Sooo, that's my players certain not to be subscribing to DDI...

[dogoftheunderworld]

I got the impression that the Rules Database was more a part of Character creation, but I suppose it would have to be available to the DM for monsters/encounters as well. I still doubt that it will even be as good as an electronic SRD as far as a replacement for owning the books, but who knows...
"Value" is very subjective, so I will just add that Wizards' current electronic environment does not instill confidence.

 

[Mephistopheles]

The price is not unreasonable when based upon some previous expectations such as the amount and quality of content in Dragon and Dungeon.

One thing to keep in mind is that recent memory of those two magazines is attributable to Paizo and not WotC. One consideration I have when considering this is that the quantity and quality of the online delivery will be comparable to what I had become used to in Dragon and Dungeon in recent years (which was, in my opinion, pretty high on both counts). I like to think WotC can certainly deliver on the quality but the quantity is certainly in doubt at this point, at least judging by the preview.

The other issue for me and probably lot of others is availability of the online services. Considering that this is an international service the facilities potentially need to be available 24/7 with no outages. If a group in a particular country can only fit in an online session on Tuesday nights in their local time but that happens to be some ungodly hour in the US that WotC has selected for maintenance downtime they could be out of luck.

Assuming I do end up playing 4E I would like to have access to what they're saying will be available and I think the price is not unreasonable for what is advertised. I definitely will not sign up until they've had some time to demonstrate the issues I've listed above aren't problems for me. Mind you, I'm not sure how I can judge the content unless I do subscribe, it's not like I can flip through the magazine to see what the standard is before I buy it.

Time will tell on this one I think.

 

[The Little Raven]

I suspect that they're benchmarking World of Warcraft, which also costs $15 per month, and I also suspect that this is not targeted at long-time RPG players. I can see the appeal: "So it's kind of like WOW, I play it online with people from all over, but I can do literally anything? That's pretty cool!"

Except that it's actually nothing like WoW, since there is no actual game to play, nor is it something you can simply play for a short while and walk away from at any time (which is WoW's biggest appeal: you can break up progression into bites as small as it takes for you to eat through it all). It's also funny to think that additional material is something aimed at new players, when the long-time players were the ones more likely to subscribe to Dragon/Dungeon, buy miniatures, and all that.

They just released that the Internet is the future of news and communication, so why not tie that into the development of their game to improve feedback and revisions.

 

[carmachu]

The pricing is ridiculous. I am not a 4e basher - quite looking forward to seeing how it advances the franchise if truth be told as I was never the greatest fan on 3.5e, but charging $120 a year to subscribe to a gaming website is just insane!

If that pricing is "per participant", then a standard party of 4 + GM could be looking at $600 a year to game online using the DDI. WOW!

Remember folks, its not JUST $120 a year. Its $120 PLUS the couple of dollars($2-$5) per book to add to the group/player.......

PLus miniatures I believe as well.

 

[dm4hire]

You know if they would bundle it in with DDO then that would make it very worth while. Play D&D online old school with a virtual table top or play the MMO all in one price then they would definitely sale it. More bang for the buck. As presented it just isn't very desirable for those who cannot afford it or want all the aspects they think justify the expense. Those who are isolated would most likely prefer to play with a group if they could work things out to sit with a group or find the players instead of playing online. If they could sit down with all their friends who live hundreds of miles away instead of playing with them online they'd be there. WotC is trying to sell something which should be aimed at getting people to meet in real life instead of over the web. D&D is more about the socializing than about the game itself, sitting across the table cracking jokes and describing what your character is doing in the heat of battle.

 

[The Little Raven]

You know if they would bundle it in with DDO then that would make it very worth while.

Except they don't own DDO so have no control over it, and they'd have to work out a deal with Turbine that would probably be more trouble than it's worth.

WotC is trying to sell something which should be aimed at getting people to meet in real life instead of over the web.

They're offering something for people that can't meet in real life.

 

[Henry]

Of any of the things I do or don't like about the new game, the DDI pricing is one I see no problem with. In this day and age, 10 bucks a month is a very doable and reasonable price. People will spend FAR more on cigarettes, a meal out instead of cooking, an impulse buy in a store, or an online computer game subscription. Ten bucks a month isn't a bat of an eyelash to most people.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

Yeah, hell I am going to be living on my own next year AND going to College in Toronto (average rent there is anywhere from $800-$1000 a month) and I consider that a reasonable price I may very well pay, it simply means I use the subway a little less, or don't order pizza one night.

 

[Geek-Zilla]

I think we will get a better opinion what the value of DDI is when it goes open beta, but still...$120 a year does seem a little steep for what it currently appears to be. Granted having access to all the manuals and future splat-books, the service could "pay" for itself in the short-term. It's just that software as a service doesn't fair that well here in the USA...people like to own stuff, and not be "taxed" when using it.

Now on a tangent, I think WoTC is really missing an opportunity with DDI/Gleemax. I firmly believe that one of the reasons why DnD has been a success is because of community creativity. Remember the old AD&D Slavers series (A1-4) from TSR? If I recall it was a RPGA tourney from Gen Con back in the day. Look at some of the quality of products from third-party publishers...some of it is pretty damn impressive. On the digital front, NWN had a huge Mod community publishing adventures for that program. The point being, if WoTC wants to charge $120/yr for software as a service, they need to show the subscriber the value of that subscription....or as they say ROI , Return Of Investment.

WoTC mentioned micro-transactions, why not micro-transactions for subscribers? Got a kickass adventure? No problem, as a paying subscriber I use DDI to create the module, then upload it to Gleemax (or wherever). This module is a PDF that can be purchased by anyone (no subscrition to DDI needed), for let's say $10.00. WoTC gets $5.00 for each sale, and the author get's $5.00 for each sale. Now we are talking about empowering the DnD community...if only 24 people purchase said adventure module, that subscriber's DDI subscription has paid for itself. ROI !

Ultimately...this is how you sell software as a service.

 

[Silvergriffon]

Remember folks, its not JUST $120 a year. Its $120 PLUS the couple of dollars($2-$5) per book to add to the group/player.......

PLus miniatures I believe as well.

The "unlock the book" option has been scrapped. Subscribers get 100% access to ALL the rules in the database from every book as it is released whether you own it or not. Non-Subscribers will be able to use any rule while creating a character, but will have the rule text replaced with the book name and page number.

PDFs will still be available, but it will be a separate product altogether. It will not matter if you are a DDI subscriber or if you own a physical copy of the book.

All subscribers will get the entire library of 2D minis and a starter set of tiles. As a limited time offer, all initial subscribers will also get the full collection of 3D minis and 2D/3D tiles.