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<blockquote data-quote="Balesir" data-source="post: 5532537" data-attributes="member: 27160">I don't think I could disagree more.&nbsp; The character builder, whether online or off, has almost a zero marginal cost to WotC (i.e. it costs money to develop, but adding one more user costs close to nothing).&nbsp; As such, any revenue from each user is a bonus - it offsets the cost of giving it to that user and a (possibly tiny) part of the development cost.&nbsp; This means that getting as many users paying for it as possible makes sense; you don't do that by supplying something that is inferior in convenience, functionality and adaptability and with less assured future value than something the pirates could supply or that users could, with some investment of time, make for themselves.Spreadsheet character builders existed before the online CB, and they're creeping back now.&nbsp; I, for one, will not use any tool that an invested party (like Wizards) can yank away at any time to suit their marketing plans.&nbsp; Other alternatives to the online CB exist.The way to make a successful electronic product in the modern age is to make the best, most convenient, most adaptable piece of software you can for paying customers.&nbsp; If that means pirates can pirate it, so be it - shaping your business around pirates is essentially an admission of defeat.&nbsp; Businesses aren't there to 'beat pirates' - they are there to make money by providing paying customers with something they are happy to pay for.&nbsp; It really is that simple.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Balesir, post: 5532537, member: 27160"] I don't think I could disagree more. The character builder, whether online or off, has almost a zero [B]marginal[/B] cost to WotC (i.e. it costs money to develop, but [I]adding one more user[/I] costs close to nothing). As such, [I]any[/I] revenue from each user is a bonus - it offsets the cost of giving it to that user and a (possibly tiny) part of the development cost. This means that getting as many users paying for it as possible makes sense; you don't do that by supplying something that is inferior in convenience, functionality and adaptability and with less assured future value than something the pirates could supply or that users could, with some investment of time, make for themselves. Spreadsheet character builders existed before the online CB, and they're creeping back now. I, for one, will not use any tool that an invested party (like Wizards) can yank away at any time to suit their marketing plans. Other alternatives to the online CB exist. The way to make a successful electronic product in the modern age is to make the best, most convenient, most adaptable piece of software you can for paying customers. If that means pirates can pirate it, so be it - shaping your business around pirates is essentially an admission of defeat. Businesses aren't there to 'beat pirates' - they are there to make money by providing paying customers with something they are happy to pay for. It really is that simple. [/QUOTE]

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