The First of Feb 2014 marked the re-launch of White Dwarf. I'm sure most people will already know that the magazine is changing from monthly to a weekly publication. I picked up my copy yesterday and have to say that this first edition feels pretty solid. The focus is around the new Dwarves, which do not hold much interest for me, but it has the main sections (with some new additions) which were my favourite sections of the old monthly mag. Also, it is priced at £2.40, which if memory serves is the price that the monthly mag used to be around the early nineties (when I was first involved in the hobby).
Without wanting to delve too deep into the topic; I do wonder as to the motivations behind GW changing White Dwarf and introducing the monthly Warhammer: Visions 'glossy' mag and from all the blogs and sites that I have read this is generally echoed by those posting articles/comments. I find it baffling why almost all releases/decisions made by GW are mostly greeted by negative feedback or head-scratching. I know this is the internet but if you consider how Warcraft is based around the Warhammer IP and ponder 'what if' GW was run like Blizzard then it, in simple terms, shows the polar opposites which these two companies seem to do things. Blizzard has equally fanatical fans however, as opposed to GW, they communicate with their community and accept all feedback on the chin. I wish GW would do this as the longer it goes on, the more I fear for the health of what is a truly awesome hobby and set of IPs.
It is a bit confusing how engaging with your customers seems to be a bit of a foreign concept for GW! I am guessing that the weekly White Dwarf is to encourage people to go into their stores every week rather than once a month which I am sure most people do!
ReplyDeleteYep I agree Bob. Time will tell if it works... but i dont feel confident that they know what they are doing :/
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