Thread: July DDI Update
-
May 20th, 2009, 00:07 #1
July DDI Update
Hey all,
Just received an email from DDI Insider detailing some good and bad news and thought I'd share.
good news - from July 7th DDI will debut complete sections of final, playable, D&D 4e Player's Handbook 3 material each month leading up to the book's release in March 2010. This is good news indeed for all those who plan to parse what with the current PDF crisis.
bad news - DDI subscription costs will increase from July 2nd to reflect the new content recently added. That leaves 44 days to secure your subscription and the current more favorable costs.
Z.
-
May 20th, 2009, 21:26 #2
I had just cancelled my DDI subscription the day before. While having the character generator and compendium was handy, the whole reason it was is because you could just take your laptop and PDFs with you to the game table. Without the PDFs, you're stuck carrying a laptop AND a big bag of books around.
While it's tempting, the offer of a free copy of one book (ARV ~$23 from Amazon) for a subscription price of $81 at the discounted rate isn't tremendously appealing. If they had any idea whan and if the game table was coming, that might be an incentive, but as it is, it's a tough sell.
Also, what publishing model are they using that they can be generating "final, playable" sections of an RPG book 9 months before it's published?
-
May 20th, 2009, 23:49 #3
Lesser Deity
- Join Date
- Mar 2006
- Location
- Arkansas
- Posts
- 7,381
Originally Posted by Illrigger
Right now it seems like you are paying to be a play tester to me.
-
May 21st, 2009, 03:30 #4Originally Posted by Griogre
-
May 21st, 2009, 03:45 #5
- Join Date
- Aug 2008
- Posts
- 614
Maybe some are paying to playtest. I'm paying for Dragon and Dungeon magazine, which for $6 a month isn't a bad deal at all. Many hobby magazines are much more expensive. I consider Dragon and Dungeon material to be of excellent quality, more or less. I'm certainly happy with it.
-
May 21st, 2009, 09:14 #6
Price increase?
Hang on - "DDI subscription costs will increase ... to reflect the new content recently added"?! That's the thin end of the wedge, right there. That means that the more they put on there, the more it's going to cost us. That sucks. Hell, I know the whole World of Warcraft comparison thing has been done to death but I wonder if Blizzard would have the 10 million subscribers/players they do if they increased their prices with every content patch.
Bad news indeed.DNH
"Lost in Karameikos"
-
May 21st, 2009, 15:25 #7Originally Posted by EugeneZ
I agree, it's not a bad deal if you like the mags, but looking at the price yearly it's pretty expensive. I know there are no ads, but PDF-only mag sunscriptions don't usually cost ~$48 a year (going up to $60!), especially when over 10% of Dragon every month is "pay to playtest" content. Dungeon, overall, is a much better value, but if you aren't a DM it's not overly useful.
Sure, those prices aren't including the character generator or compendium, or the ability to download the maps from the galleries in a zip, but the only tangible content you get without buying another product is the magazines, so in the end they're really all you're paying for at this point.
-
May 21st, 2009, 20:01 #8
- Join Date
- Aug 2008
- Posts
- 614
Price: $71.40/year is $5.95/month. Agreed, not the cheapest magazine I've ever subscribed to. But it's also one of the better ones, no fluff at all and high quality content and art, both of which I use in my FG games.
I also forgot to mention the Character Builder. All of my players and myself, we find it an invaluable tool. But I mentioned the magazine because I feel if the magazines weren't offered, I wouldn't be paying, but if the CB wasn't offered, I still would be.
Regarding them raising the price, they have an FAQ item that asks something along those lines: "Do you plan to raise the price again when the Dungeon Tools are released?" and the answer is that "No, they have no plans to do so." Of course, that leaves them a loophole incase they want to MAKE plans, but if they're putting the FAQ out there that means they intend not to raise to the price.
-
May 24th, 2009, 14:08 #9
- Join Date
- May 2009
- Location
- Manila
- Posts
- 18
I agree with Eugenez, I actually find the price to be fair for the magazine content that we receive. The constantly updated character builder and compendium are just added bonuses.
I've read several complaints to the FG2 program as well, which to me is unfounded. Considering that the price of any other entertainment software (PC, Xbox, PS3,Wii) is higher for the sheer amount of use that you will get on this program.
But I digress...
To each his own I guess, but in this day and age where the cost of a movie plus snacks equals (or exceeds) the monthly subscription for DDI, I know where my money goes: to the non-passive form of entertainment.
-
May 24th, 2009, 17:18 #10Originally Posted by Ebonscarab
Point taken, however.
Thread Information
Users Browsing this Thread
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Bookmarks