Would officially discontinuing specific paper formats outside of EDH / Commander and Modern help reduce the cost of the game in terms of the Secondary Market to offset market inflation?
Nope, the opposite would more than likely occur.
Printing cards that players want and more playable cards that players can use is a good start.
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Playing since 1994: Currently MAGS (HomeBrew),Standard & Pauper (Pioneer and Modern are degenerate trash formats)
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
Cost of transportation due to market inflation is also affecting players wanting to visit certain Local Game Stores (LGSs) because gas prices are too expensive at least in the coastal areas of the U.S. (unless you live in the Midwest where it's much cheaper due to lower cost of living) which means that they could be forced to play online exclusively via Arena / Alchemy or via SpellTable WebCam. Gas prices in New York and California are around $4-5+ a gallon where it's $3 a gallon in the Midwest. Gas prices in Florida are probably just as expensive as in New York and California or even Hawaii.
Remember when we had the COVID-19 Lockdowns where everyone was forced to social distance and Local Game Stores (LGSs) literally had to resort to Curb-Side Pickup just to stay in business? The rising cost of inflation could trigger a repeat of that however In-Store Play will feel more like a luxury rather than a privilege before the pandemic started. With the pandemic starting to wind down I was kind of looking forward to FNM and the Pro Tour returning but it looks like that might not happen on account of well the pandemic combined with inflation increasing the cost to play.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
You will be hard pressed to find a station that has gas for a few pennies less than 4 dollars a gallon at this point, even in a state like Missouri. Unlike Missouri, my midwestern state has I believe the second highest total fuel tax rates in the nation as well. Its oppressive.
So then everything goes up in price that has to be transported/shipped. EVERY one of my bills is up at least 10 to 20 percent. The bogus inflation number of 8.5% is a cooked up under-representation of real home budget issues. Water bill is up, Electricity is up, Natural gas is up. Internet/Cable is up. Trash pickup just went up near 50% overnight due to hauling fuel "costs". Wish I could get a 50% raise. Groceries are through the roof just to feed a modest family of three. Home insurance went up 40% this year. UP UP UP!!! Cost of living is UP everywhere.
So in this situation, Hasbro thinks its a good idea to jack their prices UP ON A LUXURY ITEM, not a necessity to budgets that are already stretched thin. Where are the cuts in a home budget going to go? Necessities or luxuries? Its either dumb thinking or designed to hasten the death of paper Magic.
Playing since 1994: Currently MAGS (HomeBrew),Standard & Pauper (Pioneer and Modern are degenerate trash formats)
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
It also doesn't help that you have the older demographic of Paper Magic leaving the game more than the newer demographic who are now being priced out and can't play without a job due to supply in the Secondary Market getting dried out while driving more demand in an effort to push newer players into their digital exclusive platforms with Arena and Alchemy. Wizards of the Coast / Hasbro are deliberately strengthening the power level of their digital exclusive cards in Arena / Alchemy while lowering the power level of Paper Magic in the process arguably due to reprint fatigue while they simply refuse to fix all the problems that's been plaguing Arena / Alchemy as of late.
Sure they'll reprint Liliana, the Last Hope in Double Masters 2022 but not Liliana of the Veil because God forbid we can't have that card become cheap in Modern and Legacy right? She's kinda the next go to after Jace, the Mind Sculptor where players have begged to be reprinted into oblivion until Wizards of the Coast / Hasbro finally caved to demands. It also doesn't help that EDH / Commander and other Eternal formats are the main source of income for Paper Magic because of Wizards of the Coast / Hasbro's bias against Local Game Stores (LGSs) and Competitive Play in general therefore severely limiting the amount of new blood into the game which is unfortunate.
Private Mod Note
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America Bless Christ Jesus
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
It also doesn't help that you have the older demographic of Paper Magic leaving the game more than the newer demographic
Possibly correct. Guess which cohort has more disposable income to buy product?
I am not privy to the numbers but I would be willing to bet that every older/established/Legacy player out there spends 5 to 10 times as much on Magic product (phyiscal or digital) than an new/young/youth player just starting out on Arena and/or Paper. I would also guess turnover/attrition rate is FAR higher from the younger set than the established set as well, contrary to your statement. I could be wrong of course.
If they manage to kill off or effectively kill off paper Magic look for Arena not the be "free" any more. Probably some sort of subscription service would be my guess.
Double Masters should not be a draft set either. It should be all decent value reprints. But hey, gotta milk those whales right?
