Yep, my analysis was 100% correct. You will now see pirating of previous edition PDFs skyrocket.
WotC puts a stop to online sales of PDFs
Yep, my analysis was 100% correct. You will now see pirating of previous edition PDFs skyrocket.
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So what does WOTC do next? Come on, we're mostly DM's here, and are used to plotting the actions of arrogant powerful bad guys. Assume the bad guy just screwed up and blew his cover as a villain, and needs to recover a bit. What does WOTC do next?
First, apologize profusely.
Second, the smart thing is to allow a grace period for people to go back and download pdf's from RPGNow, if they already bought them.
Next, I would allow all sites a grace period for sales of pdf's, for all those who didn't get a chance to get what they wanted.
Fourth announce your intentions as to pdf sales. You have to keep up the pretense of piracy for the reason you pulled the pdf's in the first place, even though 95% of the customers don't believe you. State that you intend to make pdf's available once you get some form of DRM plan in place.
Ignore questions as to whether you will allow access to older editions. Then make an announcement sometime later that due to your dedicated mission of listening to your Valued Customer feedback, you will be making the older pdf's available, after you of course convert your CURRENT product line over. The delay tactic worked with the GSL modifications, so it ought to work again with the suckers, I mean customers.
Later, after much delay, the older product pdf's never actually get converted, or only some token ones do, the phony reason stated is because of staffing resources, technical problems, cost vs. return, or whatever you think they'll believe.
In the meantime, make the pdf's available only through DDI. This shores up the disappointing revenue stream by hopefully getting new customers to sign up for the pdf’s, which is after all the real reason you pulled the pdf's anyhow. At least for another quarter or two, you have saved your job. You also get the claim the move as a major expansion of DDI, which is destined to bring in more revenue. After all, look how many pdf's sold the day you announced that pdf's were no longer going to be sold? That’ll look good for the next quarterly meeting coming up in just a couple weeks.
Sales projections are of course made based on that BS, and a future disaster looms when those revenue goals are not met. But hey, you have another quarter or two with a job. (Note to self---spiff up the resume, befriend Erik Mona on Facebook).
In the meantime, the formerly fractured customer base rears its head and looks around, decides that hey, we may be cousins who fight each other a lot, but we are cousins after all. Only I am allowed to beat my cousin’s arse! How dare WOTC do that to my gaming cousins!! That’s the last straw! I’m never buying from WOTC again!!
If only a percentage of those people follow through on that promise, other game systems, From Paizo and Green Ronin all the way to the Retroclones experience a growth in their customer base.
The new feeling of brotherhood amongst gamers lasts until Diaglo proclaims that the only true Dungeons and Dragons is OD&D. It all goes to hell from there.
First, apologize profusely.
Second, the smart thing is to allow a grace period for people to go back and download pdf's from RPGNow, if they already bought them.
Next, I would allow all sites a grace period for sales of pdf's, for all those who didn't get a chance to get what they wanted.
Fourth announce your intentions as to pdf sales. You have to keep up the pretense of piracy for the reason you pulled the pdf's in the first place, even though 95% of the customers don't believe you. State that you intend to make pdf's available once you get some form of DRM plan in place.
Ignore questions as to whether you will allow access to older editions. Then make an announcement sometime later that due to your dedicated mission of listening to your Valued Customer feedback, you will be making the older pdf's available, after you of course convert your CURRENT product line over. The delay tactic worked with the GSL modifications, so it ought to work again with the suckers, I mean customers.
Later, after much delay, the older product pdf's never actually get converted, or only some token ones do, the phony reason stated is because of staffing resources, technical problems, cost vs. return, or whatever you think they'll believe.
In the meantime, make the pdf's available only through DDI. This shores up the disappointing revenue stream by hopefully getting new customers to sign up for the pdf’s, which is after all the real reason you pulled the pdf's anyhow. At least for another quarter or two, you have saved your job. You also get the claim the move as a major expansion of DDI, which is destined to bring in more revenue. After all, look how many pdf's sold the day you announced that pdf's were no longer going to be sold? That’ll look good for the next quarterly meeting coming up in just a couple weeks.
Sales projections are of course made based on that BS, and a future disaster looms when those revenue goals are not met. But hey, you have another quarter or two with a job. (Note to self---spiff up the resume, befriend Erik Mona on Facebook).
In the meantime, the formerly fractured customer base rears its head and looks around, decides that hey, we may be cousins who fight each other a lot, but we are cousins after all. Only I am allowed to beat my cousin’s arse! How dare WOTC do that to my gaming cousins!! That’s the last straw! I’m never buying from WOTC again!!
If only a percentage of those people follow through on that promise, other game systems, From Paizo and Green Ronin all the way to the Retroclones experience a growth in their customer base.
