Hell has frozen over..DriveThruRPG selling non-DRM books

[nopantsyet]

I'm definitely glad to hear that. Watermarking is a much more sane approach. I'll definitely be open to ordering from DTRPG now, though the price is still a deterrent. In the end, I buy a lot from RPGNow because there are a lot of great releases and I can go there and get something new for less than ten bucks.

The print publishers just don't get it yet. They've got to be conservative because they're part of the corporate machinery. They have to pay attention to the FUD and to the wonks who are afraid that PDF will poach their print customers. That's how the machine runs. But this is a another significant step in their coming around to reality. WotC is testing the waters selling PDFs. DTRPG is offering a more customer-friendly format. I see that as only helping their sales, which will confirm their hopes rather than their fears. And I expect in time they will come around in pricing. They will always charge a premium for "name brand" content. But it will compete more directly with the small publishers. (And some of those small publishers are definitely up for the fight. )

 

[Voadam]

(And to beat my car analogy to death, just because a trained thief can hotwire your car is no reason to just leave the keys in it and make it easy to do so.)

Hey! That was my car analogy. I guess I left the keys in it so I'm responsible for any damage you do beating it to death.

 

[Psion]

Question--if watermarking is so effective, why isn't this technology used at say--RPGNow?

I imagine because RPGnow's business model isn't based around selling the idea to major publishers that they will be safe if they use the technology.

That said, what I think counts here is that the technology is much less consumer hostile. And for that alone it should be applauded.

 

[catsclaw227]

I've bought a bunch from DtRPG and now I will get free copies as regular PDFs too! Cool! All my Sword and Sorcery, Malhavoc, Midnight, etc... in easy to use good-old-fashioned PDFs (with my name all over them. )

My early faith that they would be customer-centric (as a business philosophy) has paid off. I got a bunch of stuff inexpensively early on from them, now I'll have two copies!

catsclaw

 

[Bagpuss]

The fact that copyright infringement nowadays almost always has to involve two state governments, federal courts, etc. makes it a very expensive and difficult proposition. There is also the difficulty in assessing damages due to the ephemeral nature of digital media and the cheap (often free) distribution. Oftentimes, a case may go unheard because a small company can not afford to bankroll such an expensive litigation suit. That's where criminalizing copyright infringement makes things work much more smoothly.

Except the actually court cost will skyrocket if you make it a criminal crime as opposed to a civil one, as will the after costs for care of a prisoner, and the appeals. etc. With a criminal offence the government, hence the tax-payer, will be the one that brings it to court and so bears much more of the costs rather than the company, as is the case with a civil offence. So now the tax-payer will have to bankroll this expensive litigation instead of the company.
Ooops, I might be taking politics. Erm I bet there is some L.A. Law/Ally McBeal style D20 Modern campaign I work into this to make it a gaming reference..... erm me a moment.

 

[Achan hiArusa]

DTRPG Policy

Call me a cynic, but I think that the Adobe 7.0 DRM incompatibility has as much to do with the change as customer complaints.

 

[francisca]

Call me a cynic, but I think that the Adobe 7.0 DRM incompatibility has as much to do with the change as customer complaints.

You are cynic. Probably 100% correct, but still a cycnic.

How's that?

I've been rummaging around looking for info about watermarks in Acro7. Wonder if all these new non-DRM pdfs are going to require acro7.

Regardless, Psion is correct. Digital Watermarking is the future for IP protection, for static media like e-books, and probably streaming media (audio/video) as well, though how they will get the mark onto DVDs sold in mass retail outlets without hassling the consumer will be a major hurdle.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Information must be free!!!

*Shoots SockPuppet.*

Sorry about that. I think that this is a great move on the part of DTRPG, and if the products I want are available without DRM and at a reasonable price I will indeed purchase from them. The only thing I had against DTRPG was the furshlugginer DRM. The prices are as much the fault of the publisher as DTRPG, so I won't hold that against them, I just won't purchase items that I feel are overpriced. *EDIT* I fully intend to order a large number of items that are reasonably priced already - A lot of GDW stuff in particular, as well as some Chaosium stuff.

The Auld Grump, why is there a hole in my sock?

*EDIT 2* I actually did expect DTRPG to loosen the DRM requirement eventually, there were too many people who couldn't use it at all. But the Acro 7 problem likely did have something to do with it.

 

[Henry]

Poor example, Green Ronin is already a publisher with product available at RPGNow. When they get their big load of PDFs together, they will be available there.

Oh, I know - I'm talking about their new releases this year, which will also be available on DTRPG. I'm assuming they'll also be the same price - if not, then guess who I'll be going to?

If I'm buyng PDFs on line, more then likely I am also buying or at least looking at on line orders of print books. Is it really worth it to get 50% off a PDf version when I can get the print version for 40% off?

Except that if I'm buying them for 40% off online, I'm waiting a week to a week and a half for my "free" or lowest priced shipping, OR I'm paying for the two day shipping and paying just as much as I'm paying for it in a brick-and mortar store, with about 10% off. OR, I can pay 50% off at DTRPG, and have the product right now. To me, price savings is not worth waiting a week and a half for a new book, ensuring that I see it in my local Game Store before I see it by mail. There's something to be said for relatively quick gratification for gaming purchases too.

 

[seankreynolds]

On second teir piracy this is no good. But it does slow the first teir pirates down long enough to protect the profit margins as most of the sales and "aquisitions" are in the first month or so of the products release. This is why at WotC the first two weeks are crucial. According to Sean K. Reynolds the sales in the first two weeks determine the success of the line. If a PDF publisher can protect that sales spike, then hey, all the better for them.

First three months, actually.