Articles

Does YGO have the game strengths to battle Magic for its player base or is there enough room in the player base to support both games, time will tell. I would like to imagine that both can fit comfortably but my intuition says sadly, no. In my pursuits of YGO I was delighted to discover that it is in fact a great,neat game that actually works and plays well offering junior players a truly challenging and strategic game unlike other previous games that were fun themed, yet flawed in game design.

The YGO designers approach to its target market (U18) has been ingenious in that they didn't take a condescending approach to the junior game players instead,they gave the junior CCG market what it needed -STRATEGY with easily available game cards combined with desirable collectible versions. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out that a game that is won or loss on the roll of a dice is not going to hold the concentration of its participants for very long , hence the demise of Pokemon....

With two major games ready to entrench game playing into the newest generation of card players, CCGs have become mainstream activities. And it will be interesting to see if one or both games survive the onslaught. In this day and age merchandising serves as a valuable marketing promotional tool. This is,unfortunately an area where MTG is lacking (In Australia at least). As a retailer I could be selling bulk quantities of posters, t-shirts for example IF they were available. Pokemon and now YGO have proved this by its extreme popularity and success of its merchandising and televising of their products.

The viral promotion (word of mouth) of a product is said to be one of the most powerful and cost effective advertising methods to be utilized. MTG has used this method for promotion since conception but 10 years on, maybe a new approach needs to be adopted. I do have my fears for Magic ,hopefully the WOTC crew will recognize that Magic is in fact in danger of losing its shop based support events and come up with challenging creative ideas that will steer Magic in to the right direction for its survival.I would also like Wotc to recognize that the volunteer expectations of its tournament organization is unrealistic and unfair especially when the requests for volunteer labor is coming from well paid distributing organizations such as Hasbro.

The irony of MTG is that at its base it is a numbers game. Its measure of success has been a numbers game & is entirely possible that it will be beaten into submission by its competitors playing the numbers game. Despite my fears for of MTG I will continue as a retailer, judge and tournament organizer,player and collector for as long Wotc management & the players permit. Our FNM weekly events attract an average of 16 players unlike YGO Sundays where our events are attracting 40 plus competitors. Recently, there was a MTG PTQ with $375.00 USD prize money, numbers were considered good at 40 participants.Yet our weekly shop events for YGO attract far greater numbers with little to 0 prize support. The prize support will eventuate with YGO and for business, time & floor space allocation to the commercially viable product will become paramount.

I have little doubt that ultimately Magic will revive and reign as the supreme game that it is.However,the immediate fate of the game is up to players participation levels and dedicated supporters. Longer term survival will depend on the devotion /motivations of the game producers. In Australia our population is minuscule in comparison to say the USA or Japan therefore our player base and potential for growth is limited by those restrictions. It appears we are not seen as a profitable market to allow the full extent of the competitive arena that is available in other countries. Junior Super Series for example, as an integral part of the US competition encourages new generations of Magic players it is shame that our junior players are not given the same opportunities to challenge their peers as do the older players. (Not that we don't have the talent as remarkably several junior players have made their mark on the Australian tournament scene).

The sheer magnitude of our country also restricts our ability to compete on a level playing field it is no coincidence that the dominant players in our scene also live in the cities which are more easily accessible to the larger events (Sydney,Canberra,Melbourne). I would like to see this resolved by the Wotc team going on tour around our country promoting MTG, testing judges and sharing and teaching tournament skills & game play. The popularity of the game may initially be diminished as the inevitable happens. As I speak cards are being sold at reduced prices on the retail & secondary markets Card singles via internet sales have never been cheaper and sheesh even the DCIA-L list has been quiet as a mortuary for a long time.A great opportunity for collectors to expand their collections but not so good for the monetary value of our cards. Another issue that needs to be addressed by WOTC as retail outlets are expected to compete commercially with players obtain cheaper product by setting up retail outlets in their own living rooms.

Not a great situation, players but ultimately its up to you out there, is it really worth the 10 bucks you save on the internet or maybe its time to wander down the local card shop and enter that tournament and maybe even show a few YGO players how to play your game of choice. Whatever it is, whether you respond to this article support your local Magic venue or send in your ideas for the game. Please DO SOMETHING. For as they say if you don't use it, you will lose it.

k.sammut

[ Email the Author | Discuss this Article ]