My 3 cent:

The one thing I remember from the economics class I took a few years ago: Money you have now is better than money you will get later. So there is financial gain involved for FFG (by being able to put it into a bank account and get interest or reinvesting it into another project).

Pathfinder's Open Gaming License is a slightly different matter than Warhammer 40k. The rules Paizo gives out for free are generic. If you see a fantasy movie the odds are good that you will be able to recreate most of it with those rules. However Paizo does not hand out their setting-specific material for free. If you want a generic fighter or holy warrior the core rules are your friend, but as soon as you want to play as a Chelaxian Hell Knight you have to pay. Warhammer 40k is far more setting-dependent. You can't release "generic Space Marines" or "generic Space Orkz who can make their cars go faster by painting them red."

Still, I think it's a bit sad. So far I have bought every Pathfinder product I tested even when I originally thought I wouldn't need it. I don't think I will need Only War either it is the FIFTH human-centered 40k game, the only truly new things it brings are Ratlings and Ogryns, and I'm not paying 20 $ for the chance that it might change my mind.

I think it's a matter of phrasing really.

"is it worth $20 to -buy- a beta" versus "is it worth $20 to -join- a beta"

In terms of -buying- it's a pretty good deal.  You spend $20 to get a pre-release of the PDF before everyone else that you can help proof and find (objective) problems with.  And when the final product is released in PDF, you can either claim $20 off of the final corrected version or decide you're happy with what you have and not buy any more (or decide a final version wouldn't be your thing and walk away).  But say you wanted a print copy (the boat I'm in).  In that case you wait longer, don't get any input in the final product, but you have a corrected and improved version.  And you're not out any money now.  Furthermore, this is the situation you would've been in if they -hadn't- done a beta PDF release; only now, there's the chance that thanks to beta testers/proofers, your final product is better than it would've been otherwise. 

On the other hand….

$20 to join a beta of -anything- strikes me as steep.  Which is why I would never do it.  Note the subjective tone there.  I'm not saying it's bad, just not for me.  But since FFG is releasing a (hopefully) complete game in terms of mechanics and playability, they know that simply giving it away freely for people will result in lost sales.  Heck, it'll certainly result in a smaller percentage actively reading and editing the dang thing if it were free, but by being free it may also motivate people to care less about helping out than if they actually paid for the privilege.  By spending money to join a beta, people are -literally- investing in the quality of a product.  And depending on the costs for FFG to license the 40k universe, they would likely have added incentives to turn a profit that smaller companies who own their IPs do not.

For those saying that they suspect people will just torrent the game now… people were going to torrent the game anyway, only now there'll be -two- versions of Only War scattered on the internet.  Charging or not charging for a beta doesn't matter; somebody will torrent whatever they can get away with regardless of anything else. For those saying FFG lost a customer… if you're continuing to follow this thread, I doubt you really will quit FFG (or at least quit for long).  In theory, this will make the game -better- and I don't see people rushing to drop a product line that's actively improving.    

I do have to wonder if the people who are complaining the loudest are either

             1) hoping to have gotten the PDF for free, with vague promises on their part of buying the final product at a future date.  Or

             2) wanting print copies, but also wanting in on the hot newness of the PDF that's floating around now, without actually having to pay for it. 

I mean, I'll admit that I was disappointed that the beta wasn't free, but I don't see how FFG could give the internet a complete game for free and hope it would help their bottom line or their quality control.  And ultimately, I respect that FFG is a business first, that this is an experiment on their part, and that I'll get the product I want in the format I want with better quality than I would've gotten otherwise.  As for feeling like I missed out on the beta, that's the price I pay for wanting print, and it'll be a moot point in a year's time anyway.

H.B.M.C. said:

I know I'm here complaining precisely because I want to be involved in the process, but I object to how it is being done. I've been buying 40k RPG books for quite sometime. My Dark Heresy book has the Black Industries logo. I have a shelf full of Dark Heresy, Rogue Trader, and Deathwatch books. But I haven't purchased a single PDF because I feel FFG prices theirs too high. 

I would prefer a free, open, public beta. I think those are better for the business (exposure to a wider market, more feedback, etc.) But I do understand that it is FFG and GW's choice on how they handle things.

I would participate if spending the $20 meant a discount on *either* the final PDF or the hardcover. Hell, I'd participate if it was pre-order the hardcover and get the Beta PDF.

But as it stands now, I will not participate. And this is the best place to tell FFG why.

Hey everyone who is after Dark Heresy 2.0 listen up. I just got a copy of the latest rules for only $20 bucks and it is called Only War. 

Awesome. Totoally worth it.

Interrogator Z. 

Zakalwe said:

Yeah, I just thought the same thing.

deinol said:

Really? Wider exposure?

Charging them for a beta only gives them more money. I don't mean to be condescending at all so please don't take it this way, but these days, the moment a book is released, be it a physical book or a PDF, tons of people are downloading pirated copies within a day, if not on the release day.

So FFG is getting probably roughly the same level as exposure anyway, except they get some money in their bank.