Rumour Mongers - where are you

[DeStinyFiSh]

Hey,

 

I am wondering lately where all the rumours are lately? Looking at Ad Mech and DG Codex I have the feeling most "leaks" came directly from GW through the community page or after pre-order through youtube and co from people that had early access.

 

Has GW shut down all the leaks lately? Or ist it just to much getting released lately to keep up?

The latest rumours I can remember have been the "remaining Codex releases 2017", 2 different lists, both turned out to be wrong. Shortly after that GW announced themself what will be the next 3 codizes hitting the shelfs.

 

Any ideas whats the reason for that or is it just me looking at the wrong places?

Edited September 19, 2017 by DeStinyFiSh

[lancerusso]

Hey,

 

I am wondering lately where all the rumours are lately? Looking at Ad Mech and DG Codex I have the feeling most "leaks" came directly from GW through the community page or after pre-order through youtube and co from people that had early access.

 

Has GW shut down all the leaks lately? Or ist it just to much getting released lately to keep up?

The latest rumours I can remember have been the "remaining Codex releases 2017", 2 different lists, both turned out to be wrong. Shortly after that GW announced themself what will be the next 3 codizes hitting the shelfs.

 

Any ideas whats the reason for that or is it just me looking at the wrong places?

Feels like GW's rumour engine was brought out to stem the demand for leaked news, and it's worked. Since 8th is bringing so many new kits and books at a pretty fast pace I do feel like people can't keep up, and even if vague future release predictions or leaks are dropped, it's far enough ahead that GW can change plans- or at least not form definite ones.

 

I remember almost a year and a half ago when rumours of an ad mech ornithopter and a new robot kit were rampant, as well as a combined codex. 8th was being worked on at that point so I see no reason that ad mech have been given a codex now if new releases are waiting to be cast. Only the high output of Primaris and Death guard are occupying the casters right now, but why not postpone the codex for six months for the new models- unless the rumours aren't true

[Guest]

Personally I think between the rumour engine and GW being more open about things to come, the rumor mongers have all but stopped due to them almost immediately being proven wrong. There is some people that say "oh i know something but I don't want to say" such as a certain person in the DG thread, but I honestly think these people know nothing. GW also might be batting down the hatch for winter surprises and want it to be a big one.

[Frater Cornelius]

To be honest? This is a good development. Rumours create fear and uncertainty, especially since many rumour mongers like to exploit that and underline the worst possible scenario. We have more complete information and more transparency, and we are better off that way.

[WarriorFish]

It's a different system in place, now GW finally understands how to talk to people (and how the Internet works - mostly) they're providing information ahead of time and giving out their own tidbits so the "need" for leaks and such is greatly diminished.

 

You might be looking at it the wrong way round; the rumour mongers were a response to GW's mishandling of information (i.e. all but none at all!), providing necessary news - even if it was, by its nature, impossible to prove - that the community needed. Now GW has woken up there's not all that much to leak now, you could say that they made their point by becoming obsolete ;)

[Iron Father Imeran Byon]

As far as I can see all the good/believable* rumor mongers were fished out by GW who just started to give them pre-release copies of books to come. Then they're officially under NDA for everything "concerning" certain releases and even if they got leaked information that goes beyond what's in the books, they're legally bound to keep their silence.

 

I like the change, as is. I mean... we have the basic outlook for releases until the end of the year and even though I don't play everything that's going to be released, me and my wallet have a hard time in keeping up...

 

 

*As you might have noticed, Spikey Bits/BOLS doesn't get previews; they still only have reviews/overviews and "first looks" (that date after preview videos by others) and all of a sudden their rumors and "BREAKING:" articles have dried up as well ;)

[the jeske]

Personally I think between the rumour engine and GW being more open about things to come, the rumor mongers have all but stopped due to them almost immediately being proven wrong. There is some people that say "oh i know something but I don't want to say" such as a certain person in the DG thread, but I honestly think these people know nothing. GW also might be batting down the hatch for winter surprises and want it to be a big one.

Well on the other hand if someone does show you a tyfus or primaris he is being called a liar too and the models are conversions.

