Digital Encyclopedia

[Canadane]

i'm sorry, but i can't, in good faith, justify spending $50 on a book. books get worn, books get damaged, and at about $50 i'd be too afraid to touch the darn thing, let alone read it, for fear of damaging it. i'd rather have a digital copy, something that won't smudge, rip, or otherwise be damaged because i dare not to keep it in a sealed container at all times.

A well worn book is a loved book.

[YianKutku]

A well worn book is a loved book.

Or maybe the book just happens to be in a place that isn't good for preservation.

I live in a very humid and hot tropical country, and my Encyclopedia Eorzea volume 1 is worse for wear due to that. The pages are still fine (frequent referencing flip-throughs have made the binding a little suspect, but that's expected), but whatever is used to treat the covers is now disturbingly sticky and gross.

Digital versions of books is always my first choice, also largely because it generally costs as much (or more) to ship the book halfway across the world as the book itself. Not to mention the Square Enix store apparently shipping only to NA at all, so I have to go through a mail-forwarding service. I use the one provided by my national postal carrier (vPost, by Singpost), but people in other countries might not have such conveniences.

[Belhi]

I just wish SE sold to Oceanic customers. I cant get the book unless I buy it marked up on Ebay. It is ironic that others are making money from reselling their product.

[CaesarCV]

I agree they could probably make a pretty penny through digital copies. Helps with preservation and the like too, and since the lorebooks tend to have fairly limited print runs. The idea of including an item code is a pretty great idea ha ha. I love having digital copies of books, even if I like having physical ones too. I'm used to the world of Tabletop RPGs where (with one rather large exception) books are usually available in both, so I would like it if our friends at Square Enix followed suit and got with the times. That being said, they clearly see the book as more 'merchandise' than 'book/resource' so who knows what they'll do?

[Ramesses]

i'm sorry, but i can't, in good faith, justify spending $50 on a book. books get worn, books get damaged, and at about $50 i'd be too afraid to touch the darn thing, let alone read it, for fear of damaging it. i'd rather have a digital copy, something that won't smudge, rip, or otherwise be damaged because i dare not to keep it in a sealed container at all times.

Therein lies the element of individual choice which is a core fundamental of purchasing power. Buy it, or don't; the choice is entirely up to the individual. Back in college and grad school there were several books that were easily into the $100 to $300 range which were mandatory... we didn't have a choice.

That said, I would happily purchase the Eorzea Encyclopedia lore books even if they were three times the price... that's my choice. I personally love books and... ironically enough... I just shelled out some £ for a different edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica volumes set. Yes, I've always been into Encyclopedias.

More importantly, several research studies have stated that reading text on paper is better for the eye sight in the long run and one's understanding of the context is much deeper; plus, assimilation is much more permanent than reading from digital sources. Google it and read up on this from .edu and .org sources... its all there on the internet.

Don't get me wrong... digital documents are still very preferred for swift, superficial, speed reading and is very conversant with our technology today... but as I said in my previous post; there is a timeless charm to a narrative that comes as a hard cover book.

[zuzu-bq]

I do love owning hard covered books and I have some in my collection as well. I honestly can't get my hands on the Encyclopedias themsemves mostly on shipping issues than anything else. There is some magic into flipping real pages and smelling the fresh printed ink that I'm sure many of us appreciate.

I was mostly wondering if SE would ever plan of a digital release to cover up these issues that I've shared with many friends across the world that don't live the main target countries of the SE's physical store, but still play the game. The game after all is easily accessible for all over the internet and Steam makes it even more attractive for players to pay their Subs and cosmetics with their home country's coin.

It was also to spark a discussion and see of what other could think about the subject.

[Apoptomon]

I would love a digital version of the lore books, simply because SE physical merchandise isn't officially available in my country. I already rely on scant scattered internet scans and photos of the books to get the juicy info, but I'd love to be able to actually have it on-hand. And, you know, show SE my appreciation by paying a not-ridiculous price for it.

[Iscah]

What about an in-game digital copy? Pay a one-time fee for access to the Gubal Library's special reading room (or each of the reading rooms, one per encyclopedia volume), then browse away.

Possibly even better for reference if they arranged it with menus.

Make up some excuse about it being one of the few safe areas that they've been able to shield from roaming monsters, and haven't been able to reorganise the collection so all the volumes on subject X (beast tribes, geography, etc.) are in the same room.


It's also worth noting that at least some of the information in the books is taken from the game to begin with, though of course the book gives easier access to it. The 'area information' is mostly from the sightseeing log, and bestiary entries are found on Triple Triad cards.

[Raikai]

Reasons why I'd rather have a digital copy:
1) I live in Brazil, shipping here would cost a LOT
2) I only own a couple of physical books, because due to RL work, I'm on the move a lot. I've decided not to own anything that would make "home" transitions a burden, physical books included.

I honestly don't see why Squeenix would deem it a bad business. Here's the deal: the book 2 - will - be scanned/digitalized sooner or later, just like the volume 1 did. Nowadays you can easily read it online. I only see a profit for them, because some people (like me) would instantly choose to purchase it digital instead of having to read scanned pages.

People interested in the physical copy for the love of owning it will just buy it anyways. Maybe even both, because some collectors would rather not keep touching the original copy so it won't wear out soon.