Exclusive Races/Classes in Dragon: Why the Angst?

[Moon_Goddess]

If I understand the question right, the people who 'blame' the internet are sort of right. Granted the internet has made it much easier to see all the people complaining about it (similar to how modern news makes the world look far more degenerate and ready to fall apart then it was in years past because now you get bad news from the world over rather just the highlights).

The real factor, I think, to the angst though is that because of the internet, and specifically places like this, make people realize that they're not getting the same cool toys because they're not a subscriber. That and most people have gotten used to the idea that PDFs on Wizard's site are free.

I think that's the big one, and it's an issue ranging much much farther than WOTC and revenants.

We as a culture, have gotten used to the idea that everything on the internet is free. And that's not just limited to the act of piracy. Take the New York Times for example, initially they put articles up on the internet for free (lets not get into a debate about logins) their reasoning for this was very very few people looked at the internet for news and most of them still bought a paper anyways, the internet was not cutting into their money. Now it is, but their having a hard time putting any kind of pay structure together that doesn't anger people.


We've all suckered ourselves into thinking that digital means free, and then we changed the world in such a way that print isn't profitable.

We're gonna have to convince ourselves that those little 1's and 0's cost money. I'm a subscriber, that doesn't mean I've completely convinced myself but I'm trying. I say bring on the exclusives, I like getting the stuff faster through DDI, but I love even more, not paying for it twice.

 

[Krensky]

I think that's the big one, and it's an issue ranging much much farther than WOTC and revenants.

We as a culture, have gotten used to the idea that everything on the internet is free. And that's not just limited to the act of piracy. Take the New York Times for example, initially they put articles up on the internet for free (lets not get into a debate about logins) their reasoning for this was very very few people looked at the internet for news and most of them still bought a paper anyways, the internet was not cutting into their money. Now it is, but their having a hard time putting any kind of pay structure together that doesn't anger people.


We've all suckered ourselves into thinking that digital means free, and then we changed the world in such a way that print isn't profitable.

We're gonna have to convince ourselves that those little 1's and 0's cost money. I'm a subscriber, that doesn't mean I've completely convinced myself but I'm trying. I say bring on the exclusives, I like getting the stuff faster through DDI, but I love even more, not paying for it twice.

I think we need to be careful generalizing from WotC's PDFs and web articles, which all used to be free and included a lot of the sort of things that are in DDI now, and the broader internet. There's is some truth to your comment, but I don't think it's a case here of 'stuff on the internet is free' here as much as 'Wizards gave this stuff away fro free for a decade'. Combined with the fact that, while Dragon had all sorts of cool feats and spells and monsters and races and classes and whatnot, if you didn't have a subscription you generally didn't know what you were missing.

With the EN World those who don't subscribe know exactly what they're missing and have a place to complain to the world (rather then at the local game store) about it. Another aspect that just occurred to me is that before, if you knew there was a class you wanted in issue 234 (making a number up), you could go to the store or contact TSR/Wizards/Paizo and get a back issue, or whatever. You can basically do that with DDI too from my understanding (not a subscriber, don't play 4e), but it's a more involved process.

 

[malraux]

Another aspect that just occurred to me is that before, if you knew there was a class you wanted in issue 234 (making a number up), you could go to the store or contact TSR/Wizards/Paizo and get a back issue, or whatever. You can basically do that with DDI too from my understanding (not a subscriber, don't play 4e), but it's a more involved process.

Assuming you mean just purchase a month of DDi and download all back issues and install the CB, not really.

 

[Krensky]

Assuming you mean just purchase a month of DDi and download all back issues and install the CB, not really.

That is what I meant, and for many people that is more involved then buying a back issue of a magazine.

 

[Charwoman Gene]

That is what I meant, and for many people that is more involved then buying a back issue of a magazine.

It's far less involved than buying a back issue. FAR LESS. No driving, no searching multiple locations. Click on website, register, click on link.

 

[Cadfan]

...and you get everything in the entire archive, instead of the contents of one magazine. I'm surprised that WotC doesn't account for this by setting their one-month rates much higher, while leaving their yearly rates the same.

 

[malraux]

That is what I meant, and for many people that is more involved then buying a back issue of a magazine.

It isn't significantly more involved than any other online purchase. Sure, it might be more involved than if your local game store that you regularly play at kept old copies of Dungeon and Dragon for sale, but if you purchase old copies from Pazio or other places (ebay, etc) than its not particularly more involved.

 

[Moon_Goddess]

I think we need to be careful generalizing from WotC's PDFs and web articles, which all used to be free and included a lot of the sort of things that are in DDI now, and the broader internet. There's is some truth to your comment, but I don't think it's a case here of 'stuff on the internet is free' here as much as 'Wizards gave this stuff away fro free for a decade'.

I stripped out the rest of your quote because I think you missed the meaning of my story. I understand that Wizards gave this stuff away for free for a decade. That was why I mentioned New York Times, NYT gave their stuff away for free for a decade, possibly more. However now they've hit a point where they realize more people are using their website than are using their print. They are spending more money than ever on the web. The print is no longer relevant and they need to find a way to monetize the web or go out of business.

I see no difference in that than in WOTC, and I'm sure the rational with WOTC was the same. Our print products are becoming less and less relevant. Our website is costing more and more money, it needs to become a need to stop giving it away for free. But people are used to having it for free.

 

[Dragonhelm]

I'm a bit of a "new media evangelist" myself, and I think that having exclusive content in Dragon/Dungeon online is a great idea, especially from a marketing standpoint.

The world of publishing is changing. The way we tell stories is changing. For example, podcast author J.C. Hutchins put out a book in print called Personal Effects: Dark Art. Inside the book cover is a packet of items that go along with the story. There are things like documents, credit cards that look and feel like real ones, and so on and so forth. If you call the phone numbers or go to the websites listed on the items, what you discover is a secondary story. Hutchins calls this a "transmedia event."

Likewise, D&D is becoming more multimedia. While I will always miss my print copies of Dungeon and Dragon magazines, I have to admit that there's a certain sense in putting them online. Not only does that cut down the production and distribution costs, it has an added benefit.

Online content is now being merged with WotC's suite of online tools. So if you see an exclusive class in Dragon, that class is included in the next character builder update. There's this illusion that the material is more core now than it was before. Previously, we might have to carry around several books and magazines to have all the tools we needed to create the character we want. But with the character builder, it can access all of those sourcebooks and magazines in one handy place. Plus, since you can make a PDF copy of your character sheet, you can easily pass that on to your DM for inspection. No need to worry about whether he will allow something because he has the sourcebook or not.

D&D is far more integrated than ever, and for that, I'm grateful.

 

[Krensky]

You may find a one month subscription less involved. Most people I know would not. Buying a back order is a one time transaction with a defined goal and a single exchange. Go to store, place money on counter, take magazine, go home.

The subscription involves going to the website, setting up an account, determining the right options, providing payment information, logging in, determining what you're going to download, downloading it, and then remembering to cancel your subscription.

I will accept it's a non-issue to you. I wouldn't consider it much of one either. I'm willing to bet a lot of people would. Again, I know several. Many of whom are computer and internet savvy.

The actual determination of this varies from person to person the same way the relative values of buying online vs in a local store does. Just because you don't think it's more hassle doesn't mean people who feel otherwise are idiots.