Dear Wizards of the Coast blog post...

[Nellisir]

First, the expense or re-releasing print versions of old books, modules, etc. Everyone has become so entrenched in the digital age that they assume these exist in a computer somewhere. They don't. I sincerely doubt they even have access to 2nd edition because of the change in ownership.

I was under the impression that WotC actually sold a number of older products in digital format for several years before ending the practice, but maybe I'm misremembering and it was all 3e era and later. Can someone clarify?

 

[Hussar]

I was under the impression that WotC actually sold a number of older products in digital format for several years before ending the practice, but maybe I'm misremembering and it was all 3e era and later. Can someone clarify?

I believe that is true. After all, that's what people are complaining about - that WOTC pulled it's digital products.

However, while there is a significant catalogue of products, it was hardly comprehensive. The 3e stuff you could likely put out, but, anything pre-3e would be a lot of work.

And even the 3e stuff is not as easy as people might think. I mean, look at Paizo when Paizo would do it's web enhancements for Dungeon magazine. It took them months sometimes to get the web-enhancements on the site, even though the articles were written in obviously digital format. If it was as simple as cut and paste, then the web-enhancements would be a matter of a few minutes work.

That wasn't true apparently as several Paizo folks commented that getting the web-enhancements out was actually a significant amount of work.

So, it's not like you can take whatever format the, say, Complete Bunnywarriors, is in and three clicks later you have a functioning pdf.

If nothing else, you have to create a table of contents for your pdf - which takes time.

 

[Alan Shutko]

I believe that is true. After all, that's what people are complaining about - that WOTC pulled it's digital products.

Yes. This included nearly everything they'd ever produced. The older stuff was bitmapped scans, not the best quality, but it was there (and was worth buying for me).

 

[Nellisir]

Yes. This included nearly everything they'd ever produced. The older stuff was bitmapped scans, not the best quality, but it was there (and was worth buying for me).

Right, I thought there was a lot of older stuff, but Hussar says:

it was hardly comprehensive

, which implies not a lot of older material.

 

[Dire Bare]

Right, I thought there was a lot of older stuff, but Hussar says: , which implies not a lot of older material.

Actually, there was a TON of older material from OD&D, AD&D1, AD&D2, and 3E. It was not complete and comprehensive, but there was a LOT of good, classic material. However, much of the pre 3E stuff was poorly scanned copies of the print products. Which I gladly paid about $4 a pop for at the time . . . . but if WotC simply took those files and allowed a POD option, they resulting quality would be crap. And it would be more expensive than hunting down a "real" copy online. WotC doesn't want to release a crap quality product, because they are well aware of the internet (and real world) rage it would generate, despite the voices crying out for a return of the PDFs.

Even forgetting about the POD option, WotC is currently not willing to release the crappy quality PDF files even for solely computer-based use. I personally wish they hadn't taken that option away, but I understand a company being uncomfortable with selling crap quality products. Especially adding in the problems with piracy, time/money investment (and if you think the time/money investment is nil, you are ignorant), and the worries that it would not be profitable.

I want the PDFs back, you (the rhetorical "you") want the PDFs back, but I can't fault WotC's decision to pull them and rethink how (and if) they will release older products.

I do think that WotC will eventually release digital versions of their back catalog as well as the current game, seeing as most of their direct competitors are doing it, as are similar industries like the comics companies. But I don't think it will be PDF files, but something more easily controlled, like a web app similar to Comixology or something. I hope it will be soon, but WotC, despite being a part of Hasbro, is not a huge company with infinite resources, and they are slow with this kind of thing. I'm okay with that.

 

[Alan Shutko]

Actually, there was a TON of older material from OD&D, AD&D1, AD&D2, and 3E. It was not complete and comprehensive, but there was a LOT of good, classic material.

For BECMI, it seemed to have just about everything. The only thing I recall not being there was a scan of Orcs of Thar. (Which is why I made it my first priority to scan that one first.)

For a lot of the more common things, you can find a real copy used for cheap. But for things like Orcs of Thar, you'll pay a bunch more ($55 from Noble Knight) if you can find one. It's why I got a bunch of the PDFs... Better a PDF of Saga of the Shadowlord for $4 than full price.

 

[SensoryThought]

While I don't agree that POD reprints are the best or even a likely solution to WOTC problems, I think a number of problems were correctly identified.
File sharing and edition fragmentation are big issues.

I know WOTC hope the new edition will "unite the fanbase" the history of gaming would say otherwise. Both 3e/PF and 4e have their die hard supporters which to my mind implies different people game in different ways.

File sharing is a bigger issue with the modern age, and to my mind good service content is the way to make money. I have only a handful of 4e books but I pay money every month to DDI.

The last issue I see is the general contracting of the tabletop RPG hobby to computer, collectable trading card games, etc. as mention by Ryan Dancey.

TL;DR while the blogger might not have the right answers, D&D faces some major problems, even if 5e is the best D&D Ed ever released.

 

[Nellisir]

Actually, there was a TON of older material from OD&D, AD&D1, AD&D2, and 3E.

That's what I remembered, but I didn't buy much of it, so....

if WotC simply took those files and allowed a POD option, they resulting quality would be crap.

Yup. Which is why I never mentioned POD.

WotC is currently not willing to release the crappy quality PDF files even for solely computer-based use.

Yes...I think that's what this discussion is about.

(and if you think the time/money investment is nil, you are ignorant)

I'm going to assume you're using a rhetorical "you" here, and not calling me ignorant, since I haven't said anything about WotC's time/money investment, particularly on the topic of PODs. For the record, I know there is an investment. I'd be highly skeptical that's it's more than a tiny percentage of the initial development & production costs, but there's certainly a cost.

 

[Hussar]

TBH, I'm not exactly sure how much of the older stuff got scanned, but, considering the metric buttload of material for 2e, I doubt it was even close to most of it. Not if the scans had any quality.

 

[Dire Bare]

I'm going to assume you're using a rhetorical "you" here, and not calling me ignorant, since I haven't said anything about WotC's time/money investment, particularly on the topic of PODs. For the record, I know there is an investment. I'd be highly skeptical that's it's more than a tiny percentage of the initial development & production costs, but there's certainly a cost.

Yeah, while I was using your post to further the discussion, my "you" was rhetorical and not "you" as in "Nellisir". Sorry if that wasn't clear.