DDI for $7.95

News item here: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/insidernews/20080806

Web-Content Only Subscription Package:
12 Months = $59.40 ($4.95 per month)
3 Months = $19.95 ($6.65 per month)
1 Month = $7.95 ($7.95 per month)

I'll withhold judgment until they have the product out. It will have to be pretty nice to be worth the cost of the annual subscription. After all, I've been playing Neverwinter Nights in weekly games for free for six years (after the initial up-front expense, of course).

To me, it would already be worth that if the quality of Dragon and Dungeon Online continue to be as good as they are right now. That's two magazines that used to cost 7 bucks each, newsstand, with advertisements, for 7 bucks together with NO ads. Even if you're talking subscription price, that's 5 bucks a month for the two, which is a better price than a year's subscription for the combo.

So I'm seriously thinking I'll be picking this up, particularly if my group continues to play 4e.

To me, it would already be worth that if the quality of Dragon and Dungeon Online continue to be as good as they are right now. That's two magazines that used to cost 7 bucks each, newsstand, with advertisements, for 7 bucks together with NO ads. Even if you're talking subscription price, that's 5 bucks a month for the two, which is a better price than a year's subscription for the combo.

So I'm seriously thinking I'll be picking this up, particularly if my group continues to play 4e.

Not interested in paying $15/month for DDI, but I could get behind $5/month for Dragon, Dungeon, and a few extras.

Dungeon and Dragon are worth $5 a month. This depending on if I ever get to use the content.

Gotta admit, their hitting a price point i could get chase after (5 bux a month for dungeons and dragons by the year? its tempting)

Logos

The price point is appealing. WotC starting to charge before their client apps are ready for use isn't.

That looks like a decent price to me for Dungeon and Dragon. Everything else would be gravy.

Right now, I have no confidence that material from Dragon/Dungeon will be added to the online Rules Compendium in a timely fashion. WotC couldn't even finish their 3.5 errata in time... how will they successfully integrate the full material from entire books as well as manage errata?

I have no confidence that the interface of the digital tools will be fast and user friendly. The DDI website is a complete mess.

I have very little confidence that the virtual tabletop, virtual miniatures, character visualizer, dungeon builder and so forth will ever leave a beta state... especially not in a month's time. I hope that I'm wrong about this.

I have no confidence that the material provided in Dragon and Dungeon will be as good or better than what Paizo did. What I've seen so far is OK, but the only people I've seen giving it "rave" reviews are shills or amateur game designers and writers who (wisely) don't want to jeopardize their chance of getting published via WotC.

If I'm wrong, WotC will probably get my money -- but only if there are no microtransactions expected for virtual miniatures or character portrait goatees or whatever.

But if WotC the DDI successful with a monthly fee equivalent to the WoW monthly fee, they need to really, really, REALLY "wow" us.

And so far, all we've seen are static screenshots and unfulfilled promises.