I'm amazed at how many people would rather believe that FFG is lying rather than accept what they say about their agreement.

mouthymerc said:

Precisely. While FFG is one of the bigger RPG companies, a lot of that is tied up in other product lines, including several with their own licensing fees, such as Game of Thrones/SoI&F and Warhammer. For major book publilshing companies, they've probably got enough fiscal resources to be able to get e-media included in their licensing deals by way of being able to afford the costs of doing so.

Because let's be honest with ourselves, RPGs are still a niche market, and Star Wars RPGs even more so, and the majority of RPG companies operate on a slim profit margin (how slim depends on the company; WotC's bottom line is probaby a lot healthier than smaller companies like Evil Hat or WildFire, which is prbably better than the really small PDF-only companies that are really just one or two guys cranking out material at home). Novels on the other hand have a far broader audience, so Del Ray can expect a higher return on investment while cranking out multiple books in rapid succession, as they don't really have to tie things together the way that an RPG product line has to or worry about design layout.

And I share mouthymerc's astonishment that some folks simply refuse to believe that FFG is being honest and thus have some sinister reason for denying them the opportunity for PDF sales. Heck, I'm sure Jay Little and Sam Stewart would be doing cartwheels of joy if they could suddenly get the okay to sell PDF versions of their Star Wars products. But as the state of their license most likely stands at the current time, they can't. And following most business practices, the only real chance that FFG will have to change that is when the license comes up for renewal, at whatever future date that is.

Doc, the Weasel said:

I just re-read this thread. Who claimed they were lying? Or otherwise indicated that FFG was being intentionally dishonest.

-WJL

LethalDose said:

I don't think anyone is saying that they (FFG) are lying, but I think some don't buy the licensing issue. They think they know better and that there is some conspiracy. It may also have to do with the "Brick & Morter" sales comments. While I think FFG fully supports game stores, if they could sell pdfs I'm sure they would, even if after the release of the dead tree version. Much like WotC, who didn't purchase digital rights with all their resources, I think FFG have to choose what they can afford which amounts to the book rights and go with that. And really they are going to make much more off that. Digital rights may be too expensive for the return they would give.

mouthymerc said:

No, they are, its almost literally what Doc said:

Doc, the Weasel said:

(emphasis mine)

As for

mouthymerc said:

That's fine. I proposed it was something other than the licensing issue, and realized I was probably wrong after looking at all their products. I think its abundantly clear FFG doesn't have a problem with releasing PDFs, which means they don't see a conflict between FLGS and pdfs, or have piracy concerns. I stated as much:

LethalDose said:

and did so a day before Doc's comments above and DM's statement:

Donovan Morningfire said:

(again emphasis mine) So, again, where has anyone said anything like this? Mostly I'm hoping its not aimed at me or someone else who is having words put in their mouths.

-WJL

Wasn't pointing a finger at you LD. Some people see the Brick & Morter comments and react badly. Others had a bad reaction to WotC's reaction to pdfs and their "pirating" and are still butt-hurt and figure anyone else not putting out pdfs are using the same excuse and want to call them on it. At the end of the day I think this is nothing more than a licensing issue. The costs of securing both print and digital rights may be more expensive than they are worth. As I said, if even WotC didn't secure both with their deeper pockets I can understanf FFG not wanting to.

I wasn't pointing my finger at anyone specifically. I just see that FFG stated that it was the license, but people seem to want to find some other reason.

(I also had a rough week when I posted that, so it had more edge than I intended. Appologies if it insulted anyone.).

Doc, the Weasel said:

Given that people questioned FFG's statement of "Sorry, but our license doesn't permit PDFs," it's not that hard to infer that people are calling FFG liars for one reason other or another, even if they aren't saying it outright.

I for one don't think you called anyone out as being a liar, or gave a reason for someone to be insulted.

Donovan Morningfire said:

Do you have a source for FFG's statement that you could provide?

-WJL

LethalDose said:

FFG Seminar, GenCon 2012. This question was asked by the audience, and replied to by hosts.

Which was mentioned previously in this thread.

Donovan Morningfire said:

Which FFG seminar? If it was the In-flight report where the game announced, I was there and I don't recall this being asked or answered. That's not to say that it wasn't, but I was curious if there was some recording or some other media you had a link for so we could all say "yeah, okay, this was stated, there's not a question".

-WJL

I'd love to see them release PDF versions of the character portfolios from the Beginner's Game box. (Like they did for the two additional characters.) It'd be a lot more palletable to be able to print copies of those booklets rather than having them get permanently marked up during their first use.

Well hopefully FFG or LFL or whoever makes these decisions will reconsider the PDF thing.