Historical Cost Analysis of WH40K Hobby
Lähetetty: Su 15.02.2004 10:28
Löytyi Portentista, erittäin kiinnostava pikku laskelma, nyt kaikki voivat lopettaa valittamisen GW:n hinnoista.
Ksatria kirjoitti:Hello everyone, this is my first post here. I actually posted it on the GW site but the wankers locked it in about two nanoseconds. The moderators really are an intolerant lot.
Here is the bottom line folks, the real cost (price adjusted for inflation) of playing WH40K has decreased since 1995.
This statement, which is contrary to what many, many players firmly believe is based on my analysis of what it cost to buy a space marine army in 1995 and what it would cost today.
I have chosen to analyze space marines as a representative sample of the GW product line because:
1) They are the most popular army
2) The model range has a good mix of metal blisters, vehicles, and plastic infantry
3) I have been collecting them since the Rogue Trader era
4) The models that a collector would reasonably want to own are very comparable between 2nd edition and 3rd edition.
Furthermore, I have elected to compare the Space Wolves, because I have played them since their 2nd edition codex came out.
It is important to understand that the models that are selected for comparison are not based on a specific armylist, but on what I think would be desirable as an overall collection.
I am completely neutral in this issue even though I have long suspected that GW prices in the USA have not been outpacing inflation. I have no connection to any GW business or any hobbyshops, or any ties to the gaming industry except for cash going from my wallet to them.
So, I wanted to find out how much it would cost for a new player buy the rules and models for an extensive Space Wolves army in 1995 and 2003 (no inflation calculator for 2004 yet). The source of my data is the prices posted on the US site (a couple of weeks ago) and the recent holiday catalog, which is currently available in GW stores and retailers. The source of the historical 1995 price is from the "Mail Order Price List & Reference Guide 1995-96" from my own personal archive of GW material.
The following list is formatted as:
Unit or model name/ 1995 price in US $/ 2003 price in US $
NA = Not applicable
First I will compare the equivalent rules needed.
WH40K Boxset/ 60/ 75
Dark Millenium/ 35/ NA
Space Marine Codex/ NA /15
Space Wolf Codex/ 20/ 10
Subtotal for Rules/115/ 100
Ok, so not even counting inflation, the rules were more expensive in 1995 than 2003. The Dark Millenium set must be included because that’s where the psyker rules were (and lots of other stuff like wargear) so to be comparable to now, the price of that set should be included. Even though lots of people dis the DE models, the 3rd edition plastics totally blow away the plastics in the 2nd edition set. A note to people who did not play second edition, you did not need to buy the wolf codex and the regular marine codex.
Now for the model collection:
2 grey hunter packs/ 64/ 60
2 blood claw packs/ 64/60
venerable dreadnought/ 32/40
longfang pack/ 25/ 30
5 terminators/ 32 / 47
ironpriest/ 7/ 8
Ragnar/ 9 /8
Ulrik/ 9 /10
6 scouts/ 20 /25
5 bikes/55 /63
attack bike/12 /20
2 rhinos/36/50
predator destructor/20/35
razorback/27/30
landspeeder/32/25
subtotal for models/444 /511
The landraider was extinct by the mid 90’s in the USA and you could only get them used or second hand unassembled for a huge wad of cash. Often they would cost more than $100.
Total for getting started from scratch;
$559 in 1995
$611 in 2003 late fall.
When you adjust for inflation, $559 in 1995 has the same buying power as $675 in 2003. This estimate is based on the results from using the Consumer Price Index Inflation Counter on the web site of the US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
OOPS, it looks like prices have gone down not up.
Those numbers do not even tell the whole story. For armies like the Imperial Guard and practically all fantasy armies, the numbers are even more favorable. I may extend this analysis if this thread does not get locked down, but frankly my cursorial inspection strongly suggests that my conclusion will not be overturned. Besides, the burden of rejoinder is on anyone who disputes my conclusion.
So since 1995 GW has:
1) Developed new rule sets
2) Introduced entire new armies and a huge percentage of new models for existing armies
3) Expanded there stores and distribution, every player that loves this hobby and wants it to continue to exist must recognize the importance of this.
4) KEPT THE PRICES OF MODELS AND RULES STABLE!
Well I guess all those people who written posts to various websites ranting about prices should start composing those apology posts nowJ.
