Repositioning the "Wizards Presents:" books
- Thread starter Matthan
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The Little Raven
First Post
Devyn said:
Well, as the Collector's Edition costs more than the regular edition, you are paying for it. Just like you pay for advertisements any time you buy a magazine, subscribe to cable television, go and see a movie in theatres, or even ride public transportation (since many locales now sell ad-space on public buses/trolleys).
The Little Raven
First Post
Imaro said:
Nice strawman attempt, but that doesn't invalidate my point at all.
Any magazine you buy has at least 25% of it's page count devoted to ads (only a rare few don't). Thus, any magazine you buy has you paying for advertisements. If you pay for a cable TV subscription, you've got dozens of channels with advertisements running all the time. If you go to the movies, there is a whole little "pre-show entertainment" segment that is just chock full of ads. In some cities, if you ride the bus, you've got a bunch of ads plastered on the side.
Thus, your money is going towards things that provide you with advertisements, and thus, you are paying for advertisements.
The Little Raven
First Post
Imaro said:
I disagree. It's more like the Rivan Codex in comparison to the Belgariad/Mallorean.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rivan_Codex
The Rivan Codex helps you understand why David Eddings built the Belgariad/Mallorean the way he did, and shows you how he shaped the individual pieces that make them up. It provides insight into the setting and characters through essays and notes compiled by him.
That's exactly how these preview books have been described.
Zamkaizer
First Post
Imaro said:
When you watch a movie at the cinema, you are essentially paying to see a two hour long advertisement for the films DVD release, as that's market in which studios earn most of their profits. And the theater itself? Their revenue comes from concessions, not tickets.
Thing is, just because something is an advertisment, which most media is or is designed around, it doesn't mean it lacks merit in it's own right.
Mourn said:
Well, I've been honest with my thoughts on the books as presented. I am actually interested in reading them, but the price point for my perceived value doesn't quite work at the moment. I'm open to being persuaded. But, I don't feel like your point actually brings much to the table here. In a magazine, the ads help keep the cost down. Even with cable tv, the ads supplement (and probably provide the majority of) the stations' income, and keep prices lower than they would be. Same thing with movies. I assume the same with buses. Generally speaking, advertisements in media tend to bring in revenue and keep the cost of entry low. That's why magazines push such low rate subscriptions. If they have you locked as a statistical "reader", they can sell their ad space based on how many people are seeing it. It's in their best interest to keep that number high. Now there are other factors that play into it, sure, but there is a sharp difference between paying for something that you want that includes ads and buying ads alone.
The problem, as I see it, is that the audience is seeing these books as nothing more than ads. I don't believe that to be the case, but it will take Wizards making some drastic shifts and revealing some content (and hopefully, throwing in some incentives) to get people to rethink that notion (whether that notion is accurate or not).
Personally, from hindsight, I think the word preview on the books may have sunk them in the audience's eyes before they even had a chance. They should have given them some kind of different descriptor.
ZappoHisbane
First Post
Mourn said:
Uh, no. The advertisers pay the publishers to include their ads. Thus, the advertisers are subsidizing the magazines or newspapers. If those ads were not there, you'd have to pay far more to get the actual content you're interested in.
[edit: Matthan said it faster and better than me.
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