This stems from a conversation with Imam.
He remarked that the pricing structure and tactics of certain companies makes him less likely to purchase their products.
I guess, at the core, do I care enough about companies to buy their products - and drink their Kool-Aid - based on their games? And the answer is... no, not really.
For example. I like Warmachine. I like the Iron Kingdoms. At present, I own at least 500 points of each Warmachine faction (barring Mercs, which is slightly less, I think) I have picked up some of the IK:RPG books - not the two new hardbacks, but I suspect that's just a matter of time.
I do this because I find the world interesting and the games challenging and fun. I don't feel that Privateer is a model game company - whatever that means - or because I feel compelled to buy their product for any reason external to my personal enjoyment.
One of the arguments I've seen raised from "players" of games when gaming industry people complain about the declining sales and dying companys is this:
The industry =/= the hobby.
Meaning that players do not always have a vested interest in keeping company X afloat. Yes, it means that support materials pretty much come to a screeching halt. While the RPG folks are the least affected by this, even miniature gamers aren't totally destroyed, so long as there were enough releases to make the game playable and/or suitable proxy models on the market.
For example, I remain a fan of the game Legions of Steel. I still pick up the odd model for it off of Ebay, and have, um, three sets of the tiles for the game. I haven't played it in years - but I am amused to read that Steve Gibson runs a LoS-rules scenario game at Gen Con every year, using a variety of miniatures - Heroclix, 40k, Shock Force, whatever. Global Games, maker of Legions of Steel has been out of business for probably 10 years now, but the hobby of the game lives on.
Mostly.
So. I buy Warhammer and 40k games and models because I like the games. I enjoy playing them. I don't like Games Workshop - and that has nothing to do with prices; that has to do with their foolish decisions concerning the games (and their butchery of Fanatic Games) and their staff members that I have interacted with. (particularly the retail staff, who generally ranges from well-meaning but annoying to outright jackasses)
If Privateer Press, tomorrow announced that all of their future books would only be the $100 limited edition style books with leather covers and faux-animal skin pages, well, I think I'd have a grand time with my existing books and models. 'cause I'm not loyal to that sort of artiste-mindset that they sometimes peddle.
So. Loyalty to games, not to companies. And even that is tenuous, because we are always getting impressed by new shiny things out there.
Oh, right. One more piece. I am somewhat of a purist for having the right model for a given game. This can be seen as an extension of loyalty...but it is deeper than that. Back in the day, when I was first starting my miniature gaming life, one member of my gaming group - named Mark - was absolutely infamous for his proxying. He did it to be cagey and tricky about what model was armed with what weapon, but playing against him grew very tiresome. "No, THIS model has a missile launcher, and THIS model has a pistol...." In the end I think my preference for the "right model" grew out of this. When I put my army on the table, there are no questions about what they are, what they are armed with, etc. It's a courtesy, in my mind, to my opponent. I know that some people (PAUL) feel diferently about proxying, and that's fine...it's just not me.
4 comments:
I play Legions of Steel with Steve Gibson about once every 2 months, and 5 or 6 times in his runup to Gencon. He's a good guy, and makes you look like a gaming dilettante. Seriously. His thing is multi-use armies - one army to work for 15-20 games. His Brettonians are used for ahome-grown mass fantasy rules army (Gibsonsystem!), his skirmish rules, occasional GW games, other companies skirmish rules, etc. His other big thing is loyalty to gaming, not companies or systems. He'll play any game system with any minis available, giggle when he loses, and then try again. Wish I agreed with his politics more, but genuinely a credit to the hobby, and his loyalty is a different but necessary flavor. Next game he's got planned for us is Full Thrust with the Wizkids Pirates ships. Can't wait to see that.
I've only met Steve once or twice; he seemed like a nice guy. I just think it's cool that he's using Legions of Steel rules for all sorts of cool stuff.
Foudn your post through a search, so forgive me if I'm presuming.
I can agree with a lot with what you said. I'm not a consumer to support a specific company, I'm a consumer for goods I find appealing, and my tastes don't match with everyone's all the time.
My beef with GW is more that they produce great products (their models always manage to impress me,) but they do nothing with them. They seemingly just put them on the shelves, relying on reputation and beauty to arract and keep customers. Privateer, on the other hand, has always struck me as a company that wants me to enjoy myself every second I'm holding their product. Even their minor mishaps (such as missing pieces, etc.) are solved through a quick e-mail. While this attitude breeds loyalty to me, I'm not there for PP. I'm not someone who would be counted on to contribute to a collection plate passed around for them. I think you're mainly right, though. If PP started charginf $70 for a pack of Bile Thralls or something, I'd probably move on to another game, occassionally pulling out my minis to bask in the glory days (much I do now with 40K.)
I'm pretty much along the same lines. I love the games, not the companies. This causes me no small amount of trouble on the Privateer forums, on occasion, but I'm nothing if not vocal.
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