Bagpuss wrote:
It's definitely true that the bundling of hard copy and pdf that comes from subscribing is a huge incentive, even over buying from Amazon, let alone from a games store at MSRP, if there's one nearby. I can see why games stores are bothered about it, although it's not like there's enough games stores around that we can all get to one, anyhow.
The way I read the response to the WotC pdf actions was, yes, grabbing some publicity and goodwill but also trying to ensure, in the short term, that the pdf market remained lively (particularly for people like WW that sell through rpgnow, keeping rpgnow viable is important, I would imagine). Paizo's position as a publisher but also a store -- not just of pdfs but also hard copy of a huge range of games products -- puts them in the rather off position of being an FLGS supplier but also, explicitly, a FLGS competitor. They do seem to care about not cannibalising their bricks-and-mortar distribution network (for example, there are no pdf-only subscriptions) but it seems to me that there's only so far they can go to try and support a dying animal, the FLGS (although of course some of them are doing fine, many are just gone or going soon to be gone).
Why not simply include a code within the book itself which comes sealed in plastic similar to the the collector's edition 3.5 manuals. People who purchased the book are able to pull the PDF from the web and save in a non printable format. This way it "cannot be reproduced", the owner gets a digital copy, and everyone is happy. Alternatively one could simply make a database of the ISBN numbers and allow subscription members to register those in their user accounts at Paizo to grant access to their PDF's. Only allow one ISBN of each book to be registered per user subscription, and include a disclaimer at the bottom of each page prohibiting the reproduction, for purpose of sale, of the PDF document.
