Any chance we might see a PDF version?

Thanks in advance,

AJC

I doubt it. It would be too easy to host on a download site so people could get it for free. All it takes is one person, then it becomes viral.

I could understand a simplified version, which explains briefly what Anima is, the setting, and brief rules for creating a character. I hope something like this is produced, so the GM could print and let the players get up to speed faster.

- Gattila

Fair point, but I think that PDF versions of books, especially in the RPG industry are becoming far more the norm, rather than the exception. Given the price point of the hardcover, I actually think that this would open up a greater market for the game.

I've got a copy of the hardcover coming for Christmas, but would gladly pay for a PDF version as well - it's a lot easier for me to carry when I travel.

AJC

AJCarrington said:

Ya... as far as I know WotC and BI were somewhat "weird" in the sense that they didn't have PDfs of their games. Even then... I know there are scanned copies of DnD 4E on the 'net.

If Anima ever gets a PDF out I would be very happy. PDFs are better for me... huge books are a pain.

I know for a fact that there is already a knock off Nigel scan knocking about I think it would make sense for FFG to pump out a pukka version that we could buy.

I've always been a dead wood kinda guy myself. But the recent crunch has put Anima into the 'Bloody hell, How much??' Catagory in the UK. (I got my copy for £35 a couple of weeks ago [and still pondered it then], its gone up to £43 in the same shop now....)

In this day and age, do .PDF's put stuff back into attainable reach.. ?

Crabbie

I can't comment much with regards to GW and their IP - I doubt we'll ever see PDF versions of any related product... However, one thing that I will give credit to WoTC for is that they have released all of the their new 4e stuff on PDF in conjunction with their dead tree versions. They aren't cheap, but they are there and have been in the top sellers at DriveThruRPG ever since.

The list price of $60 here in the US is not unreasonable (IMHO) given the quality of the book; most online sellers have it listed for $50 and I think you can get it from Amazon for ~$40. Not insane, but definitely not cheap compared to other HC products.

For me, the issue is as much about portability as anything else. I travel extensively for work and like to bring along reading material; plus I'm holding onto a dream that I'll be able to hook up with a PbP (or similar) game and actually be able to do something fun while sitting in a hotel room. Lugging a large, heavy book around with me everywhere can make life a little more challenging.

FFG has released some of their other RPGs as PDFs, so hopefully this is a possibility for Anima as well.

AJC

AJCarrington said:

That's the strong-euro issue but I've noticed on the other board that a few american (or others) players bought it very very cheaper than the french price ! (50€ max)

But, I can say that :

- No PDF was edited in spanish (the game is out since 2005, if it was planned, it should be out right now)

- Some of the french players asked for it, but our french editor (who is now the same company as the spanish one) didn't agree.

So I think you won't see any official Anima PDF... There's a huge problem with PDF : it can be violated. And, RPG industry is actually not a strong commercial industry (at least in Europe, the situation is horrible, a lot of editor fail... even if they sell the game well). Maybe White Wolf can handle it, as big as it is, but NO european RPG editor can survive a huge lost of money due to PDF violation. The only editors that make PDF in europe are the amateur or very small ones, to lower costs and try to enlarge their public. Do you know that we don't even have White Wolf PDF translated ?

Thanks for the insight; interesting how things seem so different over here. My impression is that most (if not all) RPG publishers over here also utilize PDF (some release simultaneously and other delay). However, to each their own. I'd pay for the PDF but can definitely appreciate the concern/fear of IP and income loss related to pirated product.

AJC

AJCarrington said:

I didn't know WotC has some PDFs. I asked someone about Star Wars Saga Edition PDFs and he said, "not legally".

The price isn't unreasonable by a long shot, but like you said, chugging around a bunch of huge books is a pain... huge pain. I've done it and its not fun.

I completely understand why a company would not release a PDF, but I do like my eletronic editions...

I can definitly see people make fluffs, more extras that can provide the feel or offer more ideas to their own campeign. That I can see working out as a PDF but I highly doubt that they would make Anima into a PDF for everyone to use.

I didn't understand well your message, but, Anima has an official Web Addendum (that is at the moment in progress for a fan made translation, see on the Edge english board for details), and maybe there will be other ones.

Or, you can take a look at the other board (Edge's, see the LINK thread) or to my website (my firm) for all fan-made stuff.

Fan based work, its what Santiago had done for Dark Heracy for example.

In the end he made it into a PDF book that can be used in the Heracy game. Thats what I actually meant is all o.o

As far as the viral issue goes, Piazo customizes your download before you can download it. I'm unsure as to how easy or hard it would be to alter that but that seems a good way to prevent illegal file sharing. All someone has to do is track you down and bam your hit. Still wouldn't fix the loss of revenue though.

Little bit of thread necro, but just downloaded the PDF version last night from DTRPG!! Great to see that FFG has finally released this in PDF format; hopefully we'll see the other titles and the Tactics rulebook follow.

