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Games Workshop

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File:Gwlogo.png
The style of the Games Workshop logo is copied in the titles of many of their games

Games Workshop (GW) is a British game production and retailing company. Games Workshop is one of the largest games companies in the world, and is the dominant company in the miniature wargaming hobby. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange with symbol GAW.

Overview

Games Workshop was originally an importer of American board games and RPGs. When they became publishers of the UK based roleplaying magazine White Dwarf, Games Workshop created a national chain of gaming stores in the 1980s. Their publishing arm also created UK reprints of famous but expensive to import American RPGs such as Call of Cthulhu, Runequest, Traveller and Middle-Earth Role-Play.

The key to the company's success since its inception has been its ability to innovate. The creation of the Warhammer and later Warhammer 40,000 universes enabled the company to create unique products separate from the role playing games of their early days. The universes are an amalgamation of many different ideas, many coming for the Tolkien mythos in the early days of Warhammer.

During the 90s, following a management buyout in December 1991 the company refocussed on their most lucrative lines, namely their miniature wargame Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40,000 lines. The retail chain refocussed on a younger, more family-oriented market. The change of direction was a great success with a rising share price and growing profits, in spite of the fact that it lost the company much of its old, loyal fanbase. The complaints of these old customers led a breakaway group of GW employees to publish Fantasy Warlord in competition with GW, but this met with little success. Games Workshop expanded in Europe and the USA opening new branches and organizing events. The company was floated on the London Stock Exchange in October 1994. In October 1997, all UK based operations were relocated to the current HQ in Lenton, Nottingham. This site now houses the corporate HQ, the White Dwarf offices, mail order, and the creative hub.

By the end of the decade, though, the company was having problems with falling profits being blamed on collectible card games such as Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon. It was realised that the targeted 12 and under age group was not an appropriate market to be aiming towards, and the company's focus was redirected.

In recent years, Games Workshop has been attempting to create a dual approach that will appeal to both older, loyal customers while still attracting the younger audience. This has seen the creation of initiatives such as the "Fanatic" range that supports more marginal lines with a lower cost trading model (the Internet is used widely in this approach, to collect ideas and playtest reports). Games Workshop has also contributed to designing and making games and puzzles for the popular television series "The Crystal Maze".

The miniature wargames the company promotes are considered to be a welcome substitute to those young people mostly immersed in videogaming. Some view it as a learning experience that cultivates artistic talent as well as resource management skills, and that the hobby reminds people of more traditional mediums of entertainment, harking back to simple toy soldiers. The release of the Lord of the Rings (LoTR) games in 2000 signalled their intention to capture the younger audience with a simple, yet effective, combat system.

Other key innovations have been to harmonise their core products, and to branch out into new areas of growth. The acquisition of Sabretooth Games (card games), the creation of the Black Library (literature), and their work with THQ (computer games) have all enabled the company to diversify into new areas which have brought old gamers back into the fold; plus introduced the games to a whole new audience.

Criticisms

Common criticisms of Games Workshop, however, are that the rules systems currently in production are increasingly being simplified and aimed at younger gamers, while excluding older gamers who feel patronised by the newer rules sets. The continuing development and release of new armies for the Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40,000 game systems has also drawn criticism, with some gamers feeling that there are now too many armies and model ranges for Games Workshop to be able to support them all adequately. This is aggravated by the steady rise in prices in recent years, well in advance of inflation. Although the quality of the company's models has also improved over the years many players still complain over the skyrocketing prices of the GW monopoly.

Miniatures games

Currently in Production

The following games are in production and widely available.

"Specialist" games

The following games are considered "specialist" and are not necessarily available in Games Workshop stores. They are however available through mail order and are supported by the specialist games division of Games Workshop. Note also that some of these games (e.g. Necromunda) are available only as rules and miniatures, not in the "boxed set" form that they originally took. They are all set within one of the universes of the main games.

Warhammer Fantasy Universe

Warhammer 40,000 Universe

Lord Of The Rings Universe

Out of print

Warhammer Fantasy Universe

Warhammer 40,000 Universe

Licensed games

These games were not made by Games Workshop but used Games Workshop style models (usually of lesser quality) and concepts with simplified game systems. These games were made by mainstream toy companies and available in standard toy and department stores rather than just in Games Workshop and specialist gaming stores. They are clearly set in Warhammer worlds.

Other Games

Role playing games

Several of the miniatures games (e.g. Inquisitor) involve a role playing element, however Games Workshop has in the past published role playing games set within the Warhammer universe. Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay returned to print with a new edition on March 29 2005. It is being published by Black Industries, a Games Workshop subsidiary.

