What Makes Gaming Books as PDFs Desirable?

[Particle_Man]

1) price

2) Availability. I can get a pdf quicker than the hardcopy (sometimes the hardcopy won't be in my country for a while). And some hardcopies just can't be got, or not at any reasonable price.

3) If there is errata, a nice company will send a pdf patch or update to reflect this. As opposed to me scribbling into my hardcopy.

That said, I like hardcopies too, but then I don't own a laptop. Also, I think books are still easier on my eyes than computer screens.

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

Echoing some of the earlier responses:
Price is typically lower (and can be lower because of eliminating various physical costs)
PDFs allow older books to remain in print after they would be discontinued in a traditional model (but note Print On Demand as offering a similar value)
PDFs are easy to find on your computer, whereas it can sometimes be hard to find a copy of that one RPG book from long ago, and it's easy to bring all your PDFs with you.

 

[Umbran]

Long as you keep up your maintance it is not hard to keep your files forever.

Yes, but now we aren't just talking about having a file. Or having a file and backing it up. We are talking about having a file, backing it up, and remembering to maintain it. Anecdotally, most computer users aren't even bothering to do backups, much less remembering to go back and convert the format of backed up files five years later. Just sayin'.

Not that this means pdfs (or electronic formats in general) are dumb or anything. Just that they aren't without their own drawbacks in the long term.

 

[sjmiller]

What Makes Gaming Books as PDFs Desirable?

For me, the primary desire is as a backup for my physical books. If I am sitting at my computer and have an urge to look something up, I can view it quickly without having to search through my large RPG library to find it. Plus, I can print out a few pages for a player, if needed, and not have them constantly asking to use my books. I like having the PDFs as a secondary resource, though I can see why some might like it as a primary source, especially on long out of print books.

 

[olshanski]

1: Price (by a far margin)... I've bought many $5 PDFs that I'd never have shelled out $30 for the dead-tree version.
2: Availability... PDFs come very fast (within minutes of purchase), and I don't have to leave my computer... My FLGS doesn't always stock everything, and many stores take days to week to ship books.
3: Search/Cut/Paste... When I prep live sessions, or when I am running a PbP game, I like to be able to cut and paste portions into my own notes or into a post to show the other players.

 

[TheYeti1775]

Yes, but now we aren't just talking about having a file. Or having a file and backing it up. We are talking about having a file, backing it up, and remembering to maintain it. Anecdotally, most computer users aren't even bothering to do backups, much less remembering to go back and convert the format of backed up files five years later. Just sayin'.

Not that this means pdfs (or electronic formats in general) are dumb or anything. Just that they aren't without their own drawbacks in the long term.

I'd wager the majority who would shell out money for PDF's would go through the process. As the majority here are slightly more tech savy than the average computer user would be a safe bet.

 

[Prism]

Instant access. Whether I search and find the pdf book myself or get a recommendation from someone here on Enworld I can follow a link and buy and download. I'm far less likely to buy if I have to wait for a physical book to be posted.

Portability. I have them all on my netbook, phone and up in the cloud all nicely synced. Thank god I don't have to take books with me anymore. Saying that, we tend to use the compendium for quick access during the game

 

[Umbran]

As the majority here are slightly more tech savy than the average computer user would be a safe bet.

Maybe. But this isn't about being tech savvy. It is about long-term planning, execution, and risk management, something humans in general aren't good at.

(Anyway, sorry for the hijack)

 

[jimmifett]

You can clean the cheeto stains off your device, but not your books.

 

[IronWolf]

PDF -- a format specifically designed to maintain pagination (and thus unform printing) across platforms-- is an utterly ridiculous standard for e-books, and it's amazing that gamers have been so willing to embrace and defend it.

The PDF allows a consistent display across various OS's and platforms. This is a good thing as it means I can view it on any number of PCs, Laptops and operating systems and get the look and feel desired by the publisher. I am not sure I understand why PDF is not an acceptable format for this?

Granted - I don't view many PDFs on my phone, maybe this is something you do more of and why you find the PDF format more irritating?

I don't want to see the common format for electronic publishing fail to support multiple platforms.