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Playing since 1994: Currently MAGS (HomeBrew),Standard & Pauper (Pioneer and Modern are degenerate trash formats)
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
One thing that hurts Magic: The Gathering the most is that it lacks confidence in it's own lore to sell the product when it constantly relies on other IP's (Intellectual Properties) to do the job for it as a form of market advertising so to speak with Universes Beyond. Nostalgia sells and the only real thing that Magic: The Gathering has going for it in terms of nostalgia are the old cards themselves, mainly the Reserve List. Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokémon TCG? They got the Japanese Anime / Manga as well as the Video Games to attract new / old players into their respective Paper Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games. The problem is that since these games are more heavily reliant on Competitive Play it's hard to find players who are willing to play at Local Game Stores (LGSs) as a result of the global pandemic and social distancing. Granted we are starting to see the rise of In-Person play again but with caution.
Magic: The Gathering is the ONLY Paper Trading Card Game / Collectible Card Game that promotes Casual Play in such a way that makes it very difficult for it's Paper Trading Card Game / Collectible Card Game competitors to duplicate without power creeping themselves to oblivion. These Paper Trading Card Game / Collectible Card Game competitors to Magic: The Gathering would rather not go through the hassle of Local Game Stores (LGSs) stocking up inventory of card singles to purchase that would take up way too much room in the store. It's very risky due to specific LGSs being reliant on certain communities for said card game and If the players in those communities aren't showing up at your LGS then why sell the product? That and LGS owners / employees don't want to put in the work to advertise these products when the more oblivious customers are the more it hurts their sales.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
Dow took a brutal beating today. Target's quarterly profits down 52% for the quarter. Gas prices at a record high day after day. Inflation spiraling out of control.
Hasbro/Wotc: "Yep lets raise prices on a luxury item. Lets see how that works out."
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Playing since 1994: Currently MAGS (HomeBrew),Standard & Pauper (Pioneer and Modern are degenerate trash formats)
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
The reason why Magic: The Gathering is a luxury item is because it originally started out as a Loot Box / Loot Crate 30 years ago designed to nickel and dime players and collectors yet our lawmakers refuse to do anything to handle the issue because in their point of view If it isn't breaking the law then it's okay. Why do you think lobbyists get away with rigging games in the Sports Industry where referees end up dictating the outcome of certain games rather than the efforts of the teams and their coaching staff? It's solely to boost TV ratings but in this case Wizards of the Coast / Hasbro are creating artificial scarcity on purpose for highly sought after cards which unfortunately is designed as a way to promote itself because whether we like it or not, fewer people would have interest in the cards themselves. But when you factor in market inflation that makes the cards look unattractive and it shouldn't be that way. Unfortunately there's a limit to what they can or cannot reprint as they walk the Secondary Market tight rope carefully.
They've literally conditioned Paper Magic in such a way to expect something more than just entertainment whether it be Whaling by hoarding and flipping Sealed Product online or playing the Stock Market with card singles which used to be regulated to only Reserve List cards. Yes part of the game's appeal is the collectable aspect. Wizards of the Coast / Hasbro knows that as long as they defend card values and rarely reprint a card into oblivion that isn't included in a Commander Pre-Con; Then they can charge higher prices for card singles as people will be 'unusually' willing to purchase them compared to other card games which is arguably a big reason why so many people are obsessed with MTG Finance compared to other card games. Lots of people who otherwise couldn't afford to have a hobby that is this expensive are able to play because they have ironclad confidence that they'll be able to recoup at least a portion of their investment if they need to. Problem? LGSs only accept Store Credit instead of Cash, Credit, or Debit.
Seriously, Paper Magic is arguably more expensive than Golf or Tennis or dozens of other hobbies and yet I see people playing who are working minimum wage jobs - it's honestly kind of weird to me. Especially since it's a game where your purchasing power directly affects your ability to win in the game, especially over a long period of time with meta shifts. An interesting thing is that with the Masters reprint sets, by setting the price as high as they do and only allowing for limited print runs, they do end up maximizing their profits, but it ends up being not satisfying for either stores, players, or collectors. It just does the least damage to the 'Paper Magic Economy' while still making them a lot of money. Somehow I don't believe many people have deep enough pockets that they would want to just destroy Paper Magic as know it for no benefit to themselves - this is a cash cow, they're practically printing money already, why mess with it too much? I dunno maybe so that players can actually afford to play at a much more reasonable cost?
