besides, after countless times the nerd rage (to borrow a Shadowlord term, I believe) rises up for decision after decision, they're still selling piles of games and figures. So their policies haven't dragged them down, yet.

If I remember correctly Jervis's last Standard Bearer and Rick P's into on the 25th leatherbound rule book. Both talk about the Fan nature of their game and the friendly nature of everyone playing etc.

I struggle to believe these two "icons" of GW would not be appalled at the way the legal side of GW treats these fans. I was wondering if sending a letter to Rick explaining these actions against the Fan based side of the game would have any merit.

They have got to be aware of it. They are at the top of the company food chain, and as you stated, they're part of the wargaming community as well.

People are quick to blame "suits" and "bean counters" in a lot of complaints about GW policy, but when it comes down to it, the "icons" are still part of the management of the company.

[Gneisenau]

What 023 said.

From all I know GW makes little money with designing the systems itself (you can only sell so many rulebooks), but rather with the miniatures. They are paying for the designing costs with the money they make from the miniatures. Companies which just make miniatures, but no rules, have less costs. So from GW's POV, it might make sense not to make rules if there aren't any miniatures.

[Mystic Force]

GW havent done any design as such in many years.  All the rules revisions have been made by a rules committee of people who volunteer their time with Jervis only really saying OK.  So in many ways the game belongs to the people who have made the game what it is.  They have sent cease and desist letters to anyone who has the world "bloodbowl" in a URL, and I have heard it has spread further to mordenhiem and even some 40K stuff.  So it might not be long before GW come knocking here and we have to change our forums name.  Now some of the things they are doing I can understand, like wanting to stop others benefiting from making miniatures for this game by being so clearly flagged.  But thats rather a product of their own position of lack of support for the game, so others came to fill the gap.  Now that the genies is out of the bottle fantasy football figures are not going away.  I see a lot of people using other companies miniatures for this game and I too have started including other manufacturers in my WH army if I think the model better represents what I want to do.   There isn't any GW store within 250 miles of me and I am not going to any tournaments so it really isn't a problem.

I am prepared to give GW a lot of slack but this maybe one action to far for me.  Their products are about us taking their IP and imagining something on top of that, to add value, if there is some restriction on what we can then do with it, maybe I want to do something else.

[Gneisenau]

I'm pretty sure that, for example, Gav Thorpe was a GW employee when he wrote the DE armybook.

Now some of the things they are doing I can understand, like wanting to stop others benefiting from making miniatures for this game by being so clearly flagged.  But thats rather a product of their own position of lack of support for the game, so others came to fill the gap. 

Exactly. I don't blame them for trying not to leave a gap.

[Marius]

Gee, touchy much?

Calm dowwn maannnn, thur not gonna hrrt yuu.

[WallyTWest]

Grandma Wendy often makes me want to slam my head into a Brick Wall... 
What the he11 is their problem?


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