DriveThruRPG.com to release 3.5 edition Dungeons & Dragons titles in eBook format

[TheAuldGrump]

Let us do the math now...
Stupidly bad pricing + DRM = NO SALE

Yep, the equation works out.

The Auld Grump, who refused to buy from DTRPG while they were selling only DRM protected PDFs... I am glad that they at least learned from their mistakes.

 

[Nightfall]

Well I think that DTRRPG.com figured that at least for some of its customers, watermarking was/is fine.

 

[tylerthehobo]

Does it cost to host them there, or does DT just take a cut of each PDF sold?

I'm pretty sure that DT just gets a percentage, but the arrangement varies based on volume. You can bet your bottom dollar that DT would do anything to house these rather than lose out to rpgnow or somebody, though.

 

[dren]

I encourage all traditional print publishers moving into the PDF market to take a look at Green Ronin's PDF pricing vs. that of Green Ronin's print product pricing as a guideline.

I agree wholeheartedly.

 

[Vigilance]

I still think it's good that WOTC has the PDFs there. For those that don't have a FLGS and for books that are out of print, it's a good option.

Chuck

 

[Yair]

I still think it's good that WOTC has the PDFs there. For those that don't have a FLGS and for books that are out of print, it's a good option.

I don't have a FLGS. Still not good for me, and I'm living pretty far from anywhere.

But yeah, this is better than nothing. A small step in the right direction. Someday, we'll see no DRM reasonably-priced pdfs as a result of this. I hope.

Yair

 

[Kunimatyu]

Maybe this is just a way for Wizards to set the stage for a service where you buy the "real" book, then pay a nominal fee to get the PDF as well.

 

[grot]

SO, not that I'm advocating piracy, but WoTC has to know that all of these books are widely available, most OCRd, to any geek with the will to find them. That's what they are really competing against. What they should realize is what apple and a few folks in the music industry have realized: If you make it easy and cheap, consumers will in fact pay for the things they need. The only real reason I ever want eCopies is usually for modules, so I can avoid retyping piles of stuff into online games. I always already own the physical module. There's zero reason I am not going to buy the eCopy when i can just scan and OCR what I need myself, or get it from a friend who already has an OCR'd version.

 

[Cyberhawk]

This would be a great idea for those books I was on the fence over (such as Heroes of Horror). A pdf version at a small discount really would have sold me.

Alas the prices are still very high and they're DRM pdfs, so I won't be purchasing any of them.

Oh well...

 

[Man-thing]

I have to admit that the DRM is typically a non-sale for me. However the price is making me take them into some consideration.

I prefer my game books in PDF format and while they are at full american cover price they are technical on sale as Canadian as my credit uses a better exchange rate.

At book stores and my FLGS, WOTC books are sold at RSRP and in Canada that is a 30% exchange rate.

Complete Psionic was $29.95 US but sold at the MSRP for Canada which was $42.00.
Even though our dollar is hovering at .90 US. It should have been about $35.
At DTRPG, I will save $7 and pay no taxes.