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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ilbranteloth" data-source="post: 7724853" data-attributes="member: 6778044">Well, mistake or not, you're limited to the options available.First, if you really want to own the RPG books you buy, then buy the books. As for being the "best format to bet on," it really depends on the what the company is trying to accomplish. Considering that WotC has released a lot of material via PDF in the past, and I'm sure they are well aware with the folks that are requesting it, I'd have to guess that WotC has decided that releasing the core books in PDF format doesn't meet their goals. That is, it's not the best format for them.Note that you being able to open the document in 40 years isn't a money maker for the company 40 years from now. Their concerns isn't probably aligned with yours in terms of what you can do with it 40 years from now. I have a bunch of those PDFs, and you know what? They aren't the best format. If it's a book I'll reference regularly, then I buy a hard copy. So far, they have "bet" on at least five companies now. The first didn't come through. Three of them have released their products, and are selling product. Another one sounds like they'll be releasing another option in the near future.So right now a 75% success rate out of released products (assuming I haven't missed one), is pretty darn good. The fact that other companies are still jumping in with new products is another good sign. Obviously they see an opportunity to make money with their product.Also note that with a product like D&D, the usual rules of competition don't apply. For example, you can complain that they haven't released PDFs, but if you want to play D&D with the PHB, DMG, and MM, then you have to purchase one of the options they provide (unless you want to pirate a copy). So WotC makes money no matter which app you choose - including the physical books. For the individual companies making the apps, that's a different story, they are competing amongst themselves. But there are similar situations out there. By this point there have probably been thousands of programs and apps that provide a digital copy of the Bible, for example. A great many of those programs don't work on the newest technology, and those who like such programs have often purchased them several times. This is also similar to music, where in many cases people have purchased the same music multiple times over their lives as well.I still go back to the same suspicion. I don't think WotC cares at all what the digital solution looks like. They aren't in the business of designing and selling digital solutions, and I'm pretty sure they don't want to be. They are in the business of selling the content. So they would naturally be most interested in having as many companies producing digital solutions, and letting the market decide which ones rise to the top. The chance that a single digital solution will appeal to everybody and meet everybody's needs is pretty much nil. But multiple solutions cater to different audiences, and also have the advantage of selling more content.</blockquote>

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