amaril said:
I was just thinking about this, but specifically with respect to their own PDFs at RPGNow.com. It seems WotC's effort to push 3e out of the way to make room for 4e is an aggressive one. Will WotC cease to offer these PDFs after 4e is released? Will they be forced (or will they choose to) no longer offer those PDFs? I was hoping they'd discount the price of those after 4e is released, but this sounds like they might stop selling them altogether, which is unfortunate as I wanted to build an entire OEF library of PDF versions of my 3.5 books, especially Eberron books.
If I was them, I wouold still sell that stuff. And, frankly, that is a centerpiece of the petition I am composing to send to Scott and Linae.
Here is some of my thinking in rough form:
Basically, Wizards is asking us to do what they have done. They have "abandoned" 3E. They have suffered through the same cycle, to some degree, that we all have that its hard to sell stuff with 4E pending. They are in 100% for 4E. They want us to have to make that same choice.
But, as I expect they will permit themselves to sell off their own backstock and they will continue to sell pdfs of their old products, they should let us do the same (with the removal of the d20 logo with is being revoked).
When you really think about this poison pill, Wizards is asking us to do nothing more than they are doing themselves (yes, I know this isnt 100% true but it is a good model for thought)--dont support 3E anymore, with all the handwringing that comes with such a decison--and jump on 4E. Its faster, better, cooler, newer, and 200% improved! or whatever other market speak you use when you releaunch.
'Casue think about waht they are doing. They are relaunching/reboting the biggest industry IP. *THEY* cant have, internally, competing products for old editions within their own company. Why would they want those products externally?
That was a hard choice. Sales for 3E were no doubt declining, as were everyone's sales (please dont chime in and say yours werent unless you are Monte or Paizo, cause those are the only ones who can credibly claim it). But 3E ws not a failure as a game. Its a good game. A fun game. It was an advance over 1 and 2E in my view. Does it have issues? Sure. But there was nothign so broken about 4E that *mandated* a new edition. This is a business decision. So if they are going to leave behind their own product line, why shouldnt they expect their licensees to do the same?
So while it is fair to expect your licensees to make the same business decision you have had to make, as I mentioned, since Wizards wont be abandoning pdf and backlist sales of old products, please dont require us, your licenseees, to do more than you will be doing.
Our sales of old backlist and of pdf is no more competing with 4E than your own sale of backlist and pdfs of old products is hurting 4E. Heck, you sold tons of 1E and 2E pdfs during 3E. That didnt hurt 3E sales. And selling old 3E products from backlist wont hurt supporting 4E.
That is my thought and my plea to Wizards, anyway. Probably inartfully said. But I am still working on my open letter. So any feedback is welcome.
Clark
