Uncle Joe,
Originally posted by uncle joe
Well, I see most of those individuals have successfully avoided comprehending the point I was making, especially Belisarius. It isn't about whether or not someone has a printer, has the extra 12 bucks or whatever to run out to Kinkos to print it, or whether or not it is going to end up as a never read, unused manual collecting dust in an attic. It's about companies such as Matrix cutting corners by not including something that, up until a few years ago, was considered to be a standard. Much in the same way that instead of jewel cases being used, some games come in paper envelopes, and we the consumer adjust to this change without raising our collective voices.
FYI, I can go out and pick up a printed UV manual at my Kinko's for $2.95, which is a far cry from $12. Certainly, if you have to have it shipped it costs more, but with the newer printer-friendly manuals this really is not an issue for most folks with a printer and/or a local Kinko's. I feel that we've found a very good, affordable compromise. We can't sell to retail stores without a box, so we don't have the option to cut costs there. We also provide a printed Player's Guide with every game, which serves as an introductory/tutorial manual. Most games I get these days, the Player's Guide we provide is equivalent to the entire manual without any additional PDF support.
I have been playing wargames since the Avalon Hill days and have a pretty good sized collection of board games. I might have missed it, but I didn't hear an outcry for companies to start putting manuals in PDF form instead of having a printed manual. Notice I said "instead of" and not "in addition to" People say how great it is that it is on PDF because it is searchable and can be updated. How in the hell does this preclude printing a manual as well? Answer: It doesn't. They can put it out on PDF AND included a printed manual - what a concept. For those of you who don't want the printed manual, throw it in the garbage. For those like myself who have a massive collection of wargames that have all come with manuals, we'd like that to continue without companies expecting us to have it printed at our own expense. I guess I'm a voice in the wilderness when it comes to this topic, but I'm not afraid to raise the bullshit flag when something like this occurs. You fanboys out there flame me and continue to sing the praises of Matrix, but what they did is wrong, and nobody can convince me otherwise.
It's certainly your right to feel that way but please look at the very narrow focus of what you're saying and realize that we did include both a PDF and a printed manual, within the limits of our budget. We're not printing or selling quantities here like Half-Life or Grand Theft Auto. Our volume discounts are not significant. No one here disputes that we could print more paper and make less money, but I assure you there is no rip-off. Folks who say they like this combination of print and PDF are in the majority based on our own research. You can use the "fanboy" dismissal if you like, but I think we've found a good middle ground that works for everyone. We're providing as much value as we can while paying our developers and staying in business to make more wargames for you in the future.
In a few years when companies start charging extra for... oh let's say they start charging five bucks to download a patch....I'll be wanting to hear the same indivuduals defending this and saying how it's a good thing, because the principle is the same as what's going on here.
You see a slippery slope here that doesn't exist. The point is not to screw the wargamer and to look for new ways to squeeze blood from a stone. We're doing everything we can to give as much value as possible to our customers. In our initial wave of releases, there was no printed documentation. We have since made a deal with Kinko's and started providing printed documentation with every game. I realize you want more, but you should turn around and realize that the slope you think is going down is actually going up. With each passing month, we're giving you more for your money, not less.
Regards,
- Erik
. My opinion is that if a product needs a manual to be used there's something wrong. This definitely doesn't mean it's dumbed down but rather that somebody spent some time to read and follow modern user interface design guidelines.
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We gamers have to care for one another.