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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Vocenoctum" data-source="post: 2640661" data-attributes="member: 2477">Yes, they understand advertising, and engendering goodwill. I think the problem with quoting WotC's scope of operations is the idea that they make more, without the contingent that Hasbro EXPECTS more. Hasbro and WotC understand that some products and some effort (such as the WotC site offering free content) is an investment in the business, not a cash drain for greedy consumers that want "core elements for free".I think the distribution system will really drive RPG's to a different system eventually. Mark up is consistant, so to increase revenue, the prices go up, driving more people to the online discount shops. In addition, distributors stocking practices and payment practices tend to fluctuate with company whim, making it hard to get stuff.If companies were really worried about local gaming stores, they'd find a way for them to make a higher percentage of the sale price, along with the manufacturer, and a system that made it where Amazon/buy.com couldn't do the deep discounts at the same time. But, since the RPG industry is so fractiuous, I can't see that happening without some huge stimulus.I'd agree that PDF is in a different class for this discussion. But at the same time, how many PDF's make a great sale? If you sold 300 pdf's, you'd be a sales leader, if you sold 300 books, you'd be in bankruptcy. I'm one of those that doesn't do much with PDF's anymore, so my views there are biased.Does Phil Reed build on past PDF's with future PDF's? If so, did products that built on this PDF given for free increase or decrease?The D20 Modern SRD is complete up to Future and Urban Arcana. Not sure if they'll add Past, Apocalypse or Cyberscape, or when.The D&D SRD is less complete, rarely added to. I don't have any official quotes for why, but if they feel that the fantasy side is being taken advantage of, then I could understand why. Either way, I'm not asking that every book be added to say, a GR SRD. Just the core rules (or core rule differences) and perhaps a sampling of the elements from supplements that are "core" for future products.When purchasing something, I keep in mind the likeliness that the product will require Erratta, and the presence of past Erratta's from the company. If I've got a bunch of 3.0 products and the companies response to fan requests for a 3.5 update is "we don't have the time or effort to put into it" then it counts when I'm purchasing another product from them. If I can't count on the company supporting a product that may be flawed in some way, then I need to keep it in mind.WotC pays their employee's, some of the web updates and such are produced by freelancers. WotC understands that such things are a part of doing business. There is no magical pot of gold at Hasbro HQ, with which to pay for such things.Other companies only see what's in front of them, they want (and need) the next product, so they keep moving forward. I've come to the opinion lately that a lot of the D20 companies have lost sight of the hobby.Do they simply close their eyes and say that there are no pirated copies? In case the point isn't clear, Free Fully Formated copies exist, the company should understand that. They can ignore that and discard old products (or try to turn a couple more dollars from PDF sales) or they can garner goodwill and continued sales by releasing some of the work under their own control. I'm not advocating theft of property, I'm merely raising the point that it's not a binary condition. They don't have the choice of "release material" or "never see material released". It's already there, and to ignore that condition and grumble about piracy is pointless.</blockquote>

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