D&D Insider - Pay tomorrow for what you get today for free?

[Vigilance]

That's really strange. Why buy books at all if you're not going to re-read them? Better to join a library - the fact that I want to be able to re-read my books at any time is precisely why I don't bother with libraries.

Mostly because $10 isnt a lot of money to me. For the price of going to the movies I can get a couple of books to pass the time... and then they go on the shelf, waiting for some day when Im bored (or more likely broke).

Pretty much the same thing that happens with the video games I buy and a lot of the RPG books I buy. Some see more use than others but I like owning them.

Now music and videos I rent.

Books I buy.

Chuck

 

[I'm A Banana]

So calling it a debacle is kind of silly just because you dont like it.

No, that's not what I'm saying.

I'm saying it reminded me of what I heard about EA Sports not charging for a feature once (on the original Xbox version of the game), and then charging extra for the same feature (on the Xbox 360 version of the game).

This is similar, because WotC has not charged for much of this web content, but now they will, giving us what was once free for a fee.

D'you see what I'm saying, now?

 

[DonTadow]

No, that's not what I'm saying.

I'm saying it reminded me of what I heard about EA Sports not charging for a feature once (on the original Xbox version of the game), and then charging extra for the same feature (on the Xbox 360 version of the game).

This is similar, because WotC has not charged for much of this web content, but now they will, giving us what was once free for a fee.

D'you see what I'm saying, now?

Under this argument, it sounds like nothing is suppose to change or go up in price.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Under this argument, it sounds like nothing is suppose to change or go up in price.

If you can afford to give it to me for free before, why do you need to charge me for it now?

It's the drug-dealer tactic. "First taste is free, and then you're hooked and you'll PAY me for it!"

It's shady as heck.

If they already charged $1 for it and they raised the price to $1.25, it wouldn't be as big of a deal. But going from free to charging is different...you feel *ripped off* paying for the same stuff you used to not have to pay for.

I mean, it's not like these articles are an exhaustible rescource that has become rare. It's something that can be produced, and, presumably, the costs of production are about the same as they were when we got it for free.

It seems that they're trying to avoid this by adding plenty of content, but I still feel ripped off in the free stuff. They could give me *just* the new stuff for $5/mo, and it would probably be worth it. I don't need them to take away the free stuff, too.

 

[mythusmage]

So where's the link to the story on Wizards' site?

(Some people take hints about as well as a teenager takes criticism.)

 

[Vigilance]

No, that's not what I'm saying.

I'm saying it reminded me of what I heard about EA Sports not charging for a feature once (on the original Xbox version of the game), and then charging extra for the same feature (on the Xbox 360 version of the game).

This is similar, because WotC has not charged for much of this web content, but now they will, giving us what was once free for a fee.

D'you see what I'm saying, now?

I do, and it's really silly. First, we're not talking about a "cheat code" or additional uniforms or stadiums, the sort of things EA was charging for. We're talking about actual content that can be used in games, that people pay for all the time.

Now for a long time we got this sort of stuff for free for D&D.

Them providing you with free content was a really awesome thing for them to do. If it ends because they've looked at the bottom line and can't afford it anymore, I'd rather they give me the option to pay for it to continue rather than just have it go away.

Because they have done this really cool thing in the past, you're basically saying they're trapped. They now must CONTINUE to do this cool thing for you, or they're jerks.

And of course, this is all assuming the quality of content stays the same. My guess once they start charging for it, it will be better content, provided more often.

Chuck

 

[delericho]

If d and d decided to issue out licenses and you publish something for their system without a license, unless you mask it very well I doubt you'll get away with it.

Haven't they already issued licenses, in the form of the OGL and d20 licenses? They can rescind the d20 license, but the OGL will remain valid and useable, at least until 4e is released (even then, 3e-compatible materials could still be legally produced, and even 4e if the systems are close enough to skirt around the changes. However, if 4e is significantly different, then OGL publishing might cease to be a valid business model for most companies).

Sure, you won't be able to stick "Dungeons & Dragons" on your content, but you can't do that anyway, unless you're Kenzer, Paizo or Wizards (or anyone else I've forgotten).

 

[Maggan]

So where's the link to the story on Wizards' site?

(Some people take hints about as well as a teenager takes criticism.)

To reiterate my previous posts on this matter:

There is no link to a story on WotC:s site. There is a survey that pops up at times (or popped up a while ago).

Nothing has been announced. There is no link. There is no offer. There is no feature set.

What there is, is speculation.

/M

 

[Maggan]

If you can afford to give it to me for free before, why do you need to charge me for it now?

Because nothing ever stays the same. Cost cutting, lower overhead, higher costs, that and maybe a thousand other things can change when you run a business, so that you have to reevaluate your business model, and apply changes.

Only WotC knows for sure why they are implementing a subscription model, but there are plenty of plausible reasons why they would want to do so. And I believe that most of those reasons aren't shady or questionable.

It's just a part of a changing consumer landscape. If a company doesn't change and adapt your offerings to fit with significant changes, such as the emergence of the Internet and digital publishing, it's doomed to fail eventually.

I don't need them to take away the free stuff, too.

We don't know if they will remove all free material. My guess is that they will use some of the content from the subscription service, and release that for free, to creat interest for the subscription.

So I believe that some things that are free today (certainly errata and product previews) will be available even if WotC implement a subscription service. There situation might be that the subscribers get their content earlier, but some things will be released for free as well.

/M

 

[rgard]

The aspect that caught my attention is listed immediately under "D&D University," as a six-week course in rolling. I don't know how many times my games have been ruined because I don't know how to handle dice. A curriculum to teach me how to roll them would be a huge help.

I have that same problem.