Out of print

Board games

Games Workshop had a strong history in boardgames development, alongside the miniatures and RPGs. Confusingly, several may have had roleplaying elements, or for that matter had miniatures included or produced.

Out of print

Computer Games

Games Workshop produced and published several ZX Spectrum games in the early years, not all of which were based in the usual Warhammer settings

  • Apocalypse (1983) based on the original boardgame
  • Argent Warrior (1984) Illustrated adventure
  • Battlecars (1984) 2 player racing game written in BASIC
  • Chaos (1985) multiplayer turn based "board" game, written by Julian Gollop
  • D-Day (1985) based on the Normandy Landings
  • HeroQuest (1991) based on the MB board game
  • Journey's End (1985) text adventure
  • Key Of Hope, The (1985) text adventure
  • Ringworld (1984) text adventure
  • Runestone (1986) text adventure
  • Talisman (1985) text adventure
  • Tower Of Despair, The (1985) text adventure

Many computer games have been produced by third parties based on the Warhammer universes owned by the firm. These include: (Miniature game they are based on is included in parentheses after the game name)

In development

As of January 2006, there are also some future games in development:

Online Campaigns

Games Workshop also ran a number of Online Campaigns for its wargaming systems, whereby registered members could enter the results of their games into the Campaign site to determine the outcome. The 2005 Summer Campaign, the UK based War of the Ring Online Campaign, was the first ever online event for The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game. The Campaign was an overall success, with 27239 games played and registered by the 3007 participants. Games Workshop also ran a smaller War of the Ring Campaign for Canada, but this was considered a "watered-down" version of the original.

Other media

Many comics and novels have also been produced based on the Warhammer universes, published by the Black Library.

Miniatures

File:Miniature ogre-KayEss-1.jpeg
A limited edition Games Workshop (Citadel) ogre

Games Workshop originally produced miniature figures via an associated, originally independent, company called Citadel Miniatures (of which Maurauder Miniatures was an imprint) while the main company concentrated on retail. The distinction between the two blurred after Games Workshop stores ceased to sell retail products by other manufacturers, and Citadel was effectively merged back into Games Workshop.

Magazines

Games Workshop's best known magazine is White Dwarf, which in the UK has now passed 310 issues. Seven different international editions of White Dwarf are currently published, with different material, in five languages. Originally a more general roleplaying magazine, since around issue 100 White Dwarf has been devoted exclusively to the support of Games Workshop properties.

Games Workshop also published Fanatic Magazine in support of their Specialist Games range, but it was discontinued after issue 10, though it lives on in electronic form. Fanatic was preceded by a number of newsletters, devoted to the particular games.

There was also the Citadel Journal, intended as a "deeper" magazine for modelling enthusiasts and more experienced gamers. It often featured unusual rules and armies, and was occasionally used as an outlet for test rules. Under some editors, they also published fan fiction and fan art. This is no longer published.

There is also a fortnightly series called "Battle Games in Middle Earth", which comes with a free Lord of the Rings SBG miniature. Though the miniatures were made by Games Workshop, the magazine itself was written and published by De Agostini. It is published in Ireland, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Spain, Austria, Australia, New Zealand, and Poland. The magazine became more popular than the publishers had anticipated, and the deadline has been extended several times. It is currently beyond Pack 75.

Licensing

In conjunction with the production of cinematic adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, Games Workshop acquired the rights to produce a skirmish wargame based on the films, and also on the novels by J.R.R. Tolkien. The rights to produce a roleplaying game version of the films were sold to another firm, Decipher, Inc.

Though they had the rights to produce a Battle of Five Armies game, the rights to the one-inch scale normally used by Games Workshop were already owned by another company. For this reason, the game was done in 10mm scale for the normal warriors, and "heroic" scale for the named characters.

Games Workshop has not acquired the rights to the Silmarillion, which is currently the exclusive property of the Tolkien Estate. However, they were somehow permitted to use Eorl the Young and Khamul the Easterling (from Unfinished Tales) in their upcoming The Two Towers and A Shadow in the East Supplements.

Games Workshop Group PLC

Games Workshop has expanded into several divisions/companies producing products related to the Warhammer universe.

  • Games Workshop produce the tabletop wargames, Citadel miniatures and the Specialist Games range.
  • Sabertooth Games produce the CCGs and The Lord of the Rings Tradeable Miniatures Game.
  • BL Publishing is the publishing arm of Games Workshop.
  • Warp Artefacts produce merchandise based on Games Workshop's intellectual property.
  • Forge World make complementary specialist resin miniatures and conversion kits.

External links

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