Everyone deserves a page where they can piss off the rest of the world.  Rather than trod the already well-worn paths of politics, religion, sports, etc., I've chosen to spend my two cents on gaming.  Specifically, on good gaming systems or gaming companies that have been mismanaged over the years.

1.  Games Workshop

Come on -- you had to know this was coming.  No one who really wants to open up a can of worms will skip the chance to bash or baptise GW.  For my part, I love the things that Games Workshop produces;  the 40K universe has a rich and entertaining backstory, the plastics the company produces are second to none, and they have done much to bring the hobby out of the basement and give it some attention on Main Street.

My real beef with GW is their management practices.  For one, the management of GW encourages a certain degree of arrogance towards customers, at least in the US.  One past edition of the 40K rulebook even advised players to demand that other players use only GW models and have them all painted and flocked before playing.  The Rogue Trader-era attitude of making your own vehicles, Dreadnoughts, etc., has been replaced by a "Chapter-approved" mentality that doesn't want anything to do with scratchbuilt models.  This attitude pervades the employee body of GW stores in the US, as well, where the management issued a heavy handed decree to independent stockists that they were no longer allowed to sell GW products over the internet (their solution?  Simply to say "we sell GW products!  Call 1-800-555-FLGS to order".  Guess GW didn't hoodwink them on that one).

GW's pricing strategy is also frustrating to fans of the company's game.  There have been an astounding number of price increases in the past few years, which have been blamed on oil and tin price fluctuations;  however, this excuse is not something I find to be reliable.  When those prices have fluctuated downwards, has GW's board decided to lower prices?  Of course not.  The price increases are invariably coupled with a reduction in the number of models in the blister packs, so that the customer is really being hit with a two-fold drop in the value of the purchase.    "Power pricing" is another standard GW practice that chaps my hide.  A set of five plastic Terminators uses up maybe two ounces of styrene, yet they are priced at $45;  a sprue of five Cadian Guardsmen uses the same amount of styrene and costs only $8.50.  The difference is only how well those models perform in the game, which means the person buying the Terminators is probably paying a markup of about 500%.  This is ridiculous.  Is GW afraid that everyone would suddenly be fielding a hundred Termies on the field?  Of course not -- they would be limited by army lists.  So why make them pay through the nose simply to fill that slot in their army lists?  Because the directors of GW are not gamers;  they are, rather, greedy corporate bastards who want to squeeze every cent out of their fanboyz as they can.

Finally, support for game lines is another place where I have a grudge against GW.  The company put the ax to a number of great games -- Space Hulk, Space Marine/Adeptus Titanicus, Talisman, Mighty Empires -- with no explanation, no coherent reasoning, and no consideration of their fan base.  Inquiries as to these matters are always met with the GW company line, which -- and I'm paraphrasing -- run along the lines of "shut the hell up;  you're just a silly gamer."  

My next rants will directed at BattleTech, Dungeons & Dragons, and Hasbro.  Stay tuned.