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#1 dmrannn May 21, 2009 20:32:13	This definition is taken from Dictionary.com, an online resource. "Value" –noun 1. relative worth, merit, or importance: "the value of a college education; the value of a queen in chess." 2. monetary or material worth, as in commerce or trade: "This piece of land has greatly increased in value." 3. the worth of something in terms of the amount of other things for which it can be exchanged or in terms of some medium of exchange. __________________ I have noticed that many people responded with both haste and fervor when confronted with the public announcement of WotC's new price model for DDI. I think that before we can make any predictions--dire or not--we need to step back and take the "lay of the land" so to speak. This post is not meant in any way to criticize or promote the decisions that have been made by WotC or their customers. I am merely adding my opinion to the masses, and attempting to validate that opinion by explaining my method of resolution. Take from it what you will, and agree or disagree as it pleases you. After all, this is a question of value. One of the common threads in any question of value is inherent relativity. That is, no one can dictate the value of something to someone else. Value is by its very nature, an [u]opinion[/i]. When we talk about the DDI subscription, we're not talking about value as an absolute. We're discussing perceived value. __________________ The basic problem (as I see it) is this: WotC has officially announced an intention to increase the price for a product/service that many are currently unhappy with. These people are absolutely justified in their displeasure. But why? After all, WotC specifically said that the pricing offered was introductory. The problem isn't that they have been dishonest. So why should they listen to the voices that cry foul? The answer lies deep within the mindset of those they hope to gain or retain as paying customers. __________________ When WotC originally put forward the idea of a subscription based "Insider", there was a very strong vision for the project. Because of that, customers who wished to see the newest edition of D&D--and the company itself--thrive chose to pay for the service in a show of their support. These people have been met in response with: - slipping deadlines. repeatedly. - unfinished projects, left indefinitely. - poorly implemented features. - cancellation of major components of the service. Now by no means am I suggesting that WotC is liable in any way for these problems. Caveats, possibilities, etc... These were stated from the get-go. Still, WotC is absolutely guilty of fueling unrealistic expectations that have resulted in the steep decline of credibility in the eyes of many of their customers. These people have a psychological imperative, a sense of justice, that makes their decision a valid and rational one. They are no more "wrong" than they are "right" in their contentions. __________________ On the other side, we have the defenders. The happy customers. Those who believe that what DDI provides is commensurate with the price of the service. They value the content they receive by a different standard than the former. This makes them no more correct or incorrect than the "opposing" school of thought. They are understandably enthusiastic about the content that they enjoy, including (but not limited to): - informative articles - Character Builder - The Compendium, and associated resources Are these features viable? Absolutely. Have other companies offered similar levels of service for similar standards of payment? Definitely. (See: any sort of "premium subscriber" website) Is the pricing model valid? Certainly. __________________ Now we arrive at my personal position, and an opinion that I believe many others share. I am caught between the two, disappointed and yet stubbornly hopeful that there is a light on the horizon. I am saddened by the drastic changes (predominantly for the worse) made to the overall structure of the program, and dismayed by the decision to increase the price before increasing the feature set. I will continue my subscription in the hope that this improves, and enjoy what I feel are a nominal set of benefits that is--while not completely matching the attributed price--still something to which I have become accustomed in my campaign's management. The company line for a customer like me is to "act now" to "avoid" the price uptake by securing my subscription at a "discounted" (read: same) rate for a period that extends beyond the date of the change. Unfortunately, I lack the faith in the service (to be improved or even maintained) to make such a far-reaching commitment. I feel that the option to evaluate the standards of the service on a monthly basis is worth the small increase in its rate. To those who have decided to discontinue their patronage of WotC's Insider service, I both understand and commiserate with your unhappiness. To those who believe that WotC is acting now in good faith and will continue to make a compelling case for the perception of DDI's value, you will see me among your ranks for a long time to come, barring anything unforeseen. Still. WotC, consider carefully the voices of discontent that have risen, and do not be so quick to dismiss their complaints. You, behind the company line, have to know that you have made a grave tactical error. Whether it could have been avoided without hindsight's clear vision is up for debate. Even so, there are very strong points on either side. I think with the increase in revenue it is time to take a very serious look at reviving the feature set that you have allowed to languish in obscurity whilst your devotees have offered their tender in good faith. Consider that for five dollars more, players are offered things like "World of Warcraft". For less than the price of the core books, they can have the game and all its expansions, a fully realized social networking structure, modifiable interface, 24/7 customer support, updates and "free" expansions of content through patching, as well as the ability to "create and maintain" their chosen characters. This is not to suggest that WotC is competing with Blizzard, it is merely another form of entertainment used as a point of reference for the sake of argument. Forgive my wall of text... I do my best thinking "aloud" so to speak. How do you feel? What makes DDI valuable (or not) in your eyes? More importantly: What could be done to increase the value of this service to the point that the price would be "fair" in your eyes?
#2 KM.549 May 21, 2009 21:06:49	To me its a question of follow through from WOTC. First they say all these great tools will be ready at 4th ed. launch. They were not. Then after careful consideration, so WOTC says, they tell the public that they need to put out one tool at a time. First the character maker, then the viewer, dungeon maker and game table. They put out the character maker, now after only putting out 1 out of the 4 tools, WOTC is not following through with what they said again. Now they say they are working on a campign manager. How do we know WOTC won't throw it away before it is not even finished? They only gave us 1 out of 4 tools last time. How can we trust the word of WOTC when they keep changing plans on us like this? I can't place any value in a company that does not value its customers by not following through with plans they said they would.
#3 seTiny May 21, 2009 21:12:45	They only gave us 1 out of 4 tools last time. Minor correction 2 out of 5. The compendium was an announced tool and it was delivered. What makes DDI valuable (or not) in your eyes? The updates to the compendium and Character Builder. The compendium especially. Even though the SRD for 3.5 was free it was static, not much was added to it after UA. I do most of my playing online through play by post, and when I'm at the office I don't have my books. The compendium being a growing source of the information accessible from anywhere makes it valuable to me. The character builder is an outstanding tool, and as a DM it made checking my character's sheets for errors much faster and easier than doing it by hand. I can also play with it between games to build characters quickly without having to pour through my books (though sometimes I do, because that is fun too), just to see what if. I've already used some of the adventures from Dungeon (with some tweaks), and found some of the articles interesting. There are a few Dragon articles that I've liked as well. I don't really use the bonus tools, but once in a while at work I'll play with the Encounter Builder. So all of the above for a year subscription price is worth it, since I get monthly updates and constant access to the Compendium. Now someone that can wait a few months between updates, a month subscription is a steal for the information gained.