LordoftheBrownRing wrote:
You sure you'll feel the same way in three years when were starved for Tolkien on screen? I for one welcome any adaptation. Poor or not we can judge later, not before.
I definitely feel that way. Certain stories might work, but no trilogy could tell the Silmarillion correctly. They ought to give it a decade or two to let cg get cheaper/better and do it for TV. Or intravenous entertainment, or whatever we're using then. But that's a different conversation.
On topic: Perhaps this specific set of rules may go by the wayside (but maybe not, looking at Blood Bowl), but whether someone picks up the film license or not (and I bet if someone can, they will) Middle Earth has been wargamed for decades before the films, and will be for decades to come. I do think that if someone wants to get into the hobby now they need to realise that they're in it for a long haul - it's a mindset thing.
If they're just after a new wargame to play, and see this made by GW and cheaper to get started, and want to give it a go to make a change from Warhammer/PP/other leading brand then I would advise themt o not waste their effort and cash. If they love
tolkien, his books and the film adaptations of them, then this isn't something that GW ought to have any influence on. Their producing of the game makes things easier, certainly, but isn't the be all and end all when it comes to deciding whether to invest. If someone wants a movie version of rohan, or maybe they really like the movie's depiction of the Galadhrim, then it's currently a really good time to buy the hell out of it. They can build a tournament size force fairly quickly and cheaply even at GW prices, and better with ebay. GW will never take away your ability to enjoy those models. They don't currently employ "No Longer Available" police who break into your house and confiscate unsupported miniatures.
If they like Tolkien, and like the movie version of one of the factions, now is ABSOLUTELY the time to get them because they may be gone in a few years time. And then in a decade perhaps they'll have a mixture of 'classic' GW LotR movie models, minis made by anyone who picks up the license, conversions and proxies from suitable historical/fantasy minis that fit into the setting and are playing with a completely different set of rules. I know I'd regret not having picked something up when I could.