tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post7375728003384093258..comments2024-02-16T22:05:32.773+02:00Comments on LotFP: RPG: State of the Industry! What to Do with PDFs?JimLotFPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02992397707040836366noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-21935299136973155862011-02-27T07:59:28.584+02:002011-02-27T07:59:28.584+02:00>>'Eclipse Phase has done almost 6000 ph...>>'Eclipse Phase has done almost 6000 physical sales in a year and a half? And another 1400 in PDF':<br />And this is considered GOOD sales?<br /><br />It's considered almost miraculous in the current climate, but I think people underestimate the current RPG scene because generally only the smaller publishers ever give hard numbers.JimLotFPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02992397707040836366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-87388006283259283772011-02-26T21:25:13.753+02:002011-02-26T21:25:13.753+02:00'Eclipse Phase has done almost 6000 physical s...'Eclipse Phase has done almost 6000 physical sales in a year and a half? And another 1400 in PDF':<br />And this is considered GOOD sales? Wow. But the book is rather on the pricy side. Maybe a lower buy-in might've done better. But maybe that's what the PDF was supposed to be? A bit low, considering the physical book's cost.<br /><br />@Tim Brannan:<br />Answer is clear:<br />Amazon has been pushing e-readers aggressively for years, and keeping the prices low on the units and the e-books. Prices will go up if e-readers become the norm for distribution.(Transition from video game cartrdges to DVDs anyone? :-))<br /><br />SOME people(for reasons ranging from tech-worship[me formerly, I'm sad to say :-(] to belief that prices will be low all the time on the files) and pretty much all companies(who always want to cut cost, regardless of the wisdom of doing so) want PDFs more and more, I'd say. I've transitioned away from them, and only use them when there's no physical copy available. Like with the Mazes and Minotaurs situation, due to the creator's idiosyncrasy on the issue.(Though YOU can print it yourself if you want, as long as it's not for sale.) However, I appreciate a preview PDF of a product not (yet?) in stores, it can entice me to buy. But, that's only 'cuz I can't physically peruse it.<br /><br />@limpey:<br />PDF pricing:<br />Technically, you're supposed to pay MORE for convenience. But PDF is being pushed as a low-cost alternative(for companies mainly, and for customers it has been so far.)velaranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15689908090884198784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-68864202380474589122011-02-24T05:44:20.193+02:002011-02-24T05:44:20.193+02:00I got the ICONS pdf when it was on sale for a buck...I got the ICONS pdf when it was on sale for a buck. I read it, we tried it out. It worked great for us; I bought a hard copy from Amazon for ~ 19 USD. None of that would have happened if the pdf had not been cheap.Aoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00145284080419502886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-33970959345938875892011-02-20T02:15:06.371+02:002011-02-20T02:15:06.371+02:00Add: I don't like pdfs and buy a real paper co...Add: I don't like pdfs and buy a real paper copy whenever I can. I think it would be fine to offer it to the folks who want it, but the whole thing of selling a pdf for 50% or more of the MSRP of the paper copy seems dumb and cheesy.Stefan Poaghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08192911890556534923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-13280172434789059842011-02-20T02:10:47.768+02:002011-02-20T02:10:47.768+02:00Selling a PDF of graph paper! Hah hah hah! It...Selling a PDF of graph paper! Hah hah hah! It's like a fucking Andy Warhol art wankfest movie! Makes me want to sell a pdf of lined notebook paper torn from one of my high school spiral notebooks as a 'classic old school character sheet' since that was what we used back in the day.Stefan Poaghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08192911890556534923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-39430281565481464072011-02-19T08:43:46.647+02:002011-02-19T08:43:46.647+02:00Way ahead of you on that one.Way ahead of you on <a href="http://lotfp.blogspot.com/2009/09/quality-control-and-train-wreck.html" rel="nofollow">that one</a>.JimLotFPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02992397707040836366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-15508419337680806042011-02-19T08:38:49.931+02:002011-02-19T08:38:49.931+02:00Whatever you do about PDFs, don't do this:
