Gwydion wrote:
IMHO and from a business point of view...it is a bad strategy. Sure, the kids spend more money impulsively but I doubt they will sustain the purchases in the long term, so your cost to bring new clients is ever increasing..
This might be true, but largely depending on the quality of the game. Bad ruleset? People wont stick around. But what if GW has managed to create a somewhat fun and balanced set of rules that also works on the tournament scene? Newcomers will be drawn in by the fun and stick around long enough to get stuck in the tournament scene. If GW manages that they might see a big increase in players.
As you say, revenues have decreased over the past years and a new edition of the same old ruleset isnt going to change that. Something brand new though? Maybe.
Gwydion wrote:
Also, its strategy during these years has proven not very profitable (its revenues have decreased over the past years).
Yup, it's pretty obvious something has to be done. Just one of many things to do: If you are bleeding money you cut down on expenditures. Too many armies to support with new rulebooks and miniatures? Cut number of armies. Too many miniatures taking up expensive shelfspace? Cut number of armies = less miniatures on shelfs. Less of everything equals less expenses. Less armies - less sculptors and so on. Wouldnt it be more suprising if they just kept on with the same gameplan when it clearly isnt winning them the game?
Gwydion wrote:
For them have to be quite complicated to compete on price with other medieval alternatives...which is something very strange considering they are the biggest and supposedly the company with better technology...
This is also something I think they are acutely aware of. But why compete at all? At the moment people can go buy cheaper dwarfs, elfs, humans and the like from other companies. GW cant stop that because the IP to these races is not theirs. If they kill of the old world and create something new with a very specific look and feel it will be easier for them to charge what they want for their miniatures. They can clearly create some very cool and big pieces that people are willing to pay big money for. If they at the same time have a functioning ruleset and great tournamentscene, well, proxies wont be an option for the competing players. Recasts maybe, but thats another problem.
Considering that they are one of, if not the worlds biggest miniature games company I believe they can pull this off. It's still a shame because the old world is a pretty awesome IP. Current gameplay is boring though.