I am not sure you are getting what I am saying. My kids do not want books. They want to view it on their iPads, or whatever digital device that holds a couple of hundred books. That is the difference. They carry around the equivailant of 100 CDs with them if they want. They don't want to carry around those 100 CDs like we had to. They don't want to take a stack of books in a bookbag, they want to take their kindle, iPad, iPhone, netbook, or whatever it is.
That is the problem. It is the medium. It has to be available to them somehow, or they just won't bother, or if they really want it, they will get it.
They do not care about the companies profits. They hear about it, or see it on the WotC site and in this day and age expect to be able to buy it digital, and then download it NOW and start reading about it. They do not want to order it from Amazon and get it in a week or get their parents to take them to the local store to get it. (Heck, I can't even get parents to drive their kids over to my house (I live in a ruralish area) and pick them up. We go and get them and then take them home!)
WotC has to get to where the music industry is somehow. PDFs is one way, or DDI is another. If you go the DDI way - the entire book has to be available and it has to be available on multiple devices. iPhones, iTouchs, iPads, Android phones and tablets I think are the future. The book industry is going to feel the pain the music industry did if they do not co-operate and give the new generation what they want.
Here's the problem, so you can understand what I'm trying to explain.
Step 1: Make PDFs.
Step 2: ??????
Step 3: PROFIT!
The issue is not the demand for PDFs. The issue is how to make digital distribution profitable, and a reasonable way to make it so that digital distribution can be -marketed- so that the product the medium is used to convey can be sold.
Notice-- Digital Distribution. Not PDFs, necessarily.
So far, you've got the 'make PDFs' part down, and clearly, the goal is profit.
But how do you get the digital product into the hands of people who do not know it exists, and have no emotional connection to the product?
How do you -sell- it? Digital distribution requires digital money. Are these kids going around with credit cards? I have no idea, but I doubt Citibank's handing those things to anyone who makes 20 bucks a week allowance. Or whatever it is these days. Do online sources take Interac?
How do you get people to -want- your product? How do you introduce them to the idea? The kids -are- going into stores to buy their Magic cards or Yugi-oh or whatever.
The easiest way to sell a game is to have someone play it. To do that requires someone to play it with them, and that's an advantage a computer screen does not have.
So, I agree. Digital Distribution is a great idea and concept.
How do you -monetize- it? How do you -sell- it, and how do you use it to open up new markets? That last one is the most important point, and necessary for the entire industry. If WoTC goes down, so goes down the rest of the industry unless something can take its place.