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Where are the PDFs?
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<blockquote data-quote="Jester David" data-source="post: 6366292" data-attributes="member: 37579"><p>Some gamers will buy the physical books, and some will not. </p><p>Some gamers will buy the PDFs, and some will not. </p><p></p><p>I don't see PDFs cannibalizing print sales that much. If people want a physical copy of the book they will buy a physical copy of the book. If they don't then they don't; being able to buy a cheaper PDF doesn't cut into print sales. </p><p>I've purchased all of two PDFs over print books, and both cases it was to have access to a single option in the book for Pathfinder Society.</p><p>If you just want to look through a book once, just to read or see what it includes, this isn't something you want to pay full price for, as you're not making full use of the book. Pre-PDFs this would be books you just borrowed from a friend, or found in a library. I felt that way about half of 4th Edition; I wanted a look through the book but it didn't need to join my shelf since it was unlikely to be used. </p><p></p><p></p><p>If a PDF is cheap, then it replaces the borrowing. Dropping $5-10 for a book is close to "impulse purchase" prices. </p><p>If a PDF is expensive, then this ceases to be an option. </p><p></p><p>As for piracy... this is tricky. People will always be willing to drop a few bucks for a game they enjoy. If it's just curiosity or a desire to read but unable to borrow. Or possibly a collector's need to see what's in every book and have access to all the content. That's when piracy comes in. </p><p>I'll admit to some of this during late 3e and 4e, when I knew I'd never get use out of the content I already had, let alone new content. I just wanted to see what the new options were in more detail than browsing in a store. Would I have paid $10 for a glance at the books instead? Maybe. </p><p></p><p>For example, right now there's no way I'm buying Hoard of the Dragon Queen. Too pricey for something I'll never use, even if it has new backgrounds and PC content. There's too many adventures I already have. I ran Dragonlance for PF a couple years back and I have <em>Red Hand of Doom</em>. I don't need Tyranny of Dragons. But....</p><p>But I might be willing to drop $10-15 for a PDF. Just to read. Satisfy that curiosity, get a few extra monsters or encounter ideas, or just to review the book on my blog. </p><p></p><p></p><p>Personally, I think convenience trumps piracy. </p><p>My music piracy dropped dramatically when I could just purchase individual songs for a buck off iTunes. Paying $20 for an entire CD with one good song was irritating, so the price was right. And it was easier just searching iTunes on the couch or at work rather than having to get to my desktop box and browse Demonoid. </p><p>Ditto streaming. Once I could Video-On-Demand shows I missed or movies, I stopped downloading that content. And once Doctor Who started airing here at the same time as the UK that helped even more. Plus Netflix. Why find a torrent when I can just Netflix it?</p><p></p><p>The days of not being able to find content online are far, far over. I remember seeing 3.0 books on KaZaA (or something). If someone doesn't want to pay $50 for a book they won't. Those are not lost sales, they're nonexistent sales. </p><p>The money that is being lost is the people who would have bought the PDF, who would have turned to the convenience of downloading from a reliable source, even if it means some DRM or watermarking. </p><p>If they can't buy the book easily they'll turn to piracy. And then they become a harder sale because they kinda sorta already have the content and they put the time into finding it, which involves the sunk cost fallacy. </p><p>Piracy takes some time. Good watermarks are hard to remove. People are willing to pay 30-50% more for the PHB just to get it early. Similarly, people will pay $10 rather than $0 for the ability to get the PDF right away rather than wait for a scrubbed copy. </p><p></p><p></p><p>There's also organized play. Which should not be forgotten.</p><p>PFS requires that you bring along a hard copy OR a watermarked PDF under your name. If the Adventurer's League play takes off, this might be a nice requirement.</p><p>Not being required to carry your entire gaming library to and from a game is nice. I love my PDFs for that. Carrying my PHB around GenCon for 3/4 of the convention was death on my shoulder, compared to the dozen PF books contained within my iPad.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Jester David, post: 6366292, member: 37579"] Some gamers will buy the physical books, and some will not. Some gamers will buy the PDFs, and some will not. I don't see PDFs cannibalizing print sales that much. If people want a physical copy of the book they will buy a physical copy of the book. If they don't then they don't; being able to buy a cheaper PDF doesn't cut into print sales. I've purchased all of two PDFs over print books, and both cases it was to have access to a single option in the book for Pathfinder Society. If you just want to look through a book once, just to read or see what it includes, this isn't something you want to pay full price for, as you're not making full use of the book. Pre-PDFs this would be books you just borrowed from a friend, or found in a library. I felt that way about half of 4th Edition; I wanted a look through the book but it didn't need to join my shelf since it was unlikely to be used. If a PDF is cheap, then it replaces the borrowing. Dropping $5-10 for a book is close to "impulse purchase" prices. If a PDF is expensive, then this ceases to be an option. As for piracy... this is tricky. People will always be willing to drop a few bucks for a game they enjoy. If it's just curiosity or a desire to read but unable to borrow. Or possibly a collector's need to see what's in every book and have access to all the content. That's when piracy comes in. I'll admit to some of this during late 3e and 4e, when I knew I'd never get use out of the content I already had, let alone new content. I just wanted to see what the new options were in more detail than browsing in a store. Would I have paid $10 for a glance at the books instead? Maybe. For example, right now there's no way I'm buying Hoard of the Dragon Queen. Too pricey for something I'll never use, even if it has new backgrounds and PC content. There's too many adventures I already have. I ran Dragonlance for PF a couple years back and I have [I]Red Hand of Doom[/I]. I don't need Tyranny of Dragons. But.... But I might be willing to drop $10-15 for a PDF. Just to read. Satisfy that curiosity, get a few extra monsters or encounter ideas, or just to review the book on my blog. Personally, I think convenience trumps piracy. My music piracy dropped dramatically when I could just purchase individual songs for a buck off iTunes. Paying $20 for an entire CD with one good song was irritating, so the price was right. And it was easier just searching iTunes on the couch or at work rather than having to get to my desktop box and browse Demonoid. Ditto streaming. Once I could Video-On-Demand shows I missed or movies, I stopped downloading that content. And once Doctor Who started airing here at the same time as the UK that helped even more. Plus Netflix. Why find a torrent when I can just Netflix it? The days of not being able to find content online are far, far over. I remember seeing 3.0 books on KaZaA (or something). If someone doesn't want to pay $50 for a book they won't. Those are not lost sales, they're nonexistent sales. The money that is being lost is the people who would have bought the PDF, who would have turned to the convenience of downloading from a reliable source, even if it means some DRM or watermarking. If they can't buy the book easily they'll turn to piracy. And then they become a harder sale because they kinda sorta already have the content and they put the time into finding it, which involves the sunk cost fallacy. Piracy takes some time. Good watermarks are hard to remove. People are willing to pay 30-50% more for the PHB just to get it early. Similarly, people will pay $10 rather than $0 for the ability to get the PDF right away rather than wait for a scrubbed copy. There's also organized play. Which should not be forgotten. PFS requires that you bring along a hard copy OR a watermarked PDF under your name. If the Adventurer's League play takes off, this might be a nice requirement. Not being required to carry your entire gaming library to and from a game is nice. I love my PDFs for that. Carrying my PHB around GenCon for 3/4 of the convention was death on my shoulder, compared to the dozen PF books contained within my iPad. [/QUOTE]
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