D&D Insider & the used book market

[Irda Ranger]

Any word on how D&D Insider will handle the sale of books? If I buy a Complete Mage 4e on E*bay or from my buddy, I expect the code that unlocks features on the website to transfer to me too. How is that being handled?

Because the used market is dead if you can't use the book you just bought at your Game Table or in the Character Generator.

This is very important. I hope someone from WotC posts to this thread.

 

[Umbran]

Because the used market is dead if you can't use the book you just bought at your Game Table or in the Character Generator.

Not dead. Just lame and limping a bit. Not everyone will care that much about the online tools.

The real issue isn't how to do it - the issue is how to communicate it. There should be no big deal to allowing someone to dis-associate the key. The question is how you prove to the new owner that it was done.

 

[Cergorach]

Is there going to be a unique code in every single book? If so, expect to pay for it.

How are bookstore owners going to allow folks to browse their books? You can just remember the code when you browse it. Scratch code: it's going to get scratched in a large bookstore.

Expect to see third party apps that'll offer the same functionality, allow custom created content (and that can be official or home grown). Chances are that it's going to be cheaper then D&D insider...

 

[Khairn]

Not everyone will care that much about the online tools.
.

That's certainly not WotC's plan. The impression I get is that both 4E and the DDI will be so intimately woven into one another that having just the book will be like buying a car, but not having any seats in it. Sure, the car gets you from point A to B, buts its certainly more comfortable and enjoyable to have some place to sit.

 

[Someone]

The thought of somebody going to the store, copying the codes on a piece of paper and downloading the books using a peer-to-peer program came to my mind. I hope hat doesn't make me a bad person, just someone who doesn't see the whole DI clearly. Imagine you wanting to use your book's digital content and finding out it's already stolen.

 

[Lonely Tylenol]

Is there going to be a unique code in every single book? If so, expect to pay for it.

How are bookstore owners going to allow folks to browse their books? You can just remember the code when you browse it. Scratch code: it's going to get scratched in a large bookstore.

Expect to see third party apps that'll offer the same functionality, allow custom created content (and that can be official or home grown). Chances are that it's going to be cheaper then D&D insider...

You know that plastic they make blister-packaging out of these days? If you buy a USB drive, you actually can't open it without a box cutter or some utility shears, because the plastic is so durable. Just weld a sheet of that down onto the inside back cover, covering a card on which the number is printed. Then if you want to steal it, you'll have to tamper with the book in a violent and probably obvious fashion, which is presumably the same reason why they make the blister packaging out of this material--it makes it easier to spot shoplifters.

 

[Delta]

Any word on how D&D Insider will handle the sale of books? If I buy a Complete Mage 4e on E*bay or from my buddy, I expect the code that unlocks features on the website to transfer to me too. How is that being handled?

Because the used market is dead if you can't use the book you just bought at your Game Table or in the Character Generator.

This is very important. I hope someone from WotC posts to this thread.

I'm a college instructor -- for a number of years now I've dealt with this issue in the context of textbooks, as textbook publishers have made online service supplements to their textbooks (including: online textbook pages, exercise assistance, videos, help lines, online tests & grading for the instructor). For example: http://www.coursecompass.com/

At least in this context (which looks very similar), you cannot transfer account registration. The registration codes that come with a textbook are one-time use only. That's good for the publisher, because for decades they've been looking to decrease the value in used textbooks -- it's the exact same motivation that causes them to issue regular edition revisions. What they do provide is a separate online purchase of a registration code (last time I checked for around $45, while a new book is usually in the $80-$100 range), which then constitutes a continued revenue stream even when a book is sold second-hand.

Executive summary: The context is very much like current college textbooks with associated online content. The registration codes there are one-time use only and non-transferable. To me it's a very good bet that it will be the same with Digital Initiative. (There's both a precedent and profit motive to not make the codes transferable.)

 

[Bagpuss]

Expect to see third party apps that'll offer the same functionality, allow custom created content (and that can be official or home grown). Chances are that it's going to be cheaper then D&D insider...

They already exist and are cheaper. But since WotC stuff isn't OGL stuff, if you want to add Complete Warrior you have to do it yourself by hand, and it's.....

A) A pain in the butt.
B) Hardly ever works exactly right.

Hence DnDInsider offers something they can't official content, up to date and all the hard work done for you. That's it's selling point.

 

[der_kluge]

I thought I read that the codes could be activated for a "nominal fee". So, you could go to the store, copy down the code, and then activate it, but you'd have to pay to do so. And probably the stuff wouldn't be terribly useful without the book anyway.

 

[Cergorach]

You know that plastic they make blister-packaging out of these days? If you buy a USB drive, you actually can't open it without a box cutter or some utility shears, because the plastic is so durable. Just weld a sheet of that down onto the inside back cover, covering a card on which the number is printed. Then if you want to steal it, you'll have to tamper with the book in a violent and probably obvious fashion, which is presumably the same reason why they make the blister packaging out of this material--it makes it easier to spot shoplifters.

You mean the kind of blisters miniatures come in? The kind GW uses? Ask an independant retailer (or a gw store manager), how many blisters they find opened or missing a week.

The actual web content will be fairly easy to convert to pdf after you have access to it. A couple of guys in a small group compare the results and filter out any identifying marks and it'll wind up on the internet again.

The strongest position WotC will have with it's D&DInsider is ease of use of book content in their tools, half destroying your book won't be easy to use.