2009.04.14

RPG Business Models

Posted in Board Games, In the News, Technology at 7:07 pm by Jeremiah Wittevrongel

Based on events over the past two weeks, I’ve spent more time than usual pondering the business of role-playing games (RPGs).  In case you haven’t heard:

  1. Wizards of the Coast, who produce the popular Dungeons & Dragons game, decided to stop selling PDF versions of their products via web stores like DriveThruRPG
  2. In response, other RPG companies have announced special sales, discounts, and giveaways of PDF products.  They seem to be trying to gain market share from this event.  And why not?

At present, I material for several different games, and I often consider buying RPG products in PDF form as an alternative to buying books.  PDFs are great when I have problems tracking down paper copies of games (my FLGS doesn’t stock products from some of the smaller companies, unfortunately) or when I can’t justify the cost of a paper copy.   PDFs are also useful for test-driving a new game or supplement, which may prompt me to start spending more money on paper copies.

I think that a business model that ignores the PDF marketplace is a mistake for any RPG company, especially smaller ones.  Here’s why:

  1. In many cases a PDF is produced at some point on the way to paper publication (or it’s easy to produce as a by-product), so there isn’t much additonal cost.  And because the delivery cost of a PDF is very low, they can be sold more cheaply and end up in the hands of gamers on tighter budgets.
  2. There are already established businesses like DriveThruRPG who do a large amount of business selling watermarked PDF files.  Although I don’t know their business practices, given the amount of products they carry, I imagine they would be happy to sell PDF products of even very small companies.  While watermarking does not prevent piracy, it is a deterrent, and most people I know are pretty honest when it comes to paying for products they enjoy and find useful.
  3. PDFs allow you to sell products that are out of print, and where demand exists but is too low to justify another 5000 copy print run.
  4. Many (most?) RPG companies offer all of their products in high-quality PDF format as well as on paper.  White Wolf is a good example.  If you don’t offer PDFs, you will be at a competitive disadvantage.

As an example of a company that has really embraced PDFs as a key part of their strategy, consider Paizo.  Their Pathfinder Core rulebook is currently in beta form, and is a completely free PDF download (for now).  Paizo expends a lot of effort creating and selling source materials for the Pathfinder system, and has a very interesting subscription model for their published scenarios.  The best part of the model:  If you subscribe to the paper publications, they give you a free copy of the PDF as well.  So, you can download it and start reading it before your paper copy arrives in the mail.  This is a fantastic idea; I wish more companies would provide free PDFs for people who purchase their books in paper form.

Paizo also strikes me as a company that is willing to almost give away the core system in hopes of getting you hooked and selling you lots of supplements.  They produce fantastic source material, scenarios, maps, and other things for the system.  While none of them are free, you can buy them a la carte, either in print or PDF.

It’s great for people like me who want to sample things – I can spend $10 on some PDF material before I decide whether it’s worth investing $50 in paper copies.  Even if I hate what I buy, I’m only out $10 in the worst case, and if Paizo impresses me, they’ll get another $50 out of me as I buy a bunch more stuff.

Like it or not, gamers like me are demanding PDFs as an option today, and this trend will probably continue.  As soon as I can buy an eBook reader for under $200 that works well, is easy on the eyes, and supports PDF, I will be buying one, and I’ll probably reduce my print RPG purchases even further.  And I’m sure I’m not alone.