AJC

Not one to support thread Necro, but its appropriate, so here it is,

Its beautiful, the PDF, very well linked, the colors are bright, they spend there time on this and it shows. totaly worth the $30 and i'm only a few pages in.

I agree 100%. Only issue I seem to be having is that I have to use Acrobat (normally I use PDF-XChange) to view the PDF properly...first time I've ever had that issue. So much easier to take with me when I travel...

AJC

talsine said:

What type of links does it have? links to tables and terms would be amazing.

Not to individual tables, but its got a very well labled set of bookmarks and everything in the book's table of contents is a link to the appropriate section, so its not hard to find anything as long as you know the correct section of the book.

I already own four copies, but I am inclined to buy yet another copy in PDF format.

Did anyone notice any corrections?

As much as I'd love to have the books in pdf, there's no way I'm paying $30 for them. Especially after I already bought both the core book and Gaia at cover price from my FLGS (The Source). I have a pretty decent idea of the mark up for the books at each step in the chain (or at least the last few), so taking half of the cover price for something I don't get to hold in my hands is not a good deal for me. Put those pdf's at the $5-$10 range, and I'll buy them. Not at $30.

SprainOgre said:

I think they're worth $30. PDFs are amazing.

Sure, pdf's are great. I like having them. But they're not paper. They're not something physical that I can hold in my hand. More then that, $30 is what my FLGS pays for them from the distributor (and that's for a physical object that I can page through), who pays even less then that. While I'm all for game companies making a profit for their hard work, and thus being able to produce more of the same, I'm not willing to pay that high a price for pdf's.

After all, I can't train a pdf to open to that page I always need to reference. They don't pick up the battle scars of coffee stains on pages, dings on covers, and little tears that gives a book character. I can't pass one around the table (and while I have a lap top, so I can bring pdf's to games, I don't have an ereader, tablet PC, etc, nor will I for some time). It's simply my personal opinion that the large number of 1's and 0's that make up pdf's are overpriced in many, many cases with game books, I'm hardly faulting their utility or that they have real value that would be worth paying for. I have the same issue with Shadowrun and CthuhluTech pdf's for example. Sure, they can't get damaged in a move, or warped by a basement flooding. You don't have to worry about their binding going bad, or pages being torn out. But I don't think that's worth as much as is being asked for it.

Just my take on the matter.

SprainOgre said:

Dude, the Shadowrun core pdf's had a massive price drop, and the Cthulhutech pdfs are some of the best produced in the field, that poor aim.

As for FFG's price points, they are a little high, sure, but Anima is a niche of a niche market, you should be happy to get them at all. As for the rest, thats all personal, but i would punch the first person to get a coffee stain on my $60 hardcover, let alone the person who creased the binding.

The Shadowrun Core books did have a decent price (which is when I shelled out for them). However, the rest of their books did not follow their lead. And I'm not going to argue with how well the CthuhluTech books look. They're all-in-all gorgeous. I buy the print ones from my FLGS as soon as they hit the shelves. But even considering how nice those pdf's are, it's still just a pdf, not a physical object. Yes, they certainly have value, work and effort was put into them.

The bulk (like 80%) of the cover price is mark-ups from the distributor and the retailer. Part of that 20% is the cost to manufacture. So why do so many RPG pdf's sell at 1/2 cover price, and not lower? There's no need to pay per unit costs to make them, or to ship them. Just the cost from which ever website is hosting and selling them. Basic economics says that the lower the price, the higher the sales. I don't see this working any differently, even in the age of file sharing. Sure, some people will NEVER buy that pdf, no matter the cost. But, will more people buy that pdf at $30, or at $15? This is my point. That the companies don't seem to be taking advantage of the fact that pdf's are going to have less overhead in the way the do business, so they can the price to something in the $5-$15 range, and still turn a profit from them. And I understand I haven't seen their numbers, so I don't know if they have a deep enough market share to see better profits in the case of Anima, but some of these same theories ought to hold true.

Also, many of my coffee/soda stains and subtle warpings are self inflicted. In other cases, I don't punch friends. Glare and fume a bit, sure, but not punch. I contract that out. And binding on softcover books are there to be creased. It's just in their nature. Hardcovers are a different story of course. Those cause wailing and gnashing of teeth. And I've had more then one binding fall apart within hours of purchase on some of my pricey rpg hard covers. Anima not being one of them. That book has been a trooper so far.

SprainOgre said:

You can't get any of the Cthulhutech books till, at least, Gencon, maybe longer, since they just changed publisers. As for the Shadowrun books, check the prises again, all of the core pdf's are all now $12, more than reasonable since its mostly just stats and tables, not the kind of thing most people want/need for bathroom reading, which is where most of my reading is done.

Most gamerse don't buy pdf's or the pricing would be lower, for exactly the reasons your stating. And they ussualy go down as more people buy them. Until it becomes more common, they won't come down. Me, i'm just happy its an option.