Re: Value for money
Al'Kelhar said:
Wrestling with my kids on the lounge room floor; hmm, what's the cost of food, nappies, clothing, day care, externalities (irritating in-laws coming over, sleepless nights, suffering childhood diseases you should've caught when you were a kid, but didn't etc.)?
Those costs are unrelated to wrestling. How about gas money going to and from games? Snack expenses? The long term health expenses from eating all of those tons of fat and sugar over the years directly because of gaming (how do you affix a cost to shortening your lifespan by a couple of months, anyway)? The wear and tear on your shoes and clothing that wouldn't have occured if you were at home wearing pajamas? Oh, and how about medical expenses so you can stay alive and healthy long enough to play your next game?
Furthermore, I don't spend all that money on my children just so I can have the benefit of wrestling with them on the living room floor, unlike the expenses I mentioned above which can actually be directly attributed to gaming (except for the last one of course

). The expenses you mentioned are the cost of raising children whether or not I wrestle with them. If I raised my children solely for the purpose of wrestling with them, I think it would be time for me to re-evaluate my fatherhood.
This only serves to highlight my point though. Comparing D&D books to a movie is completely irrelevant just like comparing D&D books to wrestling with my children is. They are all based on completely different economic models and there are so many variables that it's irrelevant. What about the fact that the cost is only for 25% new material, thus making the true cost of this purchase closer to $360 in value per dollar?
Furthermore, the price/value of something does not have a direct correlation to the number of hours you spend enjoying something. The price/value of something is based on subjective matters of perceived value, competition, restricted availability, production and distribution method, economy of scale, advertising costs, etc. -- ultimately it's what the market will bear. If we had to pay $10 per person for every two hours of roleplaying gaming, roleplaying would pretty much completely die out as a market. I can pretty much guarantee you that. I wouldn't play anymore myself. It does not have the same perceived value per hour as going to movies does.
Comparisons along these lines have very little meaning in a direct hour-per-hour comparison.