Paying for previews... sigh

[Rechan]

I think this also points out that the preview books are not a brochure or a commercial for D&D 4. It's extra material. It's the "Directors Commentary". You can't sell a commentary in hope of motivating people to see a movie or buy a DVD. But you can sell the commentary to people that are interested in the movie or DVD.

This.

The designer notes, and the history of the edition's creation, is the interesting bit for me. The "Why we did this" and "How we did this" and "What we did that didn't work".

It's "Behind the scenes" of game creation.

And it's condensed into one place, rather than having to comb through half a dozen blogs, and a score of posts on each. Or keeping track of all the updates and all the hints, from the podcasts to the leaks.

 

[Umbran]

I cant believe ...

Okay, no insult at all intended here - but your belief is not required for it to be reality. Nor does you lack of belief make the reality unreasonable to the wider audience. To the independent thinkers here, even Mr. Gygax's disbelief would not carry such weight.

Rather than rail against the reality as if it should not be true, perhaps it would be more constructive for us to look at and think about the reality, and see if we can draw information out of it, to better understand the RPG market in which we operate.

 

[Remathilis]

::Blink::

DID NOBODY PAY FOR A DRAGON SUBSCRIPITON DURING THE YEAR-LONG 2e->3e TRANSITION?

Isn't that paying for a preview? WotC didn't give the 3e previews away for nothing...

 

[Sir Brennen]

I think the problem is many people who think it's "just a preview" aren't fully aware of the actual contents of the book. They think "why pay 20 bucks for the 10% of material that I'll get when I pay 40 bucks for the whole thing later?" As has been shown in this thread, it's not really a preview so much as a "making of" special, like you might see on a cable channel right before a movie comes out. In terms of fluff and design, it's got deleted and extended scenes you won't see in the final book.

I too enjoy the commentary, even discussions of the art direction the new edition is taking. It was a worthwhile purchase (from Thalmin's store, to boot. )

Also, there is quite a bit of additional fluff, particularly the intro sections for each race, which will not appear in the PHB. It's already made me stop and think more about the origins of the species in my own homebrew. I look forward to more such info in the Worlds and Monsters book.

 

[Wolfspider]

::Blink::

DID NOBODY PAY FOR A DRAGON SUBSCRIPITON DURING THE YEAR-LONG 2e->3e TRANSITION?

Not me....

 

[Wolfspider]

I think the problem is many people who think it's "just a preview" aren't fully aware of the actual contents of the book. They think "why pay 20 bucks for the 10% of material that I'll get when I pay 40 bucks for the whole thing later?" As has been shown in this thread, it's not really a preview so much as a "making of" special, like you might see on a cable channel right before a movie comes out. In terms of fluff and design, it's got deleted and extended scenes you won't see in the final book.

I too enjoy the commentary, even discussions of the art direction the new edition is taking. It was a worthwhile purchase (from Thalmin's store, to boot. )

Also, there is quite a bit of additional fluff, particularly the intro sections for each race, which will not appear in the PHB. It's already made me stop and think more about the origins of the species in my own homebrew. I look forward to more such info in the Worlds and Monsters book.

Thank you for describing what's in the book in this detailed way. It was very helpful.

Now I really am convinced it's not my cup of tea.

I love DVD extras. I love the behind the scene interviews and FX specials. Of course, I do actually get a complete movie to go with all that stuff, so even better. I doubt I would buy these DVD extras if they were sold seperate from the movie. It's the same way with the contents of these preview books.

Also, with the 4e fluff revealed so far failing to stimulate my imagination, why would I want more of the same?

 

[adembroski]

I'm a shameless capitalist, and applaud WotC's understanding of it's own target audience and it's ability to capitalize on such. I personally will not pay for previews, but I see nothing wrong with their creativity in creating a revenue stream. If I had an abundance of disposable income, I'd buy them. As it is, I have a few other optional purchases that take precedent.

Let go of your belief that WotC exists to provide you with gaming material. It exists to make money. This is not a bad thing. In the process of making money, it DOES provide you with gaming materials, it also provides many people with jobs, it provides middle class families with stock holdings a few extra bucks every year. It creates wealth in general, which benefits us all at some level, gamers or otherwise.

 

[mhensley]

I enjoyed reading it so it was worth the money to me. And I will be buying the next one as well.

 

[Gundark]

Kicks dead horse.

Squeezes Stone for Water.

Yup. A subject that's had many a moan about it.
.

Yup well said!!

Anyhow, the designers said the book was written for people who like to buy the special edition of x movie with all the extra features, interviews, commentaries, etc. This kinda stuff appeals to some but not all. I think WotC knew this when they created the prefiew books.

 

[Ahglock]

I never buy me some T-shirts either, no sir those tings are adverts why should I pay to advertise for some one else.

I have no large desire to get it, but if I had seen one while Christmas shopping yesterday I would of bought one for myself as a small treat for my shopping trip.