Comparable Web Content Subscriptions - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Comparable Web Content Subscriptions

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
Elendur
Oct 14, 2008 1:53:43 With the launch of the paid-for D&D insider emminent, I thought I'd look around to see what other online content subscriptions were going for.

The wall street journal online costs $89 a year, but oddly only costs $99 for online print. So I guess you could say it's $10 extra with a newspaper subscription.

Encylopedia Britannica costs $69 a year.

Gamespot costs $3.33 or $1.66 a month for their premium content, whatever that is. (Please don't patronize Gamespot folks, they are editorially corrupt.)

Consumer Reports is $20 a year or $5.95 for one month. This is a good deal to me because you can just get the one month to do your research on cars or whatever and then quit.

Gametap is $60 bucks a year. It's a video game subscription service, not editorial content. Many casual game sites and "free" MMO's have this level of subscription as well.

Fileplanet is $40 or $60 dollars a year.

Seems like $60 a year is about standard, although I had a hard time finding any actual online magazines. And I can't make a direct comparison because I don't subscribe to any of these services, and don't know anyone who does. That might be the most telling. D&D insider is priced appropriately for a market that doesn't really exist.
#2
Mock
Oct 14, 2008 8:35:26 The only online magazine that popped into my head immediately was Salon, which is $45+ per year (that includes some freebie stuff, it seems, but $45 seems to be the "base price").
#3
whitebaron
Oct 14, 2008 8:49:22 really, most e-zines are free content, and finance their stuff via advertisements or sponsoring.

the problem for wotc, of course, is that they would be sponsoring/publishing an e-zine in direct competition to their normal market, which would be a somewhat silly proposition. so while it is understandable that they want to charge, the price and subscription models are less than useful/helpful.

corelmag costs 15$ for 4 issues a year, and i get what i want - grafics advice, hints and tips.

ddi costs 60$ (assuming 1 year subscription) for 12 issues a year, and i can't choose whether i want to get DM related material, or player related material, or both. by what they have been posting consistantly, i can't choose to tell them to leave the gametable (i don't need it) and not pay for it - as of the currently available information, there will be only the option to buy or not buy the full product, including lots of stuff i will never use, or need.
#4
Paulon
Oct 14, 2008 8:55:25 There's Steve Jackson Game's Pyramid magazine for US$20 per annum. Released weekly, and there's usually something interesting in each 'issue'. Doesn't have the nice art that Dungeon/Dragon have, but it's a heck lot more printer friendly.
#5
asmodeuslore
Oct 14, 2008 9:15:48 How much content comes with the pyramid magazine? Do you have an average page count, minus advertising?
#6
Kentinal
Oct 14, 2008 9:45:13 In some cases size does matter.

I could put out a weekly ezine on the news of Kentinal Realms, all the news that is fit to print.
However right now the news is so sparse and/or boring, the ezine would not fill one printed page. Even when there were the Realm war, the attack of the Dragon and Harvestfest the complete thing might have ran 10 pages. Even if I could push out 10 interesting pages a week, it is very unlikely anyone would pay me for them. Heck it might be hard right now to find anyone that wanted them if I paid them.

You can not just look at price, you need to consider size and value of the content.
#7
Nemo_the_Lost
Oct 14, 2008 9:54:43
D&D insider is priced appropriately for a market that doesn't really exist.

I think that might be the most fair statement I've seen on the subject, Elendur.
#8
Wick
Oct 14, 2008 10:19:07
Originally Posted by Elendur View Post
D&D insider is priced appropriately for a market that doesn't really exist.

I think that might be the most fair statement I've seen on the subject, Elendur.

I would like to know why you feel that this market does not exist. I have not seen enough evidence to support that the market does not exist.
#9
Nemo_the_Lost
Oct 14, 2008 10:21:50
I would like to know why you feel that this market does not exist. I have not seen enough evidence to support that the market does not exist.

Well, while this is not exactly what Elendur meant:

Can you name any other tabletop RPG with a monthly-subscription-service online support structure?
#10
asmodeuslore
Oct 14, 2008 10:51:22 So you are saying that a directly comparable product doesn't exist? I think thats a reasonable statement, but thats not quite the same thing as saying the market doesn't exist.

I'm just making a judgement based on what I've seen on these forums, but given that there are a sizable number who have said they are planning to subscribe, it seems like a market does exist.
#11
Nemo_the_Lost
Oct 14, 2008 11:34:02
So you are saying that a directly comparable product doesn't exist? I think thats a reasonable statement, but thats not quite the same thing as saying the market doesn't exist.
I'm just making a judgement based on what I've seen on these forums, but given that there are a sizable number who have said they are planning to subscribe, it seems like a market does exist.

I think that depends on how you define market. Again, I have no numbers, and I do not pretend to be precognitive, but it seems to me that if a subset of tabletop gamers are interested in D&D, and a subset of D&D players frequent these forums, and a subset of D&D forumgoers are interested in DDI, and a subset of those interested in DDI pay for the service...
#12
rhen
Oct 14, 2008 11:39:25 I think, at the end of the day today, we'll find out for sure if a market for DDI exists or not.... :D

And speaking from my own personal viewpoint, I paid the subscription price as soon as I could. The market exists for me, even if the rest of my gaming group has decided to pass on the subscription.