Plus with the number of studios droping to 1, it is kind a hard to leak something precise, because if you do, and it is not a controled thing[aka GW wants you to leak it] your kind of giving up the name of the person that works at GW, and it is not a good thing to make your friend lose a job jus to brag about seeing,hmm I don't know, lets say a  new SoB cover art X time before it is officially leaked.

 

And also if someone wants to know how a codex is going to look like, just look at AoS and the 2-3 codex that just came out, and you more or less know how every other codex is going to look like [wonder if the IG codex is also going to have the RG chapter tactic as Regimental Doctrin? would funny].

[Guest]

 

Personally I think between the rumour engine and GW being more open about things to come, the rumor mongers have all but stopped due to them almost immediately being proven wrong. There is some people that say "oh i know something but I don't want to say" such as a certain person in the DG thread, but I honestly think these people know nothing. GW also might be batting down the hatch for winter surprises and want it to be a big one.

Well on the other hand if someone does show you a tyfus or primaris he is being called a liar too and the models are conversions.

Plus with the number of studios droping to 1, it is kind a hard to leak something precise, because if you do, and it is not a controled thing[aka GW wants you to leak it] your kind of giving up the name of the person that works at GW, and it is not a good thing to make your friend lose a job jus to brag about seeing,hmm I don't know, lets say a  new SoB cover art X time before it is officially leaked.

 

And also if someone wants to know how a codex is going to look like, just look at AoS and the 2-3 codex that just came out, and you more or less know how every other codex is going to look like [wonder if the IG codex is also going to have the RG chapter tactic as Regimental Doctrin? would funny].

 

 

I think posting a picture has much more backing for a rumor than a simple "i know something, but i don't wanna say." sure the picture could be fake. It still has evidence and backing and is a start to a rumor. Those who say they know something but never reveal probably don't know anything, they have nothing to base their rumor off of.

[Khornestar]

Slight difference between rumors and leaks, though sometimes they overlap. I'm glad to see the articles of blatant nonsense evaporate, but rarely we still see pictures of things early (like Jeske was mentioning). I thought the leaked primaris-that-was-totally-a-conversion-because-I'm-a-bits-expert was one of the most fun threads ever. GW's teaser pictures... nah, not so much. I'd rather just wait for the reveal article/video, which are super high quality in general and actually exciting because there is substance to them.

 

I like the system going on right now. As much as I loved seeing scans/pictures of books or White Dwarf in advance, the inconvenience of waiting a few extra days or a week is a fair trade off in a situation where I have to invest nothing in the first place. :P Now there are videos and discussions galore on the day of release, free of the typos and lost in translation rules changes that end up being totally wrong.

 

As WarriorFish mentioned, someone or some people were finally allowed to communicate with the community, and the rumor stuff is now almost totally obsolete.

[Captain Idaho]

I always felt a couple rumour mongers were actually working directly for GW. Atia used to say things like "here's something but I can't say any more" which implies she had her hands tied by GW on what she could reveal. That combined unbridled enthusiasm for every release and the fact when GW took control of their rumours and PR directly the rumour mongers all of a sudden died off, all lead me to believe that they were being fed by GW.

 

I could be wrong but I certainly don't miss the "leaks" and speculation that came with it.

[Lexington]

I miss the updates from Hastings and the more reliable crew of rumorbots, but the current information-sharing attitude by GW is pretty nice.

[Scribe]

Hastings posts on Atia's site, not sure if he (and Harry) continue at Warseer.

[Perry]

The bile thrown at genuine rumour posters is often shameful, for example the leaked Primaris marine or the plastic Arhman, this could have discouraged future posters.

 

Also look how people reacted to the Mortarion picture leak, the photo was poor quality and made the model look unsuitably grosser than usual. I'm glad GW are doing their own preview articles so we can appreciate future releases with the finer pictures and videos.

[Bulwyf]

I miss the reliable rumor people but I completely endorse GW taking ownership of their own news. I always found it fantastical in a negative sense at how little a company would want to inform its own customers about what's coming down the pipeline. It seems new GW is doing a better job at trying to address this.

[Corswain]

I believe a few of the more reliable rumour-mongers now have NDAs with GW.

 

If only the rumour engine on Warhammer Community was a little more useful (more like FW's Christmas jigsaw), I think it'd be enough of a conversation starter anyway.

