$eventh Edition 40K - Really?

Warhammer 40,000 - If you haven't read the news that's buzzing about on the internet – GW is releasing a $eventh edition of Warhammer 40,000 this month. With the sixth edition of the game barely two years old this seems to be a bit premature in my opinion. 

Sixth edition has it's issues (Allies, Assault Phase, Hull Points etc) but as of yet it is the most stable version of the game so far. GW has made an impressive run with Codex releases getting almost all the existing armies up to date as well as releasing a ton of supplements to "help flesh out" your games of 40K. I've enjoyed the few games I've been able to play and was hoping that this would be THE edition.

Of course that's just a pipe dream when it comes to tabletop games, new editions and revisions keep the ca$h flow coming and are the lifeblood of any company that makes models. Especially when you're able to still use many of the models you may have purchased 15-20 years ago. Sure they release new models and update the old ones but if you're a thrifty player you can get by without making many new purchases. (particularly if you only play one faction/army/crew). So that being the case it makes sense for new editions and supplements to keep that income rolling in. I get that.

My irritation with the new edition is tied in more with the two brand new supplements that released only a few months ago. These made drastic changes/additions to the core game system and as such came with a hefty price tag. (As did the Apocalypse book and Forge World Supplements) With a new edition this purchases may very well be useless or best case scenario require a bunch of FAQ's that you'll need to print and carry with you. I imagine the same will be true with all the codexes released over the course of the last year and a half as well. THIS SUCKS ... paying a premium for hardback books only to have to lug around a reem of paper to play your games isn't cool.

Well that's what digital editions are for right? Dont' get me started on this. The digital editions are cool and all but you're paying almost the same price as you would for a hardbound copy of the book to get the rights to use a digital version. The pricing structure for these is way out of wack. Printing and distribution costs make up the bulk of the overhead for printed books, with the rest being taken up by art and design which still leaves 40%+ for a profit margin. For the digital editions you have programming costs and whatever percentage for the art and design budget you allocated to that project, being generous with the programming costs you're still looking at 75%+ profit. Well gee I think we found our answer to why $eventh Edition is releasing so soon...

If the rumors are true about the changes we're looking at the biggest money grab yet. Maybe I need to finish up my Deadzone Models and see if I can get the guys to buy into that system ... or maybe Relic Knights will ship soon and be so amazing that it takes over as our core game. (pipe dream)