Since last Friday, after Beasts of War announced its dissolution with Wayland Games and Tabletop Nation due to a legal missive from Games Workshop’s legal team, I have been thinking very seriously about this monster in the wargaming industry.
There is no doubt in my mind that GW has harmed the community by de facto forcing BOW and TTN to dissolve. It is a shame that a company becomes so obsessed with sales and money making, that it comes to a point were it forgets why it makes money and simply focuses on how.
I have always been a fan of BOW. For me it is an excellent source of news that keeps me in touch with the 'happenings' and 'going-ons' of the industry and community in general. To my shame I have never been a back-stager. I was just not interested in the content therein, but I never took the time to consider that by being a back-stager I could help support the content I did like. So from now on I will redress this shortcoming and sign up. I urge anyone who enjoys the show to do the same.
I have come to another conclusion as well. I have stopped playing Warhammer Fantasy for a while now, but starting from today I will not play anymore 40K as well. I will still buy a few Citadel Miniatures here and there for diorama purposes simply because I love the universe, but no more buying for army building.
What really irks me is that BOW have always given good coverage of GW's products. Yes, sometimes they have been critical but in my opinion the critique was merited. With their new set of trade terms that force GW's trade customers to adhere to a clause that effectively punishes Wayland Games for any advance reporting by BOW is simply absurd.
I think the community, BOW, Tabletop Nation and Wayland Games do not deserve this and it saddens me to see this hobby in this sorry state of affairs. I wish BOW the best and I hope they grow from strength to strength with the help of a loyal and appreciative community spirit.
Farewell and good health,
NR