Keefe the Thief
Hero
Sorry, threadcrapping is never cool.
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NOW LIVE! Into the Woods--new character species, eerie monsters, and haunting villains to populate the woodlands of your D&D games.
Anyone else feel indifferent about the PDF thing?
- Thread starter Rechan
- Start date
Sorry, threadcrapping is never cool.
Getting told "You can't buy the books you wanted anymore" makes me care, of course. I was planning to buy a few more PDFs this week, for about 100 dollars, and WotC decided they did not want my money.
And with the reason given for this move not making any sense I am left wondering what were the real reasons for this move by WotC.
And with the reason given for this move not making any sense I am left wondering what were the real reasons for this move by WotC.
ppaladin123
Adventurer
I don't usually buy pdfs (I prefer hard copies) so this doesn't affect me.
I think it was a bad business move in that it will annoy some fans and cut down on purchasing options (some people buy both the pdf and hard copies, some people prefer pdf only). It also will do little to stop online piracy (it might mean that pirate pdfs show up a few days after release of the hard copy instead of within minutes of release of a pdf). On the other hand it will probably not increase piracy much either; I doubt that the extra hurdles increase potential piracy gains (status/prestige) enough to flood the market with new entries.
That said I am not sure of the magnitude of the effect on their business. I'd guess that most gamers are probably unaffected and most will not be annoyed enough to stop purchasing 4e products.
As others have noted countless times, enworld is not representative of gamers at large. There is also a large plurality of gamers here that are not fans of WotC for other reasons (dislike 4e, bitter taste about 3.0---->3.5, etc.) so we should take the more intensely negative reactions with a grain of salt. On the other hand some of the biggest fans of WotC have also chimed in to express their annoyance; there is definitely a legitimate reason to be displeased.
I think it was a bad business move in that it will annoy some fans and cut down on purchasing options (some people buy both the pdf and hard copies, some people prefer pdf only). It also will do little to stop online piracy (it might mean that pirate pdfs show up a few days after release of the hard copy instead of within minutes of release of a pdf). On the other hand it will probably not increase piracy much either; I doubt that the extra hurdles increase potential piracy gains (status/prestige) enough to flood the market with new entries.
That said I am not sure of the magnitude of the effect on their business. I'd guess that most gamers are probably unaffected and most will not be annoyed enough to stop purchasing 4e products.
As others have noted countless times, enworld is not representative of gamers at large. There is also a large plurality of gamers here that are not fans of WotC for other reasons (dislike 4e, bitter taste about 3.0---->3.5, etc.) so we should take the more intensely negative reactions with a grain of salt. On the other hand some of the biggest fans of WotC have also chimed in to express their annoyance; there is definitely a legitimate reason to be displeased.
Scholar & Brutalman
First Post
Pretty much. I can see some people have a legitimate grievance about downloads and WotC could have given more warning, but that's about it. A lot of what I've read seems to be people who say they used to hate WotC but now they really, really hate them. Seems rather excessive.
... Majority of customers not supporting D&D how?
Just because they don't sell PDFs?
It's this sort of logic I just Don't Understand.
Why is the PDF thing such a big deal?
Oh I think it is reasonable to be annoyed and post a couple of complaints. I don't find it reasonable that every time WotC does something bad (and it admittedly happens at least on a PR level) we get a dozen multipage threads that run rampant, yet every time they do something good we get a couple of threads that hardly make it past page 5 before the naysayers find something to drown them with. It is simply disproportional.
GMforPowergamers
Legend
I could caer less...
I mean really, Wotc made a mistake (IMHO), but people act like it is the end of the world. I have two friends who are already saying this means that 4e failed...when I point out all evadance to the caontray they called me a brown noser. It is bad enough there are some around here that have bashed Wotc since the 90's (pre BUYING D&D) who are useing this as ammo to get back up on old soap boxes.
The part I find funny is that these things always fall the along the same lines...People who dislike Wotc (for real or imagined reasons) blow up and scream...some middle ground people get a little upset and wish they changed there minds...some middle ground people don't get the concern. And most hardcore 'fan boyz' (you know people who do a silly thing like support the company they like....and get a weird insult name attached tot hem) have to wade through hours of olld over done arguements to find out the real story.
What I really don't understand is some companies (pizo) gave a grace peired and sent out email alerts...others (RPGnow) just went cold trukey...but it is Wotc's fault not the website that didn't give a grace period...
I mean really, Wotc made a mistake (IMHO), but people act like it is the end of the world. I have two friends who are already saying this means that 4e failed...when I point out all evadance to the caontray they called me a brown noser. It is bad enough there are some around here that have bashed Wotc since the 90's (pre BUYING D&D) who are useing this as ammo to get back up on old soap boxes.
The part I find funny is that these things always fall the along the same lines...People who dislike Wotc (for real or imagined reasons) blow up and scream...some middle ground people get a little upset and wish they changed there minds...some middle ground people don't get the concern. And most hardcore 'fan boyz' (you know people who do a silly thing like support the company they like....and get a weird insult name attached tot hem) have to wade through hours of olld over done arguements to find out the real story.
What I really don't understand is some companies (pizo) gave a grace peired and sent out email alerts...others (RPGnow) just went cold trukey...but it is Wotc's fault not the website that didn't give a grace period...
Yeah on the eve of the launch of the PHB2 the pdf debacle will lead over 40% of WotC's customers to dump them for another system (which would be the loss they'd probably need to have to loose their majority hold on the market share). How can you not understand that Rechan?
Mustrum_Ridcully
Legend
I don't care for myself, since for now, I planned to buy the print versions and I don't have any PDFs I'd have to redownload. But I considered buying a few PDFs, since I don't want to drag so many books around (it's getting worse over time, of course. 
)
I care a little because I think it is ultimately a wrong move that costs them good faith from their fans, and gives more food for detractors.
I also care because it has to do with piracy and copyright itself, a topic I am interested in due to being a software developer and a customer.
And I care because there is a lot of discussion going on and I feel it's not leading anywhere except maybe to "hurt feelings" and more work for the moderators.
But I can't get worked up over it, because I don't think WotC did something "evil"* and took something from me.
(stupid is not evil, as far as I am concerned.)
)I care a little because I think it is ultimately a wrong move that costs them good faith from their fans, and gives more food for detractors.
I also care because it has to do with piracy and copyright itself, a topic I am interested in due to being a software developer and a customer.
And I care because there is a lot of discussion going on and I feel it's not leading anywhere except maybe to "hurt feelings" and more work for the moderators.
But I can't get worked up over it, because I don't think WotC did something "evil"* and took something from me.
(stupid is not evil, as far as I am concerned.)
Lord Xtheth
Explorer
Well, I said "IF"
its too soon to see the vast majoritys reaction, but based on what I've seen here, and a couple other places... people are angry and ive seen companie go under because of a few angry people... ive even worked for companies that went unde because of a few angry people.
it happens alot easier than it seems
