D&D 4E 4e price increase?

[Treebore]

I think the best question to ask yourself is, "Is 4E $120.00 better than what I am playing now?"

 

[Ranger REG]

Wow, I certainly didn't intend to start a massive 'RPG products are too expensive' rant!

I'll agree with those who say that given inflation and the value of game books to my enjoyment (hours and hours of entertainment), US$35 isn't bad, and there are numerous avenues to get them cheaper anyway.

Given the weakness of the US$, and the fact that I'll be buying my 4.0 books in the US next summer probably using my hard-earned non-US income, they'll actually be quite a bargain for me!

Of course, that doesn't mean you should pay full retail price.

 

[Vigilance]

I think the best question to ask yourself is, "Is 4E $120.00 better than what I am playing now?"

That's a really odd way to look at a luxury item.

Is a new car 10K better than what I drive now? That I could buy.

But when Final Fantasy XII came out, I didn't ask myself if it was 50 dollars better than FF X.

When Serenity came out, I didn't ask myself if it was 20 dollars better than the TV show.

Where were you when I bought the second Master and Commander book, when my first Master and Commander book was just as good as the day I'd bought it? You could have saved me 8 bucks!

I don't buy luxury items only when they're better than what I have.

I buy them because I want them.

 

[delericho]

Arthaus did this with a number of White Wolf lines that weren't very successful. They reduced costs by reducing the quality of the physical product.

Every single one of those lines is now dead.

That's not exactly a compelling argument. The lines were failing before they were moved to a far more minor sub-label. That they continued to fail does not necessarily indicate that the change in the physical quality of the product had anything to do with that.

Not so sure if it's the best route to take if they want to grow the market.

If WotC want to grow the market, they really need to drop the 3-core-book model. Between a $90 buy-in (even if only from the DM), and the need to wade through 1,000 pages of rules, plus adventure preparation and character creation, all before you even get to start having fun, it's a really good advert for just playing WoW instead.

 

[jdrakeh]

I dunno. When the buy in price for a game is higher than the combined total of my monthy car insurance and high speed internet bills, I'm a little iffy on how reasonable it is. I easily get more use out of my insurance and internet connection than I do out of gaming books (because I have a job, ironically).

 

[Bagpuss]

Then get a job.

Have some manners. You don't know his circumstances.

I've a job, but I've a mortgage, living expenses, and a family to support. So about $100 (£50) left a month to spend on myself is about right.

 

[Matrix Sorcica]

Have some manners. You don't know his circumstances.

I've a job, but I've a mortgage, living expenses, and a family to support. So about $100 (£50) left a month to spend on myself is about right.

Get a real job





just kidding

 

[Bagpuss]

Except in Europe, they slap an EUR sign instead of the USD sign on all prices, which means they will end up being about 50% more expensive at the current exchange rate.

(35 EUR = 52 USD at the moment)

It's not that bad in the UK but you rarely see them factor in the exchange rate in shops and the "official" importers. They just use the RRP that WotC which seems to based on and exchange rate of $1 = £1 when in fact it's closer to $2 = £1. If they do that it's normally better to buy from Amazon.co.uk (sorry FLGS but it's http://www.hobbygames.com/ that are screwing you, not me) who import from the US or direct from the US as even with postage it works out cheaper.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

Keep your eye out for a Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition Core Rules Box Set containing one (1) each of the Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, and Monster Manual. It would likely be priced at a discount (say $100 for all three).

Actually, from what I understand, the 3 core books will be available in a slip case at release for 5 cents (or was it 20 cents?) more than the cost of the 3 individual books. So unless retailers choose to discount them this won't be the case.

Olaf the Stout

 

[Olaf the Stout]

The question is though, would you expect the price of WotC stuff to go up or down with the exchange rates on a daily/weekly basis? That's how it works in Russia, though we pay more for importing them. I think here WotC goods are priced in USD, which includes an import charge, and then sold at a current exchange rate. But that's a normal practice in Russia--would that work elsewhere?

As Merric pointed out, the Australian dollar has appreciated significantly against the US dollar over the past couple of years. In the last month I believe it got up to $0.94 USD. At the same time, I have not really seen much difference in the price of RPG books at my FLGS.

I can understand if the ones already on the shelf aren't cheaper, but the new releases should be. I know the owners and that they aren't inflating their prices so that only leaves one answer, WotC (which I believe distributes the books to my FLGS) are making more profit off of them now. I can only wonder if they would keep the prices the same if the dollar had moved the other way. Somehow I doubt it.

Olaf the Stout