Digital Encyclopedia

[Waffles298]

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.

[zuzu-bq]

I can justify that much on a book, I can't justify more than the book's price for the shipping.

[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.

[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.