So much to cover!

I've been out of it for a while, mostly due to the huge amount of work and time it took to produce my new set of DVDs, which I will be featuring in a post later this week to celebrate their launch!  But in that time, a lot has come up...

The Tau Codex.

I don't know what to really say. This has been a long time coming and I am sure there was much rejoicing when it was announced it was on the way.  But I'm sorry, I just can't bring myself to spend 50.00 on another supplemental rule book that is not a special limited edition!  They got me on the Dark Angels because I had a gift card.  Even then, I wish I had not given in...  I just can't get behind them despite my love for the models.

Bitz Blocking?

Why?  Surely they have a reason, but I can't imagine that the bits sellers have reduced profits for GW. They can argue that people who want an apothecary would buy the command squad box set if they did not have the option to buy it from Spikey Bits, but in my opinion they simply won't buy it at all. I sure wont.  By the way, to go out with a bang, Rob Baer at Spikey Bits is offering a blow out special on his Fat Sack o Bits. He is clearing out stock and shutting up his bits business.  Go get em while you can!

Cease and Desist...

So a couple of high profile sites were shut down by Google, apparently because of a C&D order due to copyright infringement.  There are a couple issues here.

First, I support GW on this.  It is their privilege to be the first to present their content in their media. It is not the right of a third party website to obtain photographs of those published pages and post them online before the magazine is even released.  GW does need to protect their IP to some degree but I am no lawyer.

However, that is where my support stops.

 I have made this point before. GW owes a measure of thanks to the internet and sites like Bell of Lost Souls, Miniwargaming and myself for their huge growth in the last half decade. It is certainly NOT attributed to their pathetic website which used to at least have loads and loads of background info and images and now is just a hard to navigate catalogue.

If you are reading this, than it is possible that it is a site like mine that has initiated or rejuvenated your interest in 40k. That translates to numbers.  Through my site and my Youtube channel, and as evidenced by the literal thousands of testimonial emails I have received thanking me, I would lowball estimate that at least three thousand people are into 40k because of me.  Or at least got into it for a brief time.  (Yes, I have received thousands of emails and comments thanking me for the inspiration.) I think some where there is a numerical value per new customer... I would guess that is around 500.00.  So if I took my estimate of 3000 people, and multiplied that by 500, we are looking at 1.5 million!

Like it or not GW, the hundreds of blogs and sites dedicated to your merchandise are ADVERTISEMENT for you! You owe a portion of your success to us.  We feed the machine. I am not saying that GW needs to put up with copyright infringement, but they need to reconsider their approach to the online community. They did not create it, we did.  While they were ignoring us, BoLS was taking root and Fritz and I were launching a massive Youtube trend of tutorial videos and recorded batreps. Take away BoLS, From the Warp, Beast of War, Miniwargaming, Spikey Bits, and little guys like Myself and Fritz and where is GW?  I dare say they are not launching 50 dollar codex books.  Are we the cause of the current situation with our hobby?

Any way, it is my opinion that GW needs to embrace the internet and the fan sites.  Don't fight BOLS, work with them.  Get some progressive, internet savvy PR guy in place to work on reversing public relations and using the massive traffic that BoLS gets for the good of all!  Give BoLS some exclusive sneak peek "leak" images before a launch!  I am pretty sure that Larry would post them for free and GW will get the promotion they want.  Both parties win.  (This will also cut down on the piracy that they are trying so hard to banhammer.)

Those are the thoughts for the day!

Feel free to sound off.

Jawaballs