Arcane Power: How long before the pirated copy appears

[JohnRTroy]

Well there is now a PDF copy out fully OCR's and bookmarked and cleaned up and everything, as good (practically, if not aesthetically) as the WotC released PDFs, so that has taken about 10 days to reach the point of no difference to the pirates whatever WotC does.

That 10 Days can make a lot of difference.

Have you SEEN how many people here go ga-ga over a new book. We've had threads discussing people trying to get their book first and cancelling on-line orders because their local store got the street date.

 

[Oompa]

That 10 Days can make a lot of difference.

Have you SEEN how many people here go ga-ga over a new book. We've had threads discussing people trying to get their book first and cancelling on-line orders because their local store got the street date.

People who pre order a book intend to buy it what so ever..

We are talking about pirates..

ARRR!!

 

[Brown Jenkin]

What lessons?

That sueing your fans doesn't stop piracy and only pisses off the people who want to buy your product.

 

[Kask]

What lessons?

Are you being sarcastic? Or, do you really not know what happened with CDs & the record industry's decision to not sell electronically in the 90s, despite HUGE consumer demand?

 

[JohnRTroy]

That sueing your fans doesn't stop piracy and only pisses off the people who want to buy your product.

Except the fans that are the type who pirate aren't what I'd call fans--I certainly wouldn't want a fan who was willing to copy my work without paying for it. If the so-called fans weren't doing that, I think PDFs would still be selling. And based on what I see in this temp forums, a LOT of people think doing that is no big deal. Whatever happened to having a sense of honor.

I don't believe I have a right to a product in a specific format, that's up to the manufacturer.

Are you being sarcastic? Or, do you really not know what happened with CDs & the record industry's decision to not sell electronically in the 90s, despite HUGE consumer demand?

I know what happened. The problem is assuming that it was that alone which hurt the record industry. Piracy has something to do with it.

Right now, I think the best move from a business standpoint for D&D is to make the game more dependent on physical products and less on print-style products. Card and minis will likely rule. If piracy keeps up, maybe they'll make the 5th edition game totally dependent on cards--have a 32-64 page rulebook and then card sets contain all the spells and powers.

(I don't particularly like that because I like the older rules and dislike 4e's direction, but I can see this happening.)

 

[tmatk]

...

Right now, I think the best move from a business standpoint for D&D is to make the game more dependent on physical products and less on print-style products. Card and minis will likely rule. If piracy keeps up, maybe they'll make the 5th edition game totally dependent on cards--have a 32-64 page rulebook and then card sets contain all the spells and powers.

(I don't particularly like that because I like the older rules and dislike 4e's direction, but I can see this happening.)

Aren't cards print-style products? They can still be scanned, just like books.

 

[JohnRTroy]

Aren't cards print-style products? They can still be scanned, just like books.

Yeah, but it's a lot more of a pain in the ass. And the job of cutting them and the flimsy paper would make it harder for use. (Not to mention the possibility of making it a hybrid game like magic where the cards themselves are collectibles, making it worthless to pirate.)

 

[Oompa]

The cards would still be scanned, it would even be easier to scan than a book...
And printing the cards on good paper is not that expensive to..

Cards are not the solution..

Maybe wotc needs to have some kind of point system.. You make a account with wotc, you buy a product.. that product has some kind of point voucher you can link to your account only..

Saved enough points, trade them in for items or discounts..

This wouldn't really solve anything..

People pirate because it's easy and cheap.. Don't change the products, change the human's (maybe +1 to intelligence)

 

[AllisterH]

Honestly, I think the only viable solution is for companies (not just WOTC but other media) is to incorporate it into their accounting.

Just like Theft is factored into a place like Home Depot, Piracy needs to simply seen as a cost of doing business....

 

[Kask]

I know what happened. The problem is assuming that it was that alone which hurt the record industry. Piracy has something to do with it.

Of course, piracy has an impact. But, refusing hundreds of millions in sales hurts too. And, is extremely idiotic.