Pathfinder 1E Paizo sets price of Pathfinder RPG PDF at $9.99!!!!!

[Hunter In Darkness]

Lisa Stevens Paizo's Ceo said the fallowing on their boards

It took me a while to understand the necessity of pricing the PDF at the lower price. And I firmly believe that this won't harm a brick and mortar retailer one iota. Why? Because gamers fall into two camps: those like you and I who love to have dead-tree versions of our games and those who are strictly in the digital realm. Sure, there are folks who like the ability to have both versions (and our subscription practices are aimed at them), but they are mainly dead-tree lovers. Folks who will only buy a PDF were never a customer of the dead-tree version. Many of those folks would have downloaded a free digital version from one of the many pirate websites. Some of them probably still will. But by keeping the PDF price low, it encourages people to check out the PDF legally and because the price is low enough, they are more likely to go the legal route than pirating the digital copy. Also, it is a great way for a customer to preview the game and see if they like it. If they do, I bet that they will end up buying a print copy somewhere, whether it is at a FLGS or online. Without the inexpensive PDF, we probably never would have had the chance to sell a print copy to that person.

Another thing to think about is that the game is open content. Within a very short amount of time of release, I expect the Pathfinder RPG rules to be available for free on various wiki pages. So you can basically play the PFRPG and never pay a penny. With the inexpensive PDF, you might just decide to get the much prettier version instead of just using the wiki. That makes the Pathfinder Core Rulebook a weird duck in regards to the PDFs and pricing and such. There is definitely a big value to the print verson of the core rulebook. Unless you own your own printing facility or can run off high-def copies at work, it is cheaper to buy the print book than to buy the PDF and print it off yourself. Trust me, we needed some early copies of the book ourselves and the B&W printings were more expensive than the core rulebook MSRP.

I have to admit that this whole low-pricing scheme for the core rulebook is a bit of an experiment. My feeling is that it will feed the base of people who play the PFRPG and drive many of them to buy the print version somewhere. Also, I think we will see less pirated copies when the PDF is reasonably priced. Only time will tell whether this was a good move or not, but my gut tells me that it is.

Whew, that was a lot of typing. Thoughts?

-Lisa

 

[Cadfan]

I think that's a load of nonsense.

I know for a fact that Lisa's divisions of gamers into two camps, the "love to have dead-tree versions" camp and the "strictly in the digital realm" camp, misses at least a few people. I know this because I, personally, fall into camp three: people who sometimes buy electronic and sometimes buy hardcopy, depending on the item in question and the relative price. For example, if an RPG book I wanted to buy were available for $40 in hardcopy, and $40 for electronic, I'd buy hardcopy. But if it were $40 for hardcopy and $20 for electronic, I'm not sure which I'd buy. And if it were $40 for hardcopy and $10 for electronic, I'd definitely buy electronic.

Now its possible that I am a total freak of nature and possibly not even human. After all, I generally prefer books but never bought the core 3e books because the SRD is free- a format decision that Lisa, and this thread apparently, believe shouldn't be possible. So maybe I'm some sort of strange, alien being who can't understand how people can deny the relevancy of price point for format choice because my extra terrestrial brain lacks the human psychology that would be necessary for me to understand. It is possible that REAL homo sapiens make their purchases based purely on format concerns, without ever considering choosing one format over another based on issues like cost. That's possible. Economics says its not, but whatever. Economics, schmeconomics.

I just doubt it. A lot.

(Let me reiterate, again, so I don't get flamed, that I think its great that Paizo offers multiple formats of their products at multiple price points based on format choice. As someone who considers different formats depending on issues like price, multiple formats at varying price points is a wonderful, wonderful thing.)

 

[Twowolves]

Now its possible that I am a total freak of nature and possibly not even human. After all, I generally prefer books but never bought the core 3e books because the SRD is free- a format decision that Lisa, and this thread apparently, believe shouldn't be possible.

I don't understand your comment here. Are you saying Lisa doesn't think an SRD should be free? She says in her quote above that she expects several Pathfinder wikis to spring up soon after launch, and she said nothing about trying to shut them down, ergo she does NOT in fact have a problem with a "free SRD" (-ish) document.

