Interview time - what do you want to ask WotC about their new pdf policy?

[Festivus]

If I have previously purchased out of print (or even current 4E) PDFs from Paizo or RPGNow, will I be able to download my purchased product in the future without incurring additional expenses?

 

[MadLordOfMilk]

"We are exploring other options for digitial distribution of our content and as soon as we have any more information I'll get it to you."

Does this mean WotC is planning on selling their books in a format other than PDF, or does it mean an entirely different system than purchasing each book online?

 

[El Mahdi]

• I know you can't give a timeline or estimated date for when pdf's will be available again, but it would help to know what priority or level of importance this is being given? Will this run a distant last to game R&D and DDI development, or will it have on equal footing as far as priority?

• With your recent reductions in manpower (the unfortunate layoffs), what resources do you have to allocate to the "exploration"?

• As far as pdf's go, there are only so many options for securing them. What existing options are you considering? Are you looking at possibly developing new ways of securing pdf's? Or, as asked above, are you exploring new formats other than pdf?

• Will out of print books (earlier editions materials) be given the same, or similiar priority as 4E materials? (In other words, if we have 4E material again within a year, would we still end up waiting as much as a few years for earlier edtion materials?)

 

[meomwt]

As a customer of Paizo, they sent me an e-mail saying I had until the end of 6th April to download any product that I had legally purchased. This was at the behest of Wizards.

Question 1
The notice period I was given when the e-mail was sent was hours. This did not seem reasonable behaviour and I would like to know the reason for the short notice period.

Question 2
In the electronic Global Village, times and dates are important. In timezones other than the US, customers may have found that they had a very short time between receipt of the e-mail from their PDF supplier and the deadline for completing downloads. Was this considered when the short time between the announcement and the closure of the electronic download facility was decided on?

Question 3
Not everyone checks bulletin boards and e-mail every day. The first I saw of this event was on 7th April. The short notice period would have disenfranchised me had there been electronic product owing to me. Under those circumstances, what refund policy would WotC operate.

 

[mach1.9pants]

Do Wizards intend to support offline use of their rulebooks by eReaders? (Previously PDFs worked, but now what?)

 

[Daniel D. Fox]

Can I print and share my legally-purchased PDFs for usage at the gametable? I own a hardcover and a PDF. If so, how many copies can I print without infracting on WotC's IP?

 

[drothgery]

When WotC produces electronic versions of its books in the future, will they consider using formats that are explicitly designed for electronic books rather than a repurposed print format like PDFs?

One of the reasons why I haven't been interested in electronic versions of RPG materials to date is because I don't think most RPG PDFs are easily readable on anything less than a normal-sized laptop (because they're typically laid out for print on 8 1/2" x 11" pages); I might bring an Amazon Kindle (or other similarly-sized eBook reader) or an iPhone (or similarly-sized smart phone) with me to a game, but I'm not going to bring a laptop.

 

[Alzrius]

Why wasn't the cessation of PDF sales announced with more than a few hours before the materials were no longer available?

 

[I'm A Banana]

Question 1
Did you expect this level of anger at your decision? In what ways do you think this outrage may have been avoided?

Question 2
What do you think this will actually do to piracy? If the answer is "not much," why did you frame it as a response to piracy rather than divulge the other reasons for this decision?

Question 3
Is this decision related to the earlier decision not to release fourth edition under the OGL (going instead with the more restrictive, and much-delayed GSL) or the decision to move Dungeon and Dragon in-house in any way? Or, asked in another way: are this decision, the magazine decision, and the non-OGL decision related to WotC having tighter control over the game in some way? Could this also be why WotC has been more zealous in striking down certain websites and in litigation? Can you mention the perceived virtues and potential flaws of such a plan, and why WotC is taking such a track, if that is the case?

Question 4
Can you perhaps go over what the motive behind charging full bookshelf price for a PDF file was, and how you plan on resolving that challenge in the future endeavors you have planned?

Question 5
The decision to revoke PDF's also means that WotC no longer provides any means to acquire out-of-print books such as material for older editions. Is there any plan to resume allowing customers access to copies of these works through Wizards, or will legitimate customers have to go through out-of-print channels like Noble Knight Games and Amazon to acquire these products? If the latter is true, why would WotC choose to avoid providing this access?

That's about all.

In my mind, any question about "sales" and "4e performance" is just inviting them to waste space on marketing double-speak. You NEVER say business is going badly. Ever. Even when you're collapsing, everything is going fine. In fact, a significant part of the current crisis is because banks won't tell each other how they're actually doing (the mark-to-market stuff). You will never get anyone from WotC to say that 4e is doing anything other than gangbusters. I'd bet a euro on it.

 

[Drkfathr1]

How will removing PDF's from sale stop piracy when all the pirates have to do is scan a physical copy of the books? Star Wars RPG books are not currently sold in PDF form, yet they too turn up on file sharing networks within days if not hours of release.