Gamers Workshop + Lawyers - Go After the Warhammer Community

[kronovan]

Looks like Gamers Workshop and their lawyers are going after anyone who's created content for their games and made it freely available to the fan community. Here's the blog of a fan who's had to delete his files from boardgamegeek.com after a cease-and-desist letter was served. This reminds me so much of TSR in the mid -to- late 80's when they went after the AD&D crowd. They should look at TSR's experience with AD&D and the resulting pain Wizards of the Coast had to go through to resurrect the series.

Wow, am I ever glad I decided to NOT buy GW's LotR miniatures for my son's last birthday. I personally don't have any intention of supporting them until they stop this lunacy.

[Turtle]

This is the reason why I no longer touch GW stuff unless it's a video game.  They're basically in the process of running the game into the ground while trying to milk the last bits of money from the game as they do so.  Their financials are shot, competition from other miniature games and other media like video games are battering down their walls, and they're still screwing over players, and themselves.

Compare this to Privateer Press and its Warmachine and Hordes lines, where they've just released the entire game rules and unit stats for free online, and are allowing online systems like VASSAL to host games.

[kadnod]

I saw a thread on this over at rpg.net a few days ago when I was looking for stuff on the new Rogue Trader pen-and-paper rpg.  I played lots of GW boardgames back when they started cracking down on internet resellers like a decade ago, so this new purge didn't come as much of a shock.  However, I was surprised to learn that GW does have what's possibly the weirdest IP guideline ever.

. . .we cannot allow tatoos as an acceptable use of our IP as a third party necessarily has to perform the "service."

Purge the mutant, cleanse the heretic, burn the unlicensed tattoo shoppees!  For the Emperor!

[Chaz]

Issue the Inquisitorial Cheese Graters!

[kronovan]

Compare this to Privateer Press and its Warmachine and Hordes lines, where they've just released the entire game rules and unit stats for free online, and are allowing online systems like VASSAL to host games.

Heck even WotC is allowing Star Wars Mini's to be played on Vassal. They've also taken no action against the SW Mini's Campaign Edition free initiative, which has so much borrowed content it sometimes make me blush.

I played lots of GW boardgames back when they started cracking down on internet resellers like a decade ago, so this new purge didn't come as much of a shock.

You do realize that their current actions have nothing to do with people that are unlawfully retailing or charging for their warhammer creations...right? This is strictly a campaign by GW to shut down fan created content that's offered free for download on various websites.

Issue the Inquisitorial Cheese Graters!

lOl 

[kadnod]

You do realize that their current actions have nothing to do with people that are unlawfully retailing or charging for their warhammer creations...right? This is strictly a campaign by GW to shut down fan created content that's offered free for download on various websites.

Yes, I get what the current situation is about.  The last purge, IIRC, was about GW shaking down legitimate businesses from selling GW product on the web to avoid competition with their own stores & website.  That's why I wasn't surprised about this latest ridiculousness.  Weird decisions of dubious legality that piss of their fanbase aren't that unusual for GW.

[Vidiot]

You do realize that their current actions have nothing to do with people that are unlawfully retailing or charging for their warhammer creations...right? This is strictly a campaign by GW to shut down fan created content that's offered free for download on various websites.

Yes, I get what the current situation is about.  The last purge, IIRC, was about GW shaking down legitimate businesses from selling GW product on the web to avoid competition with their own stores & website.  That's why I wasn't surprised about this latest ridiculousness.  Weird decisions of dubious legality that piss of their fanbase aren't that unusual for GW.

Yep, if I want to go to a small online shop with decently discounted Games Workshop products and order anything I need to download a spreadsheet and call them up to put in the order.  There are also next to no images of any product.

Seem legally iffy, I guess they can get away with it because it is all their products and they are willing to have a "take it or leave it" stance to distribution.

[Chaz]

I knew a guy who owned a game store in the mall I worked at.  When he was opening the store, he wanted to stock GW stuff.  Turned out that the minimum order to start carrying any of their merchandise was $10,000.  He laughed and told them to stuff it. 

[Larraque]

I knew a guy who owned a game store in the mall I worked at.  When he was opening the store, he wanted to stock GW stuff.  Turned out that the minimum order to start carrying any of their merchandise was $10,000.  He laughed and told them to stuff it. 

My friend who runs a game store had a similar experience recently. The Warhammer store in the mall closed about a year ago, and he decided he would stock it, since he got regular questions about it. Games Workshop forced him to buy a certain amount of merchandise, but more awkwardly - forced him to carry the Lord of the Rings game that no one plays.

He eventually started to carry it a couple months back. Lord of the Rings and all. I don't know how much of the LotR stuff has sold (I never thought to ask but I assume very little of it sells) but the warhammer fantasy/40k has been selling pretty well for him. We're even going to start having players in the store, which is pretty awesome.

[greeneggsnham]

I really hate the asshatery from GW. The only things I was interested from them (Epic 40k, BFG) are pretty much DOA at this point. I'd LOVE to see Man O' War get reprinted, although the chances of that happening are pretty much slim to none. However, SH -did- get a reprint, so I guess anything is possible.

I'd love to see FFG do some reprints of GW material. Horus Heresy is getting a reprint, so maybe we'll see more...