[Ishagu]

It's a thankless task, sometimes people get angry.

 

I still hear stuff now and then but chose not to share, although GW are simply doing a great job themselves.

Edited September 19, 2017 by Ishagu

[Komodo]

I see some leaks here and there on instagram, but yeah, GW pretty much doing it themselves.

[Guest]

I find it much better that GW took over. Remember the rumors of when War Zone Fenris came out. We had people "leaking" that Fenris was destroyed and sky was falling down, codex compliance for all chapters blah blah blah. Most of it turned out to be false but it caused so much anger and bitterness from it all.

[Scribe]

I find it much better that GW took over. Remember the rumors of when War Zone Fenris came out. We had people "leaking" that Fenris was destroyed and sky was falling down, codex compliance for all chapters blah blah blah. Most of it turned out to be false but it caused so much anger and bitterness from it all.

 

Meh, thats only if you listen to the wrong people. I expect all but Harry and Hastings to be wrong, every time. :p

[Marshal Loss]

A more transparent GW is a good thing, and the absence of some of the serial offenders for here is an obviously fake rumour/predictable guess because I desire attention makes things even better. Releasing review copies with NDA's attached in advance is a clever way of dissuading'buying out some others from being a thorn in GW's side. 'New GW' isn't perfect, but it's a colossal step up from what was.

[Irbis]

This thread is kind of funny considering all the recent complains that all DG minis shown in early teaser video aren't there yet. GW shows something early for once and it still generates lots of dull noise. They really can't win, can they?

[Sandlemad]

 

I find it much better that GW took over. Remember the rumors of when War Zone Fenris came out. We had people "leaking" that Fenris was destroyed and sky was falling down, codex compliance for all chapters blah blah blah. Most of it turned out to be false but it caused so much anger and bitterness from it all.

 

Meh, thats only if you listen to the wrong people. I expect all but Harry and Hastings to be wrong, every time.

 

 

Harry and Hastings could be wrong but they never tried to cover it with a winky face or brush over where it happened. Case in point: Hastings getting it wrong about the plastic thunderhawk and full admitting to being blindsided. Harry would joke about the fun of not knowing everything but both of them were admirably frank, never bought into a coy 'oh I couldn't possibly tell you' approach.

[Charlo]

This thread is kind of funny considering all the recent complains that all DG minis shown in early teaser video aren't there yet. GW shows something early for once and it still generates lots of dull noise. They really can't win, can they?

 

I'd say those people are just venting into the nothingness for the sake of it.

 

I'm fine with there being no rumors now as GW usually give us enough quickly.

 

Though I'm always a fan of a little cheeky leak here and there (like the Morty pics we got!)

[N1SB]

1st things 1st, thanks to all the good rumourspeakers of recent years.  You guys brought me back to The Hobby with 1 message: hope is on the way.  And it was.

 

Now I'll share some factual information relevant here.  GW hired a top-level Marketing Manager called Robert Dekker.  His LinkedIn is here, let me give you context:

 

https://uk.linkedin.com/in/bobbyddutch

 

 

+++ The Decade at the Xbox Division +++

 

 

The most telling information to me is the decade he spent with the Xbox division.  Despite my posts analysing GW's financials, my main field is actually marketing.

 

Disclaimer - I won't go out of my way bashing or praising Microsoft as I'm focused on this topic.  There's just some very germane context.

 

From its inception to around 2010, the Xbox division (which changed names a few times, like "Entertainment & Devices Division", etc.) was an anomaly in Microsoft as, in that very tightly-managed large bureaucracy, it kinda had a lot more freedom.  It made sense for it to break into the ever-changing field of gaming (where Microsoft was still kinda new to) with some independence.  The head of that division (a decent guy called Robbie Bach) left in 2010, and a lot of people left.  I don't know if it was the cause or the effect, but Microsoft really reined in the Xbox division, which isn't an opinion, there are signs if you knew what to look for, but I won't go into them.

 

Robert Dekker would've worked during this Robbie Bach Xbox era.  There are certain things (all positive IMHO) that I recognise in what GW is doing now.