 

[Festivus]

If you have $10, you won't need to!

I'll have $10 if someone takes me up on the bet!

 

[TheFindus]

I know for a fact that Lisa's divisions of gamers into two camps, the "love to have dead-tree versions" camp and the "strictly in the digital realm" camp, misses at least a few people. I know this because I, personally, fall into camp three: people who sometimes buy electronic and sometimes buy hardcopy, depending on the item in question and the relative price. For example, if an RPG book I wanted to buy were available for $40 in hardcopy, and $40 for electronic, I'd buy hardcopy. But if it were $40 for hardcopy and $20 for electronic, I'm not sure which I'd buy. And if it were $40 for hardcopy and $10 for electronic, I'd definitely buy electronic.

Yup, that's me, too. I will buy the pdf-version of the rules although I will probably not play with them. Since the price is so low (about 7€, who can say no to that?) I will look at the book and see how it turned out.

Generally, I think this is a smart move, too. After all, the new rules version by Paizo might turn into the new standard of all those who still want to play 3.x. And Paizo can use that system for free, thanks to the OGL and WotC. I am sure the people at Paizo still thank WotC every day for the OGL. And the GSL, because it made their choice to stay with 3.x much easier after seeing the full development of the edition war.

If the new rules really take off, Paizo might be able to establish themselves as THE competitor to WotC. I could be wrong about that, though, sizewise.

 

[Cadfan]

I don't understand your comment here. Are you saying Lisa doesn't think an SRD should be free? She says in her quote above that she expects several Pathfinder wikis to spring up soon after launch, and she said nothing about trying to shut them down, ergo she does NOT in fact have a problem with a "free SRD" (-ish) document.

No, I'm not saying that. You totally misunderstood my post. Read it again.

The thing that shouldn't be possible, according to her, is for me to weigh the positive of hardcopy versus the negative of higher price, and make my decision based on a balancing act between the two. Her dichotomy doesn't allow for people tho choose one format over the other based on price.

That's the entire point of her post, and I think its wrong.

 

[darjr]

This is very smart.

She is correct about the rules being free anyway. I kept thinking that reading this thread. I'll try that route to try the game, and never get the PDF. If I find myself playing a lot, I'll consider buying the book.

 

[Hunter In Darkness]

well to be fair Lisa was repleying to another poster's points. I did not include his post, my mistake

 

[GMSkarka]

I'm sure this will irritate some game stores, and I'm sure we'll hear about it, on the internet.

I'm also sure that I, for one, couldn't care less.

Let me tell you a little story:

This past April, at the GAMA Trade Show in Las Vegas, immediately following the whole WOTC pulls PDFs/Marcus King/Green Ronin spat, I ran a free seminar, entitled "Games Publishing and Retail for the New Media."

The stated purpose of the seminar was to present methods by which *everyone*, publisher and retailer alike, could make money via the changing new media paradigm in this industry.

It was scheduled in the space in between two WOTC seminars, detailing their release plans for MTG and D&D. Scheduled in the same room, in fact -- so the only effort that retailers would need to undertake was: Stay in their seats.

We had ONE (count 'em: 1) retailer attend.


The retailers attending GTS are supposed to be some of the best in the country, and even they couldn't be arsed to learn about how to make money from PDF sales and other forms of electronic delivery.

If they represent the best, what do you think the majority of the (let's be honest -- pitifully few) remaining retailers are like?

It's like the old saying -- except in this case, not only will the horses not drink, but they can't even be led to water.


So, really -- at this point, who cares what they think about PDFs? Most are going to stick to running their "Android's Dungeon" clubhouses until they inevitably go under, still complaining about how they were left behind by changes in the marketplace... Changes in which they've had every opportunity to take part, but ignored.

 

[Qualidar]

Now its possible that I am a total freak of nature and possibly not even human. After all, I generally prefer books but never bought the core 3e books because the SRD is free- a format decision that Lisa, and this thread apparently, believe shouldn't be possible.

I don't think that it's that you don't exist, it's that you are not a part of a statistically significant minority.