So If someone like Elon Musk decided to buy out Wizards of the Coast or Hasbro, do you think it's more likely that they would shut it all down or ask Wizards of the Coast to get as much money as they can out of their players, so they could recoup some of the cost of acquiring the company? That's kind of like what Hasbro's shareholders are, and what they're demanding of Wizards of the Coast as it is. So really you're just pointing out something that we all know and understand. Players have limits to their patience and how much they're willing to spend - I expect that Wizards' analysts will do what they can to extract as much money as possible from the player base. But part of that calculation is not alienating that same player base too much or too quickly - if they change the game too much too fast or decide to simultaneously kill enough investors, it will decrease peoples' confidence in the game and lead to them making less money in the long run. Then again, the investors are being sided more than for the best interest of the players and collectors.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
So really you're just pointing out something that we all know and understand.
That's the thing. I believe there are people that DON'T understand this or are willingly ignoring it.
And once again, any game, pass-time or non essential item/service (food, medicine, shelter) is considered a luxury item in economics. Magic the Gathering has ALWAYS been a luxury item. Pricing does not dictate a luxury item. By your statement you don't fully grasp that either. I'm not trying to be mean, just trying to inform people. Please don't take that the wrong way. I agree with a good deal of the other things you said. But at its core, MTG is a luxury, a non necessity and luxuries are always trimmed from budgets when it comes between them and essentials.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Playing since 1994: Currently MAGS (HomeBrew),Standard & Pauper (Pioneer and Modern are degenerate trash formats)
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
It just feels like people are trying to deliberately kill this game while unsuccessfully trying to make it look like they aren·t .
It does certainly look that way doesn't it?
Its why I mentioned that exact thing a few posts above.
So If someone like Elon Musk decided to buy out Wizards of the Coast or Hasbro, do you think it's more likely that they would shut it all down or ask Wizards of the Coast to get as much money as they can out of their players, so they could recoup some of the cost of acquiring the company?
The answer depends upon the buyer's goals. Is it a short term "flip it" investment? Or is a a long term investment looking for revenue stream and further growth?
Playing since 1994: Currently MAGS (HomeBrew),Standard & Pauper (Pioneer and Modern are degenerate trash formats)
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
So really you're just pointing out something that we all know and understand.
That's the thing. I believe there are people that DON'T understand this or are willingly ignoring it.
And once again, any game, pass-time or non essential item/service (food, medicine, shelter) is considered a luxury item in economics. Magic the Gathering has ALWAYS been a luxury item. Pricing does not dictate a luxury item. By your statement you don't fully grasp that either. I'm not trying to be mean, just trying to inform people. Please don't take that the wrong way. I agree with a good deal of the other things you said. But at its core, MTG is a luxury, a non necessity and luxuries are always trimmed from budgets when it comes between them and essentials.
You're good. Though you really have to stop and wonder why it was marketed that way in the first place though granted the ability to place safeguards from real world events in order to keep it going is easier said than done I'm afraid. You can make the exact same argument for other Paper Trading Card Games / Collectible Card Games with Yu-Gi-Oh!, Pokémon TCG, MetaZoo, Flesh and Blood, etc. which are unable to turn a profit nowadays because unlike Paper Magic they rely heavily on Organized Play to be successful. We've reached a point now where everyone involved in this gaming hobby are about to be priced out from being able to keep up and play. But If it's costing too much to travel then what's the point of wasting all that money when it's better spent on essential things like food and water?
The biggest problem I see with the Paper Trading Card Game / Collectible Card Game business model itself nowadays is how do you make it lucrative enough but not financially expensive enough to get as much out of the card game as possible while promoting more growth for local communities backing said card game? The problem is that unless your card game is tied to a successful anime/manga, video game franchise, or what have you and you're only relying on nostalgia alone to sell the brand which is where Magic: The Gathering is at right now then you're not going to be able to draw new blood into your card game unless they're cultured into it. The real challenge here is how to draw the attention of those who you're wanting to be cultured into your card game while simultaneously not alienating them in the process.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
The biggest problem I see with the Paper Trading Card Game / Collectible Card Game business model itself nowadays is how do you make it lucrative enough but not financially expensive enough to get as much out of the card game as possible while promoting more growth for local communities backing said card game? The problem is that unless your card game is tied to a successful anime/manga, video game franchise, or what have you and you're only relying on nostalgia alone to sell the brand which is where Magic: The Gathering is at right now then you're not going to be able to draw new blood into your card game unless they're cultured into it. The real challenge here is how to draw the attention of those who you're wanting to be cultured into your card game while simultaneously not alienating them in the process.
Excellent point.
