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Message: <blockquote data-quote="breschau" data-source="post: 4155229" data-attributes="member: 52376">This is just proof that once maverick companies that end up on top go from being innovative to conservative. If you look at the other game companies you'll notice that many/most offer their pdfs at a discount compared to the pdfs. Green Ronin offers their pdfs before the print book, this helps catch errors and a chance to include errata from the pdf into the print copy. WotC needs to look to companies like this for guidance. There's no way people would buy the same book (physical and e) for the same price tag. It's easier to find it else where if that's the case. I prefer pdfs for the same reason as the blog, it's so much easier taking a single 5.5lbs laptop to a game than it is 50lbs of books. PDFs are searchable and I don't need internet access to use them. DDI instead of pdfs is stupid. It's worse than that, it's conservative business practice.1. I still can't access Gleemax regularly. 90% of the time I get the "We own your brain" message, or worse it tells me my user name and password are invalid. I have migrated my account and jumped through the hoops, but it still doesn't work. It's unreliable. There's no way in hell I'm ever paying for infrequent access to a Gleemax log-in based database of rules. I'd be better served by flushing the same money down the toilet, at least then one or two bills my float back up.2. Reasonably priced ebooks encourage legal purchasing. Overpriced or unavailable ebooks encourage illegal scanning and downloads. Whether you like ebooks or not, other people do. Many more people are willing to buy pdf copies than steal them. You can't argue that not releasing a pdf prevents scan/download, look at all the other WotC books "released" as pdfs. There are no official versions, but they're all over the place.Your argument is backward thinking. Reasonably priced pdfs prevent illegal downloads, not cause them. There will be pirates no matter what, so why punish those who would purchase legal ebooks? WotC is saying "no thank you, we don't want your money after all," if they offer overpriced pdfs or refuse to offer pdfs altogether. All they have to do is follow Paizo's personalized pdf scheme and you'd cut the illegals right out. Lock the pdf so it can't be edited, but allow searching, cutting and pasting. Not many people would offer themselves up for jail time with their real name and email address plastered on every page. That and WotC would have your credit card info, address, etc.Welcome to the 21st century, we have ebooks here.</blockquote>

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