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Message: <blockquote data-quote="buddhafrog" data-source="post: 5366004" data-attributes="member: 86605">I am the guilty partyI am the guilty party.I downloaded a pirated copy of DDI, with several pirated updates.  As a player who hadn't played for 25 years but wanted to return to the hobby, I wasn't going to invest hundreds of $$$ into the hobby without knowing if it would be a good investment.  At that time, I didn't know that I could pay for only one month and keep the info - I would've done that.Both of these actions are what WotC are trying to avoid.  I understand this and certainly am not bitter.  Yes, I "stole" their products.  However, b/c I had easy access to the game, I have ended up spending many hundreds in other D&D products this year:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">maybe $400 in minis</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Eberron 4e book - b/c it's cool and I wanted the feeling of flipping through a book like the old days</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Essentials DM tool kit (to give to my son)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Essentials Compendium</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Essentials Monster Kit (to share with my son)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">lots of dungeon tiles sets</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">plus tons of non D&D, but hobby related products like dice, maps, etc.</li> </ul>I probably would have bought almost none of these if I didn't have easy access to DDI -- I was strongly considering playing one of the re-skinned versions AD&D.  In this past year, I have introduced about 30 kids to D&D 4e.  I'm positive many will continue in this hobby and spend much money over the years.What does this all mean?  In general, I think that when a company makes entry into a hobby easy and finds additional ways to create profit, that company is heading in the right direction.  Unfortunately RPG's might be slightly different b/c such a small % of profit is from new users.  I do think WotC is doing some things to try to change this, and I really hope they succeed.There have been a few EnWorld threads asking whether one should get a DDI subscription.  I've recommended to some of them to get a one month DDI subscription b/c the CB is so useful, and then they can cancel and keep what they've downloaded.  (I recommend everyone does this now before the switchover to web-based).  This isn't "cheating" - there are tons of people who want to play D&D but can't afford the cost of monthly subscriptions.  Some folks want all the info as soon as its available (including errata).  Others are willing to pay far less but still get the bulk of info and allow them to play.  As a company, a goal would be to make your product good enough that when these one-monthers have enough money, they will put their disposable income into your products (DDI or otherwise).  I now use the DDI so much that I was going to get my first official subscription and keep it going.  With the new info, I won't be doing that of course.  I also won't be subscribing to the new web-based version -- I'll be content to keep what I have in my current DDI version and simply play with that.  For me, I have enough 4e material to play the game I want.  If WotC continues to make good enough products, this might change - but not for now.I'm a D&D fanboy - I love it.  There are good reasons for WotC to go this route, but on the other hand it does hinder people like myself from getting into the hobby - people who simply won't start playing if they know they'll have to keep a monthly subscription to generally make it possible.</blockquote>

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