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Post/Author/DateTimePost
#1

CyberGeek

Oct 01, 2014 14:00:20

Does anyone know why WotC is not releasing the new 5th edition items in PDF? I am not referring to the free PDF materials, but asking about the full Player's Handbook (PHB), box set module, Horde of the Demon Queen (HotDQ), and the Monster Manual (MM). It is a real pain to carry these books around to read at work while it is slow or during my lunch hour. It is so much nicer to have them on PDF so I can read them on my windows tablet.

 

#2

Ravenspyre

Oct 01, 2014 14:29:26

Probably because people kept stealign the PDF files and boosting them off other people and such.

(Reply to #2)

CyberGeek

That has not stopped other game developers from selling their products via PDF, and since they are still selling PDF versions I can only assume they are making a profit. I have tried to look for an official statement from WotC to see what their reason is, but I am not able to find anything. In this day and age it is freaking annoying.

#4

frothsof

Oct 01, 2014 16:07:36 		Probably never
#5

ChrisCarlson

Oct 01, 2014 16:08:24

No. They've said as much.

#6

BoldItalic

Oct 01, 2014 16:12:13

WotC's thinking is discussed in an interview with Mike Mearls published yesterday on ENWorld. Scroll down to where it says 

Yea I was going to ask about that [PDF sales]…

and  read on from there.

#7

Shasarak

Oct 01, 2014 16:30:07

CyberGeek wrote:
#8

ORC_Cricket

Oct 01, 2014 16:39:03

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#9

The_Jester

Oct 01, 2014 18:53:22

It sounds like they want to hold back digital content for DungeonScape, so people don't have to pay twice.

But this totally ignores the fact that apps and PDFs are completely different things and fill different needs.

#10

Mistwell

Oct 01, 2014 19:16:02

Mearls said decisions on PDFs will be left to at least 30 days after the release of the DMG.  This is to give Project Morningstar enough time to find their place in the market.  He didn't say they would definitely be released as PDFs, just that the decision about them is being delayed until that time.

 

But bottom line, if you read that Mearls interview linked above, it does sound like the are likely to release the PDFs, though stripping out a lot of artwork and re-formatting for easier reference.
#11

Mistwell

Oct 01, 2014 19:16:59

ChrisCarlson wrote:
#12

Ahrimon

Oct 01, 2014 19:18:17

They did get burned before on pdf's when one company repeatedly sold the same "digital copy" over and over again to hide sales from wotc if I remember right.

#13

ChrisCarlson

Oct 01, 2014 19:18:49

Um, the question was, "Does anyone know why WotC is not releasing the new 5th edition items in PDF?"

(Reply to #9)

CCS

The_Jester wrote:
#15

Shasarak

Oct 01, 2014 20:56:40

The_Jester wrote:
#16

The_Jester

Oct 01, 2014 22:19:32

Shasarak wrote:
#17

Shasarak

Oct 01, 2014 23:07:55

The_Jester wrote:
#18

lawrencehoy

Oct 02, 2014 3:26:57

I'm just wondering how much Dungeonscape is going to cost. Less than $100 and it will be a very affordable way to get the electronic content from the core rulebooks (taking into consideration the primary features of the software will account for half its value).

(Reply to #17)

AaronOfBarbaria

Shasarak wrote:
#20

The_Jester

Oct 02, 2014 6:53:42

Shasarak wrote:
#21

DemoMonkey

Oct 02, 2014 8:50:18

When they are convinced the point has been reached where the sale of PDFs will no longer negatively impact the sale of physical books they have printed and sitting in their inventory, THEN they will offer full PDFs for sale.

 

Don't forget, as far as they are concerened the PDF of the Basic rules is already their "try before you buy" product, so one of the two main reasons to offer PDFs of the main books is removed.

#22

Dracones

Oct 02, 2014 9:01:15

While I'd love to see PDF for 5e, I'd be okay if Duneonscape ended up being their digital platform if they did it right. While it's nice to read a book cover to cover, really what I need from a ruleset is the ability to look up rules and stat references. 

 

If you step back and remove the "this is how people are doing it" mindset, what you really want is a digital portable/desktop/laptop method of reading the 5e rules and looking up things. Is a PDF really the best way to do that? I kind of see this as an opportunity to come up with something better.

 

#23

Shasarak

Oct 02, 2014 15:33:34

AaronOfBarbaria wrote:
#24

ssvegeta555

Oct 02, 2014 18:28:47

Even though I'm firmly in the 5e camp, I really wish WotC embraced the digital space like Paizo does. They offer PDFs for everything and they even have lite versions for faster loading on mobile devices. It's great to have those options. I wish 5e had the same thing. Paizo is doing fine, so why is WotC so afraid to provide the same or similar service (which they're already losing to pirates btw, PDFs do exist...). I don't need some silly app, I want a PDF of my books. And I don't want a stripped down version either, my phone and tablet are more than capable loading image heavy PDFs (having the option for a stripped down one in addition to the regular is fine). To me, they're still stuck in the past. This is 2014, not 2004. Get with the times, WotC!

(Reply to #23)

AaronOfBarbaria

Shasarak wrote:
(Reply to #24)

AaronOfBarbaria

ssvegeta555 wrote:
#27

lawrencehoy

Oct 05, 2014 20:02:48

DemoMonkey wrote:
#28

mrvain

Oct 06, 2014 17:08:04

I would love to see PDFs as well and, at least with a customer like me, they don't cannibalize physical books sales.  I have heaps of pdf versions of books that I would never have bought physical copies, whether it was because of expense OR because I don't want to carry them around.  

 

Having access to them on a tablet is perfect, especially if you go to gaming conventions where you might be playing 6-7 different games in a weekend

#29

edwin_su

Oct 18, 2014 4:42:40

Dracones wrote:
#30

Mirtek

Oct 18, 2014 11:17:15

"AaronOfBarbarian wrote:
(Reply to #30)

AaronOfBarbaria

Mirtek wrote:
#32

Gatt

Oct 18, 2014 19:40:41

The_Jester wrote:
#33

The_Jester

Oct 18, 2014 20:59:00

Gatt wrote:
#34

Shasarak

Oct 18, 2014 21:41:25

Gatt wrote: