I've given it a bit of thought, the subscription model could work. It's possible.
How many people in 2003 were willing to buy pre-painted plastic minis? There was an uproar from the old-school gamers about how they'd never let plastic minis on their tables, D&D was bound straight for the ninth level of hell and the entire gaming industry would collapse about a month after the release.
I still don't use plastic minis for PC's, but I sure do appreciate not having to spend 30+ hours painting a goblin horde to have passable minis on the table. The Harbingers and Dragoneyes often looked like those toys you can get out of the quarter machines in the front of grocery stores, but they turned around and look really sharp these days. I'm willing to drop $50-60 bucks every now and again to get a decent selection of critters that I can open and throw down on the table. Furthermore, I routinely see people spend over a hundred dollars at a time when new sets come out.
I think the online service will be kind of like the minis. Of course it's gonna suck at first, but if it lasts long enough it'll get to be pretty cool. If the D&D online service is going to work, people are going to have to perceive it as having value. Errata and maps from the printed books won't cut it. The idea of it having "official" content won't cut it- if DM's don't have access to material they generally don't allow it anyway.
How many people in 2003 were willing to buy pre-painted plastic minis? There was an uproar from the old-school gamers about how they'd never let plastic minis on their tables, D&D was bound straight for the ninth level of hell and the entire gaming industry would collapse about a month after the release.
I still don't use plastic minis for PC's, but I sure do appreciate not having to spend 30+ hours painting a goblin horde to have passable minis on the table. The Harbingers and Dragoneyes often looked like those toys you can get out of the quarter machines in the front of grocery stores, but they turned around and look really sharp these days. I'm willing to drop $50-60 bucks every now and again to get a decent selection of critters that I can open and throw down on the table. Furthermore, I routinely see people spend over a hundred dollars at a time when new sets come out.
I think the online service will be kind of like the minis. Of course it's gonna suck at first, but if it lasts long enough it'll get to be pretty cool. If the D&D online service is going to work, people are going to have to perceive it as having value. Errata and maps from the printed books won't cut it. The idea of it having "official" content won't cut it- if DM's don't have access to material they generally don't allow it anyway.
