[Jezlad]

Does anyone know or have any feasible explanation as to the reason 40k out sells Fantasy?

Please try not to turn this thread into a 40k vs Fantasy arguement

 

[Flam]

I love Warhammer Fantasy. As a matter of fact, I think the world of Warhammer Fantasy is the coolest Fantasy has ever seen. I devoured every last Gotrek and Felix novel. Not only that, but the game rules look like a lot of fun, and Games Workshop has gone through a lot of trouble to ensure that all the playable races are thought out and interesting.

That said, what keeps ME from playing Warhammer Fantasy is the cost. You want a functional regiment of Plague Monks? It's gonna set you back a hundred bucks. It's gotten better in recent years, since most of the most popular regiments are available in plastic, but it still remains pretty pricey. More so than 40K, anyway. What's a poor boy to do?

 

[Viscount Vash]

There are plenty of Fantasy games around 40k is more original after all once you have seen one dwarf you have seen them all really.

For some reason 40k seems to be more popular with younger players which might be the reason for greater sales.

All that said Flam got the main factor for me (I gave up with fantasy to concentrate on 40k back in 2nd Ed).

 

[Antioch]

It's easier to start, and, unfortunately, pretty much more simple to play.

Also explosions.

 

[waenchile]

i love fantasy i got a 1700 point goblin themed army..... hell that was allot of goblins to paint

 

[Galahad]

Possibly because sword and sorcery have been done to death, but 40k retains enough mysticism to keep it unique from the other sci-fi. Before d20 hit the sceen, Palladium's sci-fi/fantasy hybrid 'Rifts' wasthe most popular RPG on the market. Shadowrun outsold its closest competition Cyberpunk 2020 and (unlike CP2020, which I thought was a better game) is still popular today.

Swordand sorcery has been done todeath andwe;reslowly growing jadedwith sci-fi, but 40k keepsenough 'magic' around to make it interesting.

 

[Elchimpster]

Last year at the Games Day vendor seminar they explained that 40k is more popular in the US, and WFB wins out in the UK (barely) and it's a mixed bag everywhere else, but predominantly WFB.

 

[blkdymnd]

Yep, it's totally by location. Us here in the states are the only ones who put 40k above all other it seems..

 

[Galahad]

Most likely for the reasons I mentioned.

 

[the cabbage]

Yep, it's totally by location. Us here in the states are the only ones who put 40k above all other it seems..

Do the sales figures bear this out? I have played for six years at various clubs around the UK and would say that the split is around 90/10 in favour of 40k. Most club members have multiple 40k armies.

Anybody i've seen who plays WH also plays 40k but the same is not true in reverse.

 

[MarzM]

Probably because of the background and imagery!

MarzM

 

[Warboss Dakka]

I think 40k is more appealing to the younger crowd. I also think the problem is a bit circular, in that when you buy 40k, you know there will be someone to play against. I have seen 40k players by the boatload at every game store I've frequented, and yet have found WFB players to be scarace. If I'm going to spend a boatload of money on a game, I want it to be a game I'll know I'll have opponents for on a regular basis. It's circular in that, new players see people playing 40k and so buy 40k, making that many more 40k players. I imagine the primary sellers of 40k are not sales staff, but friends who get friends to play.

As to why 40k became more popular in the first place, I'd guess it has something to do with the attrativeness of fantasy and sci-fi combined. As has already been said, 40k is Science Fiction with enough fantasy to compel both crowds. Marines are essentially space knights, orks are orks, eldar are elves, ect. What's mroe appealing to the younger crowd, a knight with a lance and a haorse, or a knight with a rapid fire mini-rocket launcher on an armored motocycle?

 

[Cadian81st]

Two Words: Space Marines.

Seriously, they are GW's poster boys, and are more than likely what comes to mind when the words warhammer 40000 are mentioned. They are the uber elite of the Imperium, and with all of the video games depicting lone super soldiers fighting against impossible odds, this makes them even more likeable with younger people.

So yeah, not only do they hog all of the new players, the majority of GW's 40K budget, but they are also, IMHO, responsible for 40K's popularity.

That and guns. Humans are obsessed with finding new and improved ways to kill each other. 8)

 

[rVctn_Khaiyn]

Most likely for the reasons I mentioned.

I wouldn't dismiss the age theory either. 40k is considerably easier to learn, and often isn't as tedious when it comes to building an army. In WHFB even the army list is something to be considered carefully, with less obvious (effective) choices than 40k, not to mention the larger model count in most Fantasy armies.

 

[Truthiness08]

Possibly because sword and sorcery have been done to death, but 40k retains enough mysticism to keep it unique from the other sci-fi. Before d20 hit the sceen, Palladium's sci-fi/fantasy hybrid 'Rifts' wasthe most popular RPG on the market. Shadowrun outsold its closest competition Cyberpunk 2020 and (unlike CP2020, which I thought was a better game) is still popular today.

Swordand sorcery has been done todeath andwe;reslowly growing jadedwith sci-fi, but 40k keepsenough 'magic' around to make it interesting.

Your nerd-craft is strong, I'm impressed.

Back to the point, 40k is easy to learn, better story IMO, tactics wise 40k is more modern warfare-like which is more appealing at least to me, and I like the models, bad-ass models are very important. Fantasy is way to involved with little things like if your unit is titled 10 degrees to right too far then you have make all these checks and now your open for a flank charge..blah..blah..blah..ho and magic there is a whole other phase of battle in Fantasy. It is just too much, too many rules, too many mistakes that can be made and it takes forever to get through a game, I mean forever.

It takes a "special" kind of nerd to play Fantasy.

 

[Morgal]

chainswords.