D&D (2024) D&D Player's Handbook Video Redactions & Takedowns

There's a lot of YouTube videos looking at the brand new Player's Handbook right now, and some of them include the YouTuber in question flipping through the new book on screen. A couple of those video creators have been asked by WotC to redact some of the content of their videos, with one finding that their video had been taken down entirely due to copyright claims from the company. It appears to be the folks who are flipping through the whole book on-screen who are running into this issue which, it seems, is based on piracy concerns.

Jorphdan posted on Twitter that "Despite fulfilling [WotC's] requests for the flip through video I was issues a copyright strike on my channel. Three strikes TERMINATES your channel. I don't think going over the 2024 PHB is worth losing my channel I've been working on since 2017. I'm pretty upset as none of this was said up front and when notified I did comply with their requirements. And I see other creators still have their videos up. Videos that are not unlike mine. Covering WotC is not worth losing my channel... Meanwhile please subscribe to my D&D free channel the Jocular Junction, where I'll most likely be making the majority of my TTRPG videos."

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Mike Shea, aka Sly Flourish, also posted a walkthrough of the Player's Handbook. While he didn't receive a copyright takedown action, after an email from WotC he has blurred out all the page images. "Note, I blurred out pictures of the book after Hasbro sent me an email saying they worried people would take screenshots of the book and build their own. Yes, it's complete b******t, but we must all do our part to ensure four billion dollar companies maximize shareholder value."

Popular YouTuber DnD Shorts had a video entitled 100% Walkthrough of the New Player's Handbook in D&D. That video is no longer available. However, his full spoilers review is still online.

 

[TravDoc42]

WoTC, masters of the "own goal"

 

[Micah Sweet]

This is so ridiculous. Why does WotC insist on cutting off their nose to spite their face? If someone is going to buy 5.5, they will. If they aren't, they won't. If anything showing most or all of the book would encourage people to buy it if they like what they see.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Sigh. I had noticed this, as I had read a few pages of both the mentioned videos and then couldn't go back and look at them again. I guess that I understand what WotC is worried about (sort-of) but they really ought to have made that clear from the start for those who they gave the review copies to.

 

[Morrus]

I gotta admit that while I kinda get it, the proposition that somebody is going to screenshot nearly 400 pages from a YouTube video and then painstakingly print them all out and cobble together their own terrible-looking version of the Player's Handbook is actually pretty funny. If somebody were to actually go to all that effort, I'd be more impressed than anything else.

But of course, nobody is going to do that because it's waaaaaay too much effort. And even if one really industrious person did, does that even matter? It's hardly likely that people are going to do it in droves.

Actually, I suppose an intrepid person might cobble together a PDF of the screenshots and sell it online as a complete Player's Handbook.... but then if somebody really wanted to do that, I imagine they'd get hold of a copy of the book and scan the pages. But that will always be the case with books--screenshotting YouTube videos seems like a really bad way to do that!

 

[FitzTheRuke]

This is so ridiculous. Why does WotC insist on cutting off their nose to spite their face? If someone is going to buy 5.5, they will. If they aren't, they won't. If anything showing most or all of the book would encourage people to buy it if they like what they see.

Yeah, I've never understood the excuse of "piracy". It was stupid when they used it as a reason not to do PDFs, and it's stupid here. A pirate is gonna pirate. Most people are going to buy. I honestly believe, like you say here, that showing it works as advertising for the buyer far MORE than the availability of piracy causes anyone to not buy something and steal it instead.

My evidence is that if you really want to steal it, you can, no matter what WotC does. So why look like the bad guy? I've always found that generosity is repaid - covetousness is not.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Sigh. I had noticed this, as I had read a few pages of both the mentioned videos and then couldn't go back and look at them again. I guess that I understand what WotC is worried about (sort-of) but they really ought to have made that clear from the start for those who they gave the review copies to.

I don't really understand it. Piracy is not going to cost them much in sales, because IMO most people who illegally download wouldn't have bought the product anyway, unlless they're pirating because the product is not available legally (in which case it's even less of an issue).

 

[fluffybunbunkittens]

WotC is going to WotC. I suppose we should be thankful they didn't jump straight to Pinkertons this time.

You might think that showing people just how full of art the book is would be a pretty cool move. That was my main takeaway from those videos, not the urge to print out fuzzy screenshots.

 

[ECMO3]

I don't really understand it. Piracy is not going to cost them much in sales, because IMO most people who illegally download wouldn't have bought the product anyway, unlless they're pirating because the product is not available legally (in which case it's even less of an issue).

Well right now the product is not available legally.

 

[Seramus]

Sigh. I had noticed this, as I had read a few pages of both the mentioned videos and then couldn't go back and look at them again. I guess that I understand what WotC is worried about (sort-of) but they really ought to have made that clear from the start for those who they gave the review copies to.

Heck, low-medium quality scans will appear as soon as GenCon wraps up, so this seems like negative press for almost no gain.