I am trying to point out what NOT to do and they are doing it. I am not sure what TO do. I don't know if there actually is a solution at this point. They need a movie, they need a short Netflix like series if they want to expand. If not they need to make it cheaper and more accessible. This they are not doing and doing the exact opposite.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Playing since 1994: Currently MAGS (HomeBrew),Standard & Pauper (Pioneer and Modern are degenerate trash formats)
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
The biggest problem I see with the Paper Trading Card Game / Collectible Card Game business model itself nowadays is how do you make it lucrative enough but not financially expensive enough to get as much out of the card game as possible while promoting more growth for local communities backing said card game? The problem is that unless your card game is tied to a successful anime/manga, video game franchise, or what have you and you're only relying on nostalgia alone to sell the brand which is where Magic: The Gathering is at right now then you're not going to be able to draw new blood into your card game unless they're cultured into it. The real challenge here is how to draw the attention of those who you're wanting to be cultured into your card game while simultaneously not alienating them in the process.
Excellent point.
I am trying to point out what NOT to do and they are doing it. I am not sure what TO do. I don't know if there actually is a solution at this point. They need a movie, they need a short Netflix like series if they want to expand. If not they need to make it cheaper and more accessible. This they are not doing and doing the exact opposite.
Reminds me of a recent Tolarian Community College YouTube video debating about how popular is the Magic: The Gathering IP (Intellectual Property):
Private Mod Note
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America Bless Christ Jesus
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
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Nope, the opposite would more than likely occur.
Printing cards that players want and more playable cards that players can use is a good start.
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
Remember when we had the COVID-19 Lockdowns where everyone was forced to social distance and Local Game Stores (LGSs) literally had to resort to Curb-Side Pickup just to stay in business? The rising cost of inflation could trigger a repeat of that however In-Store Play will feel more like a luxury rather than a privilege before the pandemic started. With the pandemic starting to wind down I was kind of looking forward to FNM and the Pro Tour returning but it looks like that might not happen on account of well the pandemic combined with inflation increasing the cost to play.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
https://gasprices.aaa.com/
You will be hard pressed to find a station that has gas for a few pennies less than 4 dollars a gallon at this point, even in a state like Missouri. Unlike Missouri, my midwestern state has I believe the second highest total fuel tax rates in the nation as well. Its oppressive.
So then everything goes up in price that has to be transported/shipped. EVERY one of my bills is up at least 10 to 20 percent. The bogus inflation number of 8.5% is a cooked up under-representation of real home budget issues. Water bill is up, Electricity is up, Natural gas is up. Internet/Cable is up. Trash pickup just went up near 50% overnight due to hauling fuel "costs". Wish I could get a 50% raise. Groceries are through the roof just to feed a modest family of three. Home insurance went up 40% this year. UP UP UP!!! Cost of living is UP everywhere.
So in this situation, Hasbro thinks its a good idea to jack their prices UP ON A LUXURY ITEM, not a necessity to budgets that are already stretched thin. Where are the cuts in a home budget going to go? Necessities or luxuries? Its either dumb thinking or designed to hasten the death of paper Magic.
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
Sure they'll reprint Liliana, the Last Hope in Double Masters 2022 but not Liliana of the Veil because God forbid we can't have that card become cheap in Modern and Legacy right? She's kinda the next go to after Jace, the Mind Sculptor where players have begged to be reprinted into oblivion until Wizards of the Coast / Hasbro finally caved to demands. It also doesn't help that EDH / Commander and other Eternal formats are the main source of income for Paper Magic because of Wizards of the Coast / Hasbro's bias against Local Game Stores (LGSs) and Competitive Play in general therefore severely limiting the amount of new blood into the game which is unfortunate.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
Possibly correct. Guess which cohort has more disposable income to buy product?
I am not privy to the numbers but I would be willing to bet that every older/established/Legacy player out there spends 5 to 10 times as much on Magic product (phyiscal or digital) than an new/young/youth player just starting out on Arena and/or Paper. I would also guess turnover/attrition rate is FAR higher from the younger set than the established set as well, contrary to your statement. I could be wrong of course.
If they manage to kill off or effectively kill off paper Magic look for Arena not the be "free" any more. Probably some sort of subscription service would be my guess.
Double Masters should not be a draft set either. It should be all decent value reprints. But hey, gotta milk those whales right?
