What's With Paying for Previews???

[Ogrork the Mighty]

What's with the sudden shift by WotC to paying for previews? What's up with that?

First it was the Dungeon Survival Guide (which is anything but) and now the two new preview books for 4E.

Let me get this straight, you want us to pay to preview 4E??? How about WotC showcases 4E to win over its fanbase.

Every comment I've heard about the Dungeon Survival Guide was that it's a ripoff. So with that in mind, am I going to spend money on preview products? I don't think so!

This is the type of "marketing" behaviour that ends up encouraging people to rip off your product on the internet.

Bizarre strategy, IMO.

 

[Lackhand]

The contents of the books contain a mild psychic poison, causing one to become addicted to purchasing wizards' books.

The pages of the books themselves are imprinted with *most* of the antidote: They counteract the socially damaging parts of the disease, while leaving the basic drive in place. Blunted, but not removed.

Thus, pirates are exposing themselves to the worst part of the trap; those who handle the books without reading them in depth generally have very little urge to purchase more of them (leaving store clerks safely innoculated), and the Target Market will notice very little difference.


Other than, perhaps, occasional withdrawal symptoms.

 

[med stud]

This is a very effective marketing strategy. The ones who will buy it are most likely people who looks forward to 4e and they will go onto the message boards and tell everyone about the previews from a (probably) positive perspective.

 

[RigaMortus2]

Or you could, you know, not buy the product and continue to read sites such as ENWorld to get the latest info. You think the moment the Class/Race fluff books comes out, that people won't be posting on here, spilling the beans about what is in it?

I almost didn't have to buy the Star Wars SAGA book because some people got the book a few days early and started posting things word for word (only reason I got it was because I wanted a hard copy for myself

So, save your $30.00 and just continue to read ENWorld, especially around the time these books are released.

 

[GeorgeFields]

This is a very effective marketing strategy. The ones who will buy it are most likely people who looks forward to 4e and they will go onto the message boards and tell everyone about the previews from a (probably) positive perspective.

and are probably the same people handpicked from the message boards for play testing.

speculation, they only want the 4e fans to play test for them so they can be told how wonderful it is. I've not heard of ANYONE that has spoken anything negative at all about 4e become a play tester.

I know from experience that most negative comments from play testers get ignored. Mine were, anyway.

 

[Lurks-no-More]

speculation, they only want the 4e fans to play test for them so they can be told how wonderful it is. I've not heard of ANYONE that has spoken anything negative at all about 4e become a play tester.

They certainly won't want people who are dead-set from beginning to hate 4e, WotC and all that they represent.

More seriously, I think the playtesters are under non-disclosure agreements anyway, so you won't hear about them anyway.

 

[Vigilance]

Bizarre strategy, IMO.

Not entirely. There is a trend in marketing to actually target the hardest of the hardcore, and ask them to PAY you for it.

Another recent example of this would be the Madden Football pay per view special, which was basically an hour long ad for Madden, that cost 20 bucks.

In my experience, actually knowing someone who watched the Madden pay per view, everyone he knew was horrified by the concept, but he was THRILLED.

Based on comments I've seen about the preview books, it seems like something similar is happening. Those who intend to buy them are happy, everyone else is horrified.

The content in these preview books seems like it will be about what you'd find on a collector's edition DVD or in the collector's edition of a X-Box 360 game, just packaged differently.

Instead of releasing it at the same time, in a higher price point bundle (say, PHB for $30, PHB+Races and Classes for $40) they're selling them before the books are released as part of the marketing campaign.

If you want them, it's great. If you don't want them, it's still great. I really don't get people who are miffed by products being released they don't intend to buy.

That's what *I* consider bizarre about all this.

 

[GeorgeFields]

More seriously, I think the play testers are under non-disclosure agreements anyway, so you won't hear about them anyway.

Unless it has been changed since I had mine, we could let people know we were play testers; but we weren't allowed to discuss anything we were working on.

 

[Maggan]

I know from experience that most negative comments from play testers get ignored. Mine were, anyway.

You were a playtester for 3e I gather? Care to dig up your comments, and post them, so that we know what was ignored?

They could be pure gold, and if you're withholding them from us ... well, that'd be a shame.

EDIT: or, are you a playtester for 4e? Maybe it's time yet to WotC to heed your comments, since the books aren't printed yet.

/M

 

[Fifth Element]

This has been discussed previously; the horse is quite certainly dead.