D&D 5E (2024) Lorwyn: First Light has been released

[Parmandur]

Another financial comparison: back in 2000, WotC sold 32 page softcover books for $9.95 MSRP. $15 adjusted back to 2000 for inflation is ~$8.02.

 

[WanderingMystic]

It is an ok supplement but to me not worth the $15. Genasi are practically tieflings but they have 1 less utility cantrip. They could have easily given them elementalism cantrip or at least give them some minor elemental control over their chosen element when they wrote the flamkin and rimekin.

 

[mamba]

Employees are, however, not free.

nor do they have to do lot to keep the files hosted

Again, it just depends on howany people judge these short books as being worth the price of a sandwich lunch or not. You don't, I don't want digital at anyplace, but time will tell.

yes, whether this is a success for WotC will depend on how many people buy this. That has no bearing on it being overpriced in comparison to basically all other digital TTRPG products however

 

[Parmandur]

nor do they have to do lot to keep the files hosted


yes, whether this is a success for WotC will depend on how many people buy this. That has no bearing on it being overpriced in comparison to basically all other digital TTRPG products however

I'd say it's more that most RPG producers are desperately underpricing in a bid for market share. With stuff like Paizo's price hike, that instinct is bowing to inflationary pressures. I even recall many third party publishers (like Paizo) saying they were happy when WotC raised their prices to $60, since WotC keeping their prices low.makes it hard on other publishers.

 

[WanderingMystic]

You also have to look at the fact that if you are doing digital only you have to make more money off of your sales. When you have both a print run and digital options they are able to absorb some of the extra profit needed with the physical sales and several companies consider their digital sales to just be nice extra bonuses that they can get when they get them. That allows them to charge less for digital versions than some other companies.

 

[mamba]

I'd say it's more that most RPG producers are desperately underpricing in a bid for market share. With stuff like Paizo's price hike, that instinct is bowing to inflationary pressures. I even recall many third party publishers (like Paizo) saying they were happy when WotC raised their prices to $60, since WotC keeping their prices low.makes it hard on other publishers.

you are always talking about print when I am talking about digital.

There is no reason why digital is that expensive other than it cannibalizing print even more if its prices weren’t inflated (ie if the profit margin for both being the same would be determining the digital price)

 

[Parmandur]

There is no reason why digital is that expensive other than it cannibalizing print even more if its prices weren’t inflated (ie if the profit margin for both being the same would be determining the digital price)

Well, yes, precisely. That's the point, that's how this works.

 

[Kurotowa]

There is no reason why digital is that expensive other than it cannibalizing print even more if its prices weren’t inflated (ie if the profit margin for both being the same would be determining the digital price)

There's a key phrase here. "Don't eat your seed corn." It means you have to plan ahead for a sustainable cycle of plantings, not just gorge yourself and leave nothing to plant for next year's harvest. When superhero comic books turned to the direct market and focused on the existing readers, they ate their seed corn. The short term profits were great, but in the long term they cut off the flow of new readers coming in. So now comic book readership is at a dreadful low, even in this age of superhero boom.

WotC recognizes that the physical game stores are their seed corn. D&D is not a solo hobby, it needs a community, and the game stores are the main touchstone of local community building. Game stores are where new players or clueless parents of would-be new players go to get their first books, with a little help from store employees who know what to point them at. They're the intake valve feeding new people into the hobby. And so WotC goes to great lengths to keep the game stores solvent.

Changing things on the back end so that Amazon isn't undercutting the game stores was one step. The early release window and exclusive covers are another. And not massively undercutting the game stores with digital releases is a third. Could WotC make a lot of players happy and some good short term profits if they marked down digital releases to an equal profit margin? Sure, but in the long term it'd kill the game stores, and that's eating the seed corn. They need the game stores to keep D&D healthy, so the game stores are protected.

 

[dbolack]

And mtg setting products can usually pull art from the sets. So for a product like this the art cost them like nothing.

Assumes facts not in evidence.

 

[dbolack]

Paying an artist is like paying an author. Both need fair compensation.

By production I meant making digital content available.

Coulda sworn that goalpost was over here a moment ago.