The new feeling of brotherhood amongst gamers lasts until Diaglo proclaims that the only true Dungeons and Dragons is OD&D. It all goes to hell from there.
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Well, I know that at MIT there are agreements directly with publishers (especially periodicals and journals) over how much of what can and cannot be used without having to pay more. So, that may be in play - it'd make sense to have a license that meets the guidelines.
Or, since much of the point of "fair use" is to support academic use, it may simply be that the University knows that nobody is going to try to come down on them for use under the guidelines.
While there is legal terminology, other things complicate it.
For instance, part of the copyright statute in the US includes the NET Act, or "No Electronic Theft Act", established in 1997.
NET Act: 17 U.S.C. and 18 U.S.C. as amended (redlined)
This act, while still sticking to the term copyright infringement, is labeled as a theft act and can be referred to by name when the law is invoked or those specific statues are being sued.
This, to me, is a clear case that the US Government, both Congressional and Judicial branches, consider the term theft to be an accurate description--or at least an accepted colloquialism--of copyright infringement.
Hawke
Explorer
So... I've been pondering this. Until I get a good answer (and likely even then) I'm putting off my purchase of AP and E1... I just renewed so I have a few months before my subscription is coming up again.
I purchased 4E PDFs. I also purchased a bunch of Dark Sun PDFs for reference. My brother purchased books he had physical copies of for easy reference.
I like the 4E system a lot - but if anything I think this will push others to go to third party publishers who aren't hurting a room filled with customers in a half-blind hip-shotgun attempt at taking out one pirate.
Again, I'll wait for some more information... but I really feel slighted by them jumping on this without giving us warning or explanation. I don't trust them to sell me pdfs either if they do this stuff. And if it's hasbro that is driving this, they can either fix it and keep getting my money or not get any of it.
I purchased 4E PDFs. I also purchased a bunch of Dark Sun PDFs for reference. My brother purchased books he had physical copies of for easy reference.
I like the 4E system a lot - but if anything I think this will push others to go to third party publishers who aren't hurting a room filled with customers in a half-blind hip-shotgun attempt at taking out one pirate.
Again, I'll wait for some more information... but I really feel slighted by them jumping on this without giving us warning or explanation. I don't trust them to sell me pdfs either if they do this stuff. And if it's hasbro that is driving this, they can either fix it and keep getting my money or not get any of it.
fanboy2000
Adventurer
This is the actual post. As Kamikaze Midget pointed out, pogre didn't find anything, he made that up to prove his hypothesis that Hasbro is responsible for the pull.
Remain quiet for a few days and watch the furor. It'll probably die down since the customer base is fickle.
If the furor decays naturally, remain quiet and continue your plan on the original timeline. If the furor remains high or begins to grow, start planning a recovery strategy. Put a patsy -- I mean a public relations person -- out front to draw attention and offer more information as to possible future plans without committing the business to anything. Like a stage magician, his role is to distract and befuddle while offering calming but ultimately meaningless sounds. If things continue to go poorly, he also acts as a lightning rod and can be disposed of as an act of contrition by the company.
As things grow quiet, probably 3-6 weeks, announce plans to allow "some form" of access. The access is going to be protected and it will take a while to adapt the product. New product will be adapted first. Older product will be adapted as time permits. Offer no timeframe.
Advertise the Compendium as having the new book crunch. Explain that the protected files aren't ready yet, but people can always get a short-term subscription. Possibly offer a discounted price for the first 3 months.
About 6 months from the initial decision, issue a notice that the books will become displayable through DDI as a optional purchase linked to the subscription account. Current subscribers may access the books. Promise to put all non-pdf'ed books up within 3 months.
One month later, have one month's worth of books complete and make it known that the process is harder than expected.
Four months later, have all non-pdf'ed books available. Two months after that, have all 4e books available. Announce that older editions aren't worth the effort to convert -- manpower is needed for the next amazing thing that subscribers of the current game will just love instead.
Bask in the glow of appreciative subscribers.
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scruffygrognard
Adventurer
I know that venting on boards tends to be full of hyperbole but I can honestly say that NONE of the guys I game with (about a dozen people) or that my brother games with (another dozen or so people) buy WotC products anymore. Sure, that's nothing in the grand scheme of things... but I'd imagine that we're not alone in our collective move away from WotC.
Their handling of 3.5's release soon after 3rd edition's release, their killing Paizo's good run with both Dungeon and Dragon magazines, their release of 4th edition soon after the release of 3.5 (and the dishonesty that surrounded the timing of that release), their bungling of the GSL and seeming lack of respect for 3rd party publishers and, now, their withdrawal of pdf products from the marketplace (much to the detriment of companues like RPGNow and Paizo) has made them a company that I CANNOT support.
This is not the same company that once saved D&D when TSR fell into ruin, and this is not a company that shows regard for its customers or partners in the RPG market.
) and shamed 
