WotC D&D Digital Library

[eyeheartawk]

You could also just upload a proof of purchase, and they spit out a code/file. It's how a bunch of companies do it.

 

[bedir than]

This is the same company (WoTC) that can't get around to putting digital codes in their physical magic:the gathering product.

They've done it for Arena as a way to still support the local stores

 

[Umbran]

I don't think this is exactly a difficult puzzle for WotC to figure out for at least some of its hardcover sales.

We are mere days from the announcement that they have bought D&D Beyond. Eventually, they could work this out, but at best that will take time. So I wouldn't expect it yet in any event. Organizations generally move slowly.

In addition,
1) They probably aren't interested in giving out easily copied pdfs of stuff that's still in its prime sales period, and

2) D&D Beyond does actually take more work than just a pdf.

I don't expect that giving copies free necessarily pays off for them in the long run. If their numbers say otherwise, then maybe it will happen.

 

[LordEntrails]

What's the incentive for WotC to give out anything for free?
And anything that they do give out for free, if it reduces sales of other formats of the products then tat is a negative for the company.

People might want things, and customers might feel entitled to something. But none of that makes for good business decisions. And the more "good business decisions" WotC makes, the healthier the RPG community is as a whole. Most of us are in this hobby for the long run. (And don't forget, there is already more quality RPG content available than any of us could use in a lifetime.)

 

[eyeheartawk]

What's the incentive for WotC to give out anything for free?
And anything that they do give out for free, if it reduces sales of other formats of the products then tat is a negative for the company.

It builds good will and from a cost perspective doesn't cost them much. I hate to break this to you but D&D PDFs totally already exist, for free, and can be found in all of ten seconds of googling. Why not give them out yourself to incentivize physical purchases and build a positive relationship with your customers? And, in one of the scenarios banded about also ties them into your new digital ecosystem you are trying to build out. Again, lots and lots of other companies do this as a matter of course, pretty much all of them smaller and less well resourced by multiple orders of magnitude.

People might want things, and customers might feel entitled to something. But none of that makes for good business decisions. And the more "good business decisions" WotC makes, the healthier the RPG community is as a whole. Most of us are in this hobby for the long run. (And don't forget, there is already more quality RPG content available than any of us could use in a lifetime.)

Again, widely circulated free PDFs of all the books already exist. Beyond that point, I don't necessarily buy that anything that's good for Hasbro is inherently good for the consumer and our little niche hobby more generally. But that's a whole other discussion all together.

 

[Urriak Uruk]

It builds good will and from a cost perspective doesn't cost them much. I hate to break this to you but D&D PDFs totally already exist, for free, and can be found in all of ten seconds of googling. Why not give them out yourself to incentivize physical purchases and build a positive relationship with your customers? And, in one of the scenarios banded about also ties them into your new digital ecosystem you are trying to build out. Again, lots and lots of other companies do this as a matter of course, pretty much all of them smaller and less well resourced by multiple orders of magnitude.


Again, widely circulated free PDFs of all the books already exist. Beyond that point, I don't necessarily buy that anything that's good for Hasbro is inherently good for the consumer and our little niche hobby more generally. But that's a whole other discussion all together.

I do think we should be clear about what "For Free" means in this context. You are talking about piracy. Yes it's free, but it is at minimum unethical if not illegal.

 

[eyeheartawk]

I do think we should be clear about what "For Free" means in this context. You are talking about piracy. Yes it's free, but it is at minimum unethical if not illegal.

Yeah. I wasn't being purposefully ambiguous. That's exactly what I mean. I was just trying to point out that from a preventing piracy perspective or making it easier, that horse bolted from the barn ages ago.

 

[overgeeked]

I mean, if you buy a hardcover off of Cubicle7's site, you get a free pdf. You also get one if you buy at your FLGS. And you could get digital content for free by buying the Essentials Kit for D&D.

I don't think this is exactly a difficult puzzle for WotC to figure out for at least some of its hardcover sales.

Honestly I expect that they'll use D&D Beyond as a webstore and add the option for physical products to it. It's already got a storefront. The product page of Spelljammer has five links to places to buy. Local store, Amazon, Fantasy Grounds, Roll20, and D&D Beyond. Adding a "physical copy" button to D&D Beyond would be simple. You buy it there (at full price plus shipping) and they give you a free PDF. It's not hard to sort out. If you buy somewhere else, you don't get the free PDF. Simple. I think between Hasboro and WotC they can figure out how to ship things from warehouses to people's physical addresses.

 

[LongTimeLurker]

They've done it for Arena as a way to still support the local stores

I play arena a lot. The only time they've released a digital code for anything was with this latest prerelease.
Not a single pack of cards I have ever purchased ever has included a code for either mtg online or arena.

 

[Li Shenron]

Web Enhancements were a big deal back in .... the 3e era I guess? Which was when the web itself was becoming a major thing. You'd get some legit useful content that couldn't fit in the printed book because of space. The Mahasarpa setting (an enhancement to Oriental Adventures 3e) was one that springs to mind, and several books had short associated adventures etc published free online too.

This is a great think imho if WotC is serious about actually using it to distribute bonus content without charging, and isn't just going to give a couple of free hits before starting up with some paid subscription model. I've been critical of several of the recent WotC releases for omitting important material, this would be a way to actually get some of it out there.

I had the same thoughts. In 3e era there were also free web adventures and they were awesome for one-shot games, whereas published adventures books were for longer games and full campaigns.

I don't know however why account registration is necessary for free material, other than for spamming ads to your email address.