 

 

+++ Here's Why It Matters +++

 

 

A major telltale thing the Xbox division did at that time was a more direct engagement to gamers instead of relying on 3rd party press.  For example, it had a spokesman called Major Nelson...whose name is actually not Nelson, it's just his Xbox gamertag.  He was engaging with online press and players much more directly instead of going through the normal PR channels.  I don't know if he's still doing it, but he'd do these Wireside Chats about coming stuff, Inside Xbox, a sort of weekly video show, and the Official Xbox Magazine, etc., etc.

 

I don't know the exact inner workings of why they went this route, there were probably many reasons, but it turned out to be a good idea because...

 

It's not bad publicity that kills ya, it's the false rumours.

 

I won't go into detail because that's not what this post is about, but while Xbox and Xbox 360 really directly talked to its customers, Windows Vista did not.  I'm not going into Windows Vista's problems, we all heard them all, but a huge problem was that no one knew what it was supposed to be.  There was so much speculation about features introduced in Vista that, by the time it came out, it was just confusion, both in what it delivered and what people thought it was supposed to deliver.  A mess.

 

If you played the Xbox 360 during its lifetime, there were a lot of changes.  It completely changed its interface once, and there was this Kinect motion sensor thing, etc.  Hey, it's ok if you didn't like it, but the fact was it let its players know about them way in advance directly, through the game service itself.  Don't hear it from a game journalist, who may be just making stuff up to fill the page or creating clickbait.  Here's what we're actually making, and we hope you like it, but at least it's what it is.

 

 

+++ And Here's What I See In GW Now +++

 

 

Warhammer Community and Warhammer TV is basically a more economical Inside Xbox.  Probably way better, actually.

 

Regimental Standard is basically a more economical (but really ingenious) Red vs Blue (a Halo parody, made independently, but then was shown on Xbox Live).

 

I think Robert Dekker is taking stuff that worked well in Xbox division and improving the formula in GW.  It's not just limited to the Xbox division, either; while they were a little bit more independent, they knew what was going on with the rest of Microsoft.  They saw what happened with Windows Vista.  I'm just thinking of the ramp up to 8th edition.  A new edition of the game is like a new Operating System for a computer, in fact a new ruleset is like a new system for a game, and I think of that month-long blitz on Warhammer Community of articles every single day.  I don't know if they're related, it's just what came to mind.

 

It's funny, because Warhammer Community isn't really quite a community site like here, but it is a great source of news.  The problem with rumours aren't that they're leaks, it's that they set completely false expectations.  People think of marketing as just promotion, but it's a lot more than that, and even in that regard it's not just creating hype but managing expectations.  And the best way to do that is to just tell people what they can get, with some spin about why they should get it, but it's still way better than what people hope for but won't receive; that's just a downer.

 

Sorry for long post, no time for short one.  I don't know what's in this new GW Marketing Manager's head, I'm not a psyker, but I could just see certain patterns.  It's like watching a player you know field a new army...but you still can kinda guess what he's planning.  I really do love the Regimental Standard though, and appreciate this way we're receiving information now.

Edited September 21, 2017 by WarriorFish
Chat speak replaced

[Silentz]

Insightful as usual. He's definitely been a major factor. People attribute everything to Kevin Rountree, but in many cases the best thing a CEO can do is hire great people to make changes.   Rountree is a finance director at heart - he's great at keeping the business profitable but he isn't a marketing expert.  Things like the new 40k website are more directly attributable to Dekker.

 

I tried to sell some software to GW - had 3 meetings there including one where I got to meet with Kevin Rountree and present to him for an hour.  I can say that at the time, lots of the current ideas were being bandied about and up on their boardroom whiteboards, including ones that don't seem to have made the grade (a loyalty card was definitely up there... shame that didn't happen!)

 

Rountree approved my project but the purchase order got put on hold by the FD Rachel because Robert Dekker had been hired but not yet started and she felt it needed to be approved by him. 

 

That was the point where "nuGW" had started to rear its head.   Warhammer TV was maybe 3 months old. 

 

Sadly, I left that company and I don't think GW ever purchased, but those visits to GW HQ in 2015 are what got me back into the hobby after a 20 year break!  I've now spent way more on their products than I would have earned in commission!!