Thanks for the update. I’m disappointed that it’s been pirated so fast — perhaps it was inevitable, but it is disappointing nevertheless. With it happening so quickly, though, we know it was precisely one of ninety people.

Ugh.

You can’t absolutely confirm that one of the 90 purchasers is the one who uploaded it (they may have passed a copy to a friend or left their computer on in a dorm room, etc.) but it is kind of cool to know you have a limited lead. I wonder if it would be worth it to send them all a friendly e-mail just saying, ‘hey, not cool whoever did that’?

There are also groups of pirates who put funds together to buy a single PDF copy of something and then share it amongst themselves and that could have been the case here. These people are usually just obsessive collectors (this is my 3rd party understanding, I have never interacted with them directly), so I don’t think it touches your sales really.

Actually, I argue that your PDF leaked is going to help your sales. It’s beautifully laid out and someone who actually finds the game interesting through downloading a pirated copy is going to notice that and possibly want the print version. And there are gamers out there who always download a pirate copy of something to check it out. If they like it, they buy it, pdf or hardcopy.

So really, it’s a good thing it’s out there, in terms of sales and visibility. Doesn’t excuse the immorality of the initial act, though. That is some piss-poor behaviour in our small community.

walkerp, that’s pretty much my feeling too. Rationally, I think this is a good sign. Emotionally, though, it feels bad. I like to think of all our customers as like-minded pals with the same game, and so that illusion got shot at a little.

And thanks for saying such nice things about it — I’m pleased it transitioned from paper to screen so nicely.

I bought a hardcover as a gift to a friend last month. I haven’t bought the pdf for myself yet. Which store gives you more profit?

Thanks!

Hey John, the two stores have a lot of differences for us and they balance out, so please just select whichever is more convenient for you. RPGNow has a lot of titles, so that’s a cool place to shop if you want to fill your shopping cart. Lulu has a lot of different stuff (fiction and hardcopy, for example), so it’s a cool place to fill a different sort of shopping cart.

I think Lulu nets us 50 cents more, but as I say, that’s not a driving issue for us. I can’t get a cup of coffee for 50 cents. :D

Just in time for running my first session next Monday!

I don’t know what process went into deciding on the price point, but I have to say that it was pretty much right in the sweet spot for me. Any higher and I would have at least delayed before placing the order. As it was, I ordered as soon as I knew it was available.

I am glad to hear that!

I feel sorry that someone already pirated the pdf, and somewhat mad too — you guys put your hearts (and most important, brains) in the development of awesome games and yet some people are unable to support you the right way. C’mon, 12 dollars is a *cheap* price to pay for a game as masterfully executed as Diaspora.

And there’s the free SRD online — if someone wants the rules set for free, they don’t even *need* to rip you off by pirating your work.

You guys seem to create games because you *like* it, and quality seems to be your top priority (instead of “this is hot right now, let’s exploit it and make some money!”). I feel that vsca deserves all the support it can get — this way, you can develop *more* awesome games.

I bought my Diaspora pdf today and I can say I’m a *very* satisfied costumer. (And is Soft Horizon coming out anytime soon?)

Yeah, piracy sucks, but frankly, I’d recommend against trying to do something about it, otherwise you could waste practically an inifinte amount of time playing whack-a-pirate with all the different networks out there.

Don’t let it bother you too much, either, it’s just a fact of digital publishing. If anything, consider it a badge of honour that your product got pirated within a few days. Some of us have had to wait months for it to happen. ;-)

Remo,
Thanks for the kind words. I’m pleased you are excited about Soft Horizon. I’ve actually been playing with it a little today (not in the skunkworks, just pen-on-napkin stuff). But your interest is noted, and appreciated.

Lanfranc,
You offer a great glass-half-full view. Thanks.

I think these things:

- Those are good opening numbers

- Try to reframe piracy as free advertising. It’s not, at least not precisely, but you will get a few sales out of that “leak” all the same.

- I too have seen an effect where a PDF triggers print sales. Some people are all try (the PDF) before they buy (the book).

My immediate reaction to the pdf being pirated is wanting to eye-ball punch the pirates… then I pause and accept and realize it was going to be pirated as soon as we released it. So then I flip to realizing that those who have pirated it are unlikely to have bought it any medium but by sharing it with their friends, the friends might realize they want their own copy and then buy a book or pdf. It’s not the method I’d recommend for advertising but in this day and age, I’ll take it.

It helps that everyone at VSCA is proud of our product.

I’ll toss my cash at RPGNow then – they really deserve it for the Haiti relief mega-bundle.