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
Magic: The Gathering is the ONLY Paper Trading Card Game / Collectible Card Game that promotes Casual Play in such a way that makes it very difficult for it's Paper Trading Card Game / Collectible Card Game competitors to duplicate without power creeping themselves to oblivion. These Paper Trading Card Game / Collectible Card Game competitors to Magic: The Gathering would rather not go through the hassle of Local Game Stores (LGSs) stocking up inventory of card singles to purchase that would take up way too much room in the store. It's very risky due to specific LGSs being reliant on certain communities for said card game and If the players in those communities aren't showing up at your LGS then why sell the product? That and LGS owners / employees don't want to put in the work to advertise these products when the more oblivious customers are the more it hurts their sales.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
Hasbro/Wotc: "Yep lets raise prices on a luxury item. Lets see how that works out."
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
They've literally conditioned Paper Magic in such a way to expect something more than just entertainment whether it be Whaling by hoarding and flipping Sealed Product online or playing the Stock Market with card singles which used to be regulated to only Reserve List cards. Yes part of the game's appeal is the collectable aspect. Wizards of the Coast / Hasbro knows that as long as they defend card values and rarely reprint a card into oblivion that isn't included in a Commander Pre-Con; Then they can charge higher prices for card singles as people will be 'unusually' willing to purchase them compared to other card games which is arguably a big reason why so many people are obsessed with MTG Finance compared to other card games. Lots of people who otherwise couldn't afford to have a hobby that is this expensive are able to play because they have ironclad confidence that they'll be able to recoup at least a portion of their investment if they need to. Problem? LGSs only accept Store Credit instead of Cash, Credit, or Debit.
Seriously, Paper Magic is arguably more expensive than Golf or Tennis or dozens of other hobbies and yet I see people playing who are working minimum wage jobs - it's honestly kind of weird to me. Especially since it's a game where your purchasing power directly affects your ability to win in the game, especially over a long period of time with meta shifts. An interesting thing is that with the Masters reprint sets, by setting the price as high as they do and only allowing for limited print runs, they do end up maximizing their profits, but it ends up being not satisfying for either stores, players, or collectors. It just does the least damage to the 'Paper Magic Economy' while still making them a lot of money. Somehow I don't believe many people have deep enough pockets that they would want to just destroy Paper Magic as know it for no benefit to themselves - this is a cash cow, they're practically printing money already, why mess with it too much? I dunno maybe so that players can actually afford to play at a much more reasonable cost?
So If someone like Elon Musk decided to buy out Wizards of the Coast or Hasbro, do you think it's more likely that they would shut it all down or ask Wizards of the Coast to get as much money as they can out of their players, so they could recoup some of the cost of acquiring the company? That's kind of like what Hasbro's shareholders are, and what they're demanding of Wizards of the Coast as it is. So really you're just pointing out something that we all know and understand. Players have limits to their patience and how much they're willing to spend - I expect that Wizards' analysts will do what they can to extract as much money as possible from the player base. But part of that calculation is not alienating that same player base too much or too quickly - if they change the game too much too fast or decide to simultaneously kill enough investors, it will decrease peoples' confidence in the game and lead to them making less money in the long run. Then again, the investors are being sided more than for the best interest of the players and collectors.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
That's the thing. I believe there are people that DON'T understand this or are willingly ignoring it.
And once again, any game, pass-time or non essential item/service (food, medicine, shelter) is considered a luxury item in economics. Magic the Gathering has ALWAYS been a luxury item. Pricing does not dictate a luxury item. By your statement you don't fully grasp that either. I'm not trying to be mean, just trying to inform people. Please don't take that the wrong way. I agree with a good deal of the other things you said. But at its core, MTG is a luxury, a non necessity and luxuries are always trimmed from budgets when it comes between them and essentials.
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
FaLe na Volta .
LaVe na WarNa .
-Irini Sengir
It does certainly look that way doesn't it?
Its why I mentioned that exact thing a few posts above.
The answer depends upon the buyer's goals. Is it a short term "flip it" investment? Or is a a long term investment looking for revenue stream and further growth?
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
The biggest problem I see with the Paper Trading Card Game / Collectible Card Game business model itself nowadays is how do you make it lucrative enough but not financially expensive enough to get as much out of the card game as possible while promoting more growth for local communities backing said card game? The problem is that unless your card game is tied to a successful anime/manga, video game franchise, or what have you and you're only relying on nostalgia alone to sell the brand which is where Magic: The Gathering is at right now then you're not going to be able to draw new blood into your card game unless they're cultured into it. The real challenge here is how to draw the attention of those who you're wanting to be cultured into your card game while simultaneously not alienating them in the process.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
Excellent point.
I am trying to point out what NOT to do and they are doing it. I am not sure what TO do. I don't know if there actually is a solution at this point. They need a movie, they need a short Netflix like series if they want to expand. If not they need to make it cheaper and more accessible. This they are not doing and doing the exact opposite.
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta