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WotC puts a stop to online sales of PDFs
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<blockquote data-quote="CharlesRyan" data-source="post: 4743334" data-attributes="member: 5265"><p>As a PDF user myself (PDF + iPhone = always having D&D with me!), I'm surprised and saddened by this news. But what's really floored me is all the melodrama on this thread.</p><p></p><p>WotC took some old products off the market, and eliminated the availability of products in a particular format. Companies do that <em>all the time</em>. But you'd think WotC had been setting people's cats on fire.</p><p></p><p><strong>But Piracy Can't Be Stopped!</strong></p><p></p><p>That's probably true. And piracy has been around since before the first D&D PDF was released, and WotC has always known about it. (I'm the guy that launched the first current-edition PDF sales, so I know what I'm saying here.)</p><p></p><p>It's pretty clear to me that what WotC is reacting to is a <em>trend</em> in piracy. Based on these events, I'm guessing there's been a pretty dramatic <em>increase</em> in piracy, particularly of key titles. WotC may not be able to put an end to piracy, but that's not likely the goal. The goal is to change the trend.</p><p></p><p>Also, a lot of people are comparing WotC to TSR, in a disparaging, "They Sue Regularly" sort of way. But lawsuits are expensive, and it hasn't been my experience that WotC likes to spend its profits on heavy-handed action unless it has a really good case. (Seriously, have you really observed WotC suing lots of people?) I think this is a situation where WotC legitimately believes they can substantially affect specific piracy activities or a current trend.</p><p></p><p><strong>But 4E Has Already Been Pirated!</strong></p><p></p><p>Yeah, it's too late for the PHB, MM, DMG, and PHB2. But it's not too late for the MM2, the PHB3, or any number of other strong titles. It's still early in the 4E life cycle. (Some people have tried to tie the timing of this into other things, like the Hasbro quarterly report (Really? You <em>do</em> have an active imagination!)--the strongest connection I see is to the imminent release of MM2.)</p><p></p><p><strong>But I Didn't Get to Download My Purchase Five Times!</strong></p><p></p><p>It's been less than 24 hours since this was announced, and clearly it took the resellers by surprise. Take a deep breath. I'd bet money that they and WotC will make a good effort to reimburse anyone who wasn't able to download their purchases or redownload a lost file. WotC obviously did this because they had big fish to fry--not because they want to steal your pennies.</p><p></p><p><strong>But Bad WotC Didn't Give Us Any Warning!</strong></p><p></p><p>I'm not a legal expert, and I have no special info on this issue, but I bet it's no coincidence that this happened within hours of the lawsuits being filed. I bet WotC needed to get all their ducks in a row--and all their court summons served--before tipping their hand to organized pirates. The lack of warning was probably a specific tactical move--not a PR fumble. That might suck for us, but it's no reason to heap vitriol on WotC.</p><p></p><p><strong>I Like PDFs, So Now I'm Not Going To Play D&D!</strong></p><p></p><p>Really? The format is more important to you than the game?</p><p></p><p><strong>But . . . But . . . I <em>Like</em> PDFs!</strong></p><p></p><p>Yeah, me too. But in the grand scheme of things-I-want-to-buy-that-are-no-longer-sold, this is really not that big a deal. Seriously, would you really react like this if you went into The Home Depot for a string trimmer and found out it wasn't sold any more? Those evil bastards at Black & Decker! They've lost this customer forever!!!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="CharlesRyan, post: 4743334, member: 5265"] As a PDF user myself (PDF + iPhone = always having D&D with me!), I'm surprised and saddened by this news. But what's really floored me is all the melodrama on this thread. WotC took some old products off the market, and eliminated the availability of products in a particular format. Companies do that [I]all the time[/I]. But you'd think WotC had been setting people's cats on fire. [B]But Piracy Can't Be Stopped![/B] That's probably true. And piracy has been around since before the first D&D PDF was released, and WotC has always known about it. (I'm the guy that launched the first current-edition PDF sales, so I know what I'm saying here.) It's pretty clear to me that what WotC is reacting to is a [I]trend[/I] in piracy. Based on these events, I'm guessing there's been a pretty dramatic [I]increase[/I] in piracy, particularly of key titles. WotC may not be able to put an end to piracy, but that's not likely the goal. The goal is to change the trend. Also, a lot of people are comparing WotC to TSR, in a disparaging, "They Sue Regularly" sort of way. But lawsuits are expensive, and it hasn't been my experience that WotC likes to spend its profits on heavy-handed action unless it has a really good case. (Seriously, have you really observed WotC suing lots of people?) I think this is a situation where WotC legitimately believes they can substantially affect specific piracy activities or a current trend. [B]But 4E Has Already Been Pirated![/B] Yeah, it's too late for the PHB, MM, DMG, and PHB2. But it's not too late for the MM2, the PHB3, or any number of other strong titles. It's still early in the 4E life cycle. (Some people have tried to tie the timing of this into other things, like the Hasbro quarterly report (Really? You [I]do[/I] have an active imagination!)--the strongest connection I see is to the imminent release of MM2.) [B]But I Didn't Get to Download My Purchase Five Times![/B] It's been less than 24 hours since this was announced, and clearly it took the resellers by surprise. Take a deep breath. I'd bet money that they and WotC will make a good effort to reimburse anyone who wasn't able to download their purchases or redownload a lost file. WotC obviously did this because they had big fish to fry--not because they want to steal your pennies. [B]But Bad WotC Didn't Give Us Any Warning![/B] I'm not a legal expert, and I have no special info on this issue, but I bet it's no coincidence that this happened within hours of the lawsuits being filed. I bet WotC needed to get all their ducks in a row--and all their court summons served--before tipping their hand to organized pirates. The lack of warning was probably a specific tactical move--not a PR fumble. That might suck for us, but it's no reason to heap vitriol on WotC. [B]I Like PDFs, So Now I'm Not Going To Play D&D![/B] Really? The format is more important to you than the game? [B]But . . . But . . . I [i]Like[/i] PDFs![/B] Yeah, me too. But in the grand scheme of things-I-want-to-buy-that-are-no-longer-sold, this is really not that big a deal. Seriously, would you really react like this if you went into The Home Depot for a string trimmer and found out it wasn't sold any more? Those evil bastards at Black & Decker! They've lost this customer forever!!! [/QUOTE]
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