ht...Whatever you do about PDFs, don't do this:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=64511" rel="nofollow">http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=64511</a><br /><br />Someone pointed that out on RPGnet. Up until a couple hours ago, the discounted price was $4.76; apparently, they've dropped it to a dollar because of the extended sarcastic commentary on the forums. And it's STILL not a good deal.Talysmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02162328521343832412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-35966481229572467222011-02-18T23:19:53.532+02:002011-02-18T23:19:53.532+02:00Currently I prefer print versions of RPGs. Reading...Currently I prefer print versions of RPGs. Reading pdfs on a computer is a pain, and I don't see that you save that much if you end up printing them out.<br /><br />I like Paizo's practice of giving you a free pdf of any of their books you buy in print, though I've only bothered to download a couple.<br /><br />I ordered the LotFP box set from Noble Knight, then downloaded the free pdf to look at while I was waiting for the box set to arrive. <br /><br />I think if print copies entitled you to a free or virtually free pdf, I would print out things I was actively using to write nores on etc. (though to be honest it's almost as easy for me to do that with a print version and a photocopier).JBMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13915780514486101083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-16390839319570984862011-02-18T17:19:05.273+02:002011-02-18T17:19:05.273+02:00A pdf should be priced so a customer printing it o...A pdf should be priced so a customer printing it on their own at a cheap copy center might have wanted to buy the print version instead. <br /><br />I get really critical with my purchases when they are in the 6-10 cents a page region and simply don't buy pdfs that cost more then 10 cents a page.<br /><br />I like pdfs they are too darned handy for DMing. I can print out what I need of a book and write all over it without destroying the original.JDJarvishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07691101939920824546noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-9342993964604661902011-02-18T17:09:49.996+02:002011-02-18T17:09:49.996+02:00PDFs were vital for me while I was in the Army as ...PDFs were vital for me while I was in the Army as I'd spend 6-9 months each year either deployed or TDY and hard copies were just not feasible. I'm still mostly PDF, based on the fact that over the years, my work habits have evolved to be PDF-centric over the hard copies.Higgipediahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15898074416237354260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-43188647451986310122011-02-18T16:19:51.110+02:002011-02-18T16:19:51.110+02:00PDFs are all well and good for those who have dece...PDFs are all well and good for those who have decent portable devices (iPad, laptops, of whatever) but if you are on a lower income and need something physical to carry round, then a hard copy is a must. I have both hard- and soft-copies of a few things, but I still prefer the heft of a good hardback or boxed set. I like the way you're giving out both or offering the option of a PDF. Seems to me to be the way to go (of course, I'm not a business type, so that's purely my own opinion).theskyfullofdusthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03192589365291723944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-46892082134034999562011-02-18T14:27:44.546+02:002011-02-18T14:27:44.546+02:00For the Dresden ones, I bought the hardcover books...For the Dresden ones, I bought the hardcover books and got the pdf's for free with that purchase.Joethelawyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00380090049725742287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-24513869717114650742011-02-18T14:22:23.461+02:002011-02-18T14:22:23.461+02:00Amazon reports ebook sales are up %200 from this t...Amazon reports ebook sales are up %200 from this time last year. Borders is filing for Chapter 11 in part because they did not get to the ebook market as quickly and deftly as rival Barnes and Noble. eBook readers are getting cheaper all the time and many US universities are looking to move to eBooks as a cost cutting alternative for students.<br /><br />I think the answer is actually quite clear. <br /><br />People want eBooks/PDFs more and more.Timothy S. Brannanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02923526503305233715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670029344758253148.post-85004409538192875962011-02-18T14:01:53.590+02:002011-02-18T14:01:53.590+02:00Regarding the CKG, I assume that the sheer hype ov...Regarding the CKG, I assume that the sheer hype over the last few years about this product –what with delay after delay– is what's driving sales more than anything else.Bigharahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14232940345429292782noreply@blogger.com