But then again, I'm the DM, so I'd imagine I'll get much more use out of the magazines than my players.
#13
Elendur
Oct 14, 2008 12:13:38 Note that I'm not saying a market can't exist, I'm just saying it doesn't appear to exist now.

Many of the subscription services I recall from the late ninties heyday have gone away or diminished, like ESPN, CNN, and a view others I remember. Many sites used to have a "pay us to get rid of ads, and get a few other goodies". Those seem to have largely gone away.

The general model seems to be offering the web content for free in support of the print content.

Web comics give away the goods, the comics, in exchange for other revenue sources, like print compilations and ads.

Can anyone give any more examples of paid-for online subscription content? I'm sure they are out there.
#14
kave99
Oct 14, 2008 12:26:57
Well, while this is not exactly what Elendur meant:

Can you name any other tabletop RPG with a monthly-subscription-service online support structure?

hero games offers character generator for 25 bucks for 2 years for hero system ( Champions)http://www.herogames.com/heroDesigner.htm;jsessionid=af9NsMQdFmyc

and CRYPTIC STUDIOS is offering a on-line version of Champions soonhttp://www.champions-online.com/frontpage
#15
mead
Oct 14, 2008 12:34:41
hero games offers character generator for 25 bucks for 2 years for hero system ( Champions)http://www.herogames.com/heroDesigner.htm;jsessionid=af9NsMQdFmyc

But that's less a subscription-based access and more like most other software programs, like Player Genie, where you get the full balls-to-the-wall functionality of the program even after the two years is up, just not updates or free access to later versions after that time. Later versions of the program require an upgrade or repayment. Kinda close, but not the same as having to pay continuously or lose all but demo functionality.

Heavy Metal for Battletech is the same way. You don't lose access to mech templates or other functionality just because you don't keep on paying them.
#16
Elendur
Oct 14, 2008 12:47:29 I am seeing more digital magazines out there, but they take the form of digital copies of print magazines. I assume they still get a large percentage of revenue from advertising.

The site Zinio has tons of digital mags, subscriptions generally range from $10-$30 a year. Individual issues can be had for around $5. Amazon kindle magazine subscriptions run around $1.5-$3 a month, even when the issues are weekly.

I guess what I'm not seeing out there anymore are premium content web sites that you have to subscribe for to access. That seems more like the model D&D insider is going for.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Elendur Oct 14, 2008 1:53:43	With the launch of the paid-for D&D insider emminent, I thought I'd look around to see what other online content subscriptions were going for. The wall street journal online costs $89 a year, but oddly only costs $99 for online print. So I guess you could say it's $10 extra with a newspaper subscription. Encylopedia Britannica costs $69 a year. Gamespot costs $3.33 or $1.66 a month for their premium content, whatever that is. (Please don't patronize Gamespot folks, they are editorially corrupt.) Consumer Reports is $20 a year or $5.95 for one month. This is a good deal to me because you can just get the one month to do your research on cars or whatever and then quit. Gametap is $60 bucks a year. It's a video game subscription service, not editorial content. Many casual game sites and "free" MMO's have this level of subscription as well. Fileplanet is $40 or $60 dollars a year. Seems like $60 a year is about standard, although I had a hard time finding any actual online magazines. And I can't make a direct comparison because I don't subscribe to any of these services, and don't know anyone who does. That might be the most telling. D&D insider is priced appropriately for a market that doesn't really exist.
#2 Mock Oct 14, 2008 8:35:26	The only online magazine that popped into my head immediately was Salon, which is $45+ per year (that includes some freebie stuff, it seems, but $45 seems to be the "base price").
#3 whitebaron Oct 14, 2008 8:49:22	really, most e-zines are free content, and finance their stuff via advertisements or sponsoring. the problem for wotc, of course, is that they would be sponsoring/publishing an e-zine in direct competition to their normal market, which would be a somewhat silly proposition. so while it is understandable that they want to charge, the price and subscription models are less than useful/helpful. corelmag costs 15$ for 4 issues a year, and i get what i want - grafics advice, hints and tips. ddi costs 60$ (assuming 1 year subscription) for 12 issues a year, and i can't choose whether i want to get DM related material, or player related material, or both. by what they have been posting consistantly, i can't choose to tell them to leave the gametable (i don't need it) and not pay for it - as of the currently available information, there will be only the option to buy or not buy the full product, including lots of stuff i will never use, or need.
#4 Paulon Oct 14, 2008 8:55:25	There's Steve Jackson Game's Pyramid magazine for US$20 per annum. Released weekly, and there's usually something interesting in each 'issue'. Doesn't have the nice art that Dungeon/Dragon have, but it's a heck lot more printer friendly.
#5 asmodeuslore Oct 14, 2008 9:15:48	How much content comes with the pyramid magazine? Do you have an average page count, minus advertising?
#6 Kentinal Oct 14, 2008 9:45:13	In some cases size does matter. I could put out a weekly ezine on the news of Kentinal Realms, all the news that is fit to print. However right now the news is so sparse and/or boring, the ezine would not fill one printed page. Even when there were the Realm war, the attack of the Dragon and Harvestfest the complete thing might have ran 10 pages. Even if I could push out 10 interesting pages a week, it is very unlikely anyone would pay me for them. Heck it might be hard right now to find anyone that wanted them if I paid them. You can not just look at price, you need to consider size and value of the content.
#7 Nemo_the_Lost Oct 14, 2008 9:54:43	D&D insider is priced appropriately for a market that doesn't really exist. I think that might be the most fair statement I've seen on the subject, Elendur.
#8 Wick Oct 14, 2008 10:19:07	Originally Posted by Elendur View Post D&D insider is priced appropriately for a market that doesn't really exist. I think that might be the most fair statement I've seen on the subject, Elendur. I would like to know why you feel that this market does not exist. I have not seen enough evidence to support that the market does not exist.
#9 Nemo_the_Lost Oct 14, 2008 10:21:50	I would like to know why you feel that this market does not exist. I have not seen enough evidence to support that the market does not exist. Well, while this is not exactly what Elendur meant: Can you name any other tabletop RPG with a monthly-subscription-service online support structure?
#10 asmodeuslore Oct 14, 2008 10:51:22	So you are saying that a directly comparable product doesn't exist? I think thats a reasonable statement, but thats not quite the same thing as saying the market doesn't exist. I'm just making a judgement based on what I've seen on these forums, but given that there are a sizable number who have said they are planning to subscribe, it seems like a market does exist.
#11 Nemo_the_Lost Oct 14, 2008 11:34:02	So you are saying that a directly comparable product doesn't exist? I think thats a reasonable statement, but thats not quite the same thing as saying the market doesn't exist. I'm just making a judgement based on what I've seen on these forums, but given that there are a sizable number who have said they are planning to subscribe, it seems like a market does exist. I think that depends on how you define market. Again, I have no numbers, and I do not pretend to be precognitive, but it seems to me that if a subset of tabletop gamers are interested in D&D, and a subset of D&D players frequent these forums, and a subset of D&D forumgoers are interested in DDI, and a subset of those interested in DDI pay for the service...
#12 rhen Oct 14, 2008 11:39:25	I think, at the end of the day today, we'll find out for sure if a market for DDI exists or not.... :D And speaking from my own personal viewpoint, I paid the subscription price as soon as I could. The market exists for me, even if the rest of my gaming group has decided to pass on the subscription. But then again, I'm the DM, so I'd imagine I'll get much more use out of the magazines than my players.
#13 Elendur Oct 14, 2008 12:13:38	Note that I'm not saying a market can't exist, I'm just saying it doesn't appear to exist now. Many of the subscription services I recall from the late ninties heyday have gone away or diminished, like ESPN, CNN, and a view others I remember. Many sites used to have a "pay us to get rid of ads, and get a few other goodies". Those seem to have largely gone away. The general model seems to be offering the web content for free in support of the print content. Web comics give away the goods, the comics, in exchange for other revenue sources, like print compilations and ads. Can anyone give any more examples of paid-for online subscription content? I'm sure they are out there.
#14 kave99 Oct 14, 2008 12:26:57	Well, while this is not exactly what Elendur meant: Can you name any other tabletop RPG with a monthly-subscription-service online support structure? hero games offers character generator for 25 bucks for 2 years for hero system ( Champions)http://www.herogames.com/heroDesigner.htm;jsessionid=af9NsMQdFmyc and CRYPTIC STUDIOS is offering a on-line version of Champions soonhttp://www.champions-online.com/frontpage
#15 mead Oct 14, 2008 12:34:41	hero games offers character generator for 25 bucks for 2 years for hero system ( Champions)http://www.herogames.com/heroDesigner.htm;jsessionid=af9NsMQdFmyc But that's less a subscription-based access and more like most other software programs, like Player Genie, where you get the full balls-to-the-wall functionality of the program even after the two years is up, just not updates or free access to later versions after that time. Later versions of the program require an upgrade or repayment. Kinda close, but not the same as having to pay continuously or lose all but demo functionality. Heavy Metal for Battletech is the same way. You don't lose access to mech templates or other functionality just because you don't keep on paying them.
#16 Elendur Oct 14, 2008 12:47:29	I am seeing more digital magazines out there, but they take the form of digital copies of print magazines. I assume they still get a large percentage of revenue from advertising. The site Zinio has tons of digital mags, subscriptions generally range from $10-$30 a year. Individual issues can be had for around $5. Amazon kindle magazine subscriptions run around $1.5-$3 a month, even when the issues are weekly. I guess what I'm not seeing out there anymore are premium content web sites that you have to subscribe for to access. That seems more like the model D&D insider is going for.