D&D 5E Any word on (Full) 5e PDFs?

[GlassJaw]

Yup. Frustrated enough that a good proportion of you will actually sign up for Dungeonscape in order to acquire it in some form and fashion. Some of you won't, sure. But some of you will. And the money that comes in monthly from those of you who do through that digital distribution means more to them than a one-time payment for a PDF from the rest of you.

A steady stream of known monthly income matters.

Very true, but it's a HUGE burden on WotC to design, develop and maintain (which they are most certainly outsourcing). WotC doesn't have a good track record when it comes to digital products and services. The margin for error for launching services like these this days is very slim. First impressions and all.

On top of that, a monthly subscription to get access to digital PDFs will immediately remove customers. The feeling of "renting" content has also proven to be frowned upon by customers.

 

[Warunsun]

It is silly to assume that Wizards would sell a Player's Handbook PDF for $15. I honestly think it would be closer to $30. They are currently selling Encounters scenarios for $18 and Encounters is considered part of marketing!

 

[Bugleyman]

It is silly to assume that Wizards would sell a Player's Handbook PDF for $15. I honestly think it would be closer to $30. They are currently selling Encounters scenarios for $18 and Encounters is considered part of marketing!

I'd pay $30 -- heck, I'd pay $50 -- for a high-quality, bookmarked and searchable PDF. I bought the 4E PHB in PDF at or near full retail.

 

[Chocolategravy]

We are just starting to see the early signs of book death now. Used book stores are full and either not taking any more books or are going out of business. Small book stores are mostly gone and you're only left with large stores that probably also sell lots of other things besides books. The long slow decline of comic book sales is starting to be felt too despite successful movies. When 500 pounds of books doesn't even take up 1% of the space on your tablet, which can even read them out for you, why buy a book? Current tablets are fast enough that they're now faster to search a PDF than to flip open a book, not to mention lighter and more convenient. Why buy a game book? WotC not selling a digital version is just being customer unfriendly.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Very true, but it's a HUGE burden on WotC to design, develop and maintain (which they are most certainly outsourcing). WotC doesn't have a good track record when it comes to digital products and services. The margin for error for launching services like these this days is very slim. First impressions and all.

On top of that, a monthly subscription to get access to digital PDFs will immediately remove customers. The feeling of "renting" content has also proven to be frowned upon by customers.

Based upon what appeared to be a success for them with D&D Insider... I don't think what happened with Gleemax or their virtual table really affects them at all anymore. Yeah, a number of players have long memories... but it seemed as though plenty of 4E players (like myself) didn't care about that and paid their monthly $6 to access the Character Builder, Monster Builder, Compendium and both magazines. Frankly, I didn't care a lick about what did or didn't happen with Gleemax. I saw what they were offering with DDI... I saw that the value was fantastic... and I found the services worked fine for what I needed. What I imagine to be the same opinion as almost every other DDI subscriber.

I do not expect Dungeonscape to be any different.

 

[Jackal2100]

Just so everyone here knows, it seems as if the books will be available in full for a one-time purchase through the apps. No subscription necessary for access.

 

[Bugleyman]

Just so everyone here knows, it seems as if the books will be available in full for a one-time purchase through the apps. No subscription necessary for access.

That's well and good...but it still suggests you have to view the files through their apps. Which means you're constrained to their chosen platforms, and you have to rely on ongoing support for things like new operating systems, etc. Further, if there is DRM involved, you'll likely be further dependent on the continued existence of an authentication architecture.

No thank you.

DungeonScape is promising as a play-aid, but it doesn't really replace PDFs. If it were really about offering "the best experience," then they would simply let each of us chose how we prefer to consume the content. But it isn't, so they haven't. Instead, it's about control. They think they can defeat piracy using DRM, but all they're actually going to do is piss off customers (well, that and turn away other prospective customers). Heck, even the music industry has finally figured out that DRM doesn't work.

 

[Jackal2100]

They say it is downloaded to your machine for apple and android for the most part. So you can use it without being reliant on internet access. The web based one is obviously reliant on connection, but they said also that if there was enough interest in a version for say windows directly, they would look into it. I know that it may not be exactly what you wanted, but they are trying.

Theopinions and positions expressed are my own and don’t necessarily reflect thoseof Trapdoor Technologies.

 

[mcbobbo]

That's well and good...but it still suggests you have to view the files through their apps. Which means you're constrained to their chosen platforms, and you have to rely on ongoing support for things like new operating systems, etc. Further, if there is DRM involved, you'll likely be further dependent on the continued existence of an authentication architecture.

Okay, but...

1) They cover Android, iOS, and anything with a web browser. What got left out, exactly, OS-wise? Chromium runs on Linux, last I checked...

2) Authentication is an issue, sure. But then again EQ servers are still up and running, so it doesn't ALWAYS mean a digital dark age will come before you tire of the product.

 

[Jester David]

It is silly to assume that Wizards would sell a Player's Handbook PDF for $15. I honestly think it would be closer to $30. They are currently selling Encounters scenarios for $18 and Encounters is considered part of marketing!

You can get the physical dead tree version from Amazon for 29.95.
You should never be expected to pay *more* for a digital product, especially one that should ideally be supplementary or a reference tool.

$10 is a good PDF price. I might go as high as $15. Anything more is gouging and I'll start looking for alternative sources.