Dragon and Dungeon as PDF?

[Scribble]

I think the last released market research from WotC was 1999, and it claimed something like 3 million people played some RPG at least once a month. Menawhile, EN World has something like 40,000 registered users, but the number of really active users is far smaller.

Even if we assume no overlap, and add all the users of the major gaming boards together, we probably come up with message board types being what? 1% or less of the total gamer population? That 1% coming from a non-random sample, we should very strongly expect that we are not representative.

So based on this you are assuming that most gamers don't ever look at the internet? Or have access to a computer? And that the internet is not a valuble resource to the gaming community?

Remember, I said much of a difference. You would say that a person posting on these boards is radically different then a non poster? And I said transitional. Meaning, as new gamers enter the hobby, in a world quickly being dominated by computers and digital tech, the internet as a resource is becoming greater and greater.

And again, this is only important if you decided to switch completely to PDF format and no longer offer the print version which is NOT what I wanted in the first place!

Just because those of use who look at message boards and use computers in our gaming may be in the minority doesn't mean they don't exist!

 

[catsclaw227]

My original thread also talked about Paizo offering a Print/PDF combo deal. The idea was that if you purchased a print/pdf subscription, you would pay maybe 1.5x the print subscription cost and the PDF would be offered to you as a download each month as well.

Assuming you buy the subscription from the Paize site, of course. This wouldn't take much from a subscription management standpoint because they already know who I am when I log in and how many issues are left in my subscription.

Converting the magazine into a PDF would require the original digital document be exported, but if you tell the customers that the PDF won't have bookmarks, or other PDF specific goodies, then you can get the document in the same general layout as the print magazine.

James --- If it is not too much to ask, what software do you use at Paizo for laying out Dungeon and Dragon?

 

[kenobi65]

So based on this you are assuming that most gamers don't ever look at the internet? Or have access to a computer? And that the internet is not a valuble resource to the gaming community?

No...what he's saying (and what I said, as well) is that most gamers aren't using online gaming resources, like this one.

Is this changing? Certainly. Will this continue to change? Also certainly. But, folks like you and me are likely still among the minority of gamers.

Look at the sales of PDF gaming products. From what I've read on these boards, a "good-selling" PDF typically sells in the hundreds. Not millions, not thousands...hundreds.

Remember, I said much of a difference. You would say that a person posting on these boards is radically different then a non poster?

I'd certainly say so. I'd hazard a guess that most D&D players have a pretty narrow view of the hobby. They are likely only tangentially aware of OGL/D20 print products...and aren't aware, at all, of stuff like PDF products. They've (obviously) heard of WotC, and maybe some of the other "bigger" names, but certainly none of the smaller players.

Other games, like Iron Heroes, C&C, etc., get a fair amount of "talk" on this board, but I would bet you a dollar that, if you could somehow get a true random survey of active D&D players (not just those who are active on online gaming sites), less than 10% would have even heard of those games.

 

[James Jacobs]

James --- If it is not too much to ask, what software do you use at Paizo for laying out Dungeon and Dragon?

We use Microsoft Word to do the initial development and editing passes of articles, making heavy use of styles to set formatting. We then send them over to the other side for layout, which utilizes InDesign. It'd be a relatively simple process to create a PDF version of the magazine, but it's not in the cards now (untill an issue sells out... which can take a Loooooong time).