Games Workshop has been going through many changes during the last year or so with 6th edition and now 7th edition. Yes there has been some missteps, but there has also been a lot of good. I don't miss the days of waiting 4-6 months for a codex release, and the new release schedule is fantastic for not letting us sit for years with our armies. Of course allies have helped that as well.
Editorial Warning: This is an editorial.
Over all there has been a lot of changes 40k, from even better plastic miniatures, a new and flexible game system, Fortifications and Lords of War. Even books now, we have so many different options, that the collector, the gamer, and the even the digital only crowds should be happy. I would have to say that the game today is much better than the game we were playing back in third or fourth. Even 5th edition I think the gaming communities were ready to move past when it came. Nostalgia though is hard to overcome, and I have many fond memories of these past editions.
The interesting thing I have been dwelling on lately, is that it seems that no matter these changes that are going on...... many of which we as the community have been demanding for years, Games Workshop seems to be struggling. Of course we all have an opinion on why, or how a disaster can be avoided, but in reality a lot of what they have been doing is what we have been demanding.
Legal battles are not the way forward, and Kirby's latest rant last week seemed to dwell on some of these battles that have occurred, with the promise of more to come as technology moves forward. After reading his statements, it left me with a rather sour taste, and really not wanting to read the rest of the report.
Only the most pessimistic of gamers wants GW to fail in any way, and most of us want them to succeed. I don't have the answers, and it seems that we as a community don't either. Warhammer 40k really is the biggest game for tabletop miniatures in the world, and that wont be changing, but something needs move the company and the community forward into a more positive light. We want them to succeed, and need them to succeed.
I am to the point lately that I think we have gone over the top on expectations and demands as a community (GW included). Of course some of its been warranted, but with some releases I feel that GW marketing is always testing something new (like release schedules and orders, codex formats, magazine layouts, savings on bundles), instead of staying the course, or any course. A fast release schedule is great, but some stability in these releases would be better. Of course GW could just not listen to us, and leave everything alone, but they have been listening and responding to what we have been saying, perhaps at too great of a cost.
Oh yea, and I am hell of excited for Dark Eldar.............. soon. Consider money spent GW.