While magic is not exactly "expensive" (tho you can surely make it expensive, I spend 5000€ on cards alone in the last year, not counting sleeves, playmats and so on - well, I also made 500 back due to selling some cards that have gone waaay up, so I guess I can relate to the 90% buying 10% selling;) ) but its also about "what do you get". Kitchentable player btw
60 paper cards for 500€ could net you a playstation + playstation vr + moove controllers or aim controller or a game if you get a good deal.
(180€ playstation 4 slim, 250 ps vr, 70 for the game or controllers)
Now compare this:
- A Console with lots of development time and high-tech materials
- A headset stuffed with tech that lets you dive into other worlds
- A game that was developed by a ****ton of people and consumed lots of time not only by programming, but also balancing and artwork. Compare the artwork going into a game alone with the artwork going into a magic set - it has to be A LOT more. Development Time: Sometimes years, while a single magic set comes down to 1/4 of a year (yes, I know, they are in development and playtesting much longer, but there are also multiple sets in construction at the same time, so cut this as you like)
- Some neat free 2 play games like warframe, wich will allow you to sink houndreds of hours into.
Oooooor you could have
60 paper cards, and if you are lucky 15 more to sideboard. Hope you don't get the bannhammer.
- "Permanent" costs (mainly: your electricity bill) are also usually much cheaper than the cost to regularly drive to your gamestore.
Now, don't get me wrong, I love magic, but I can also see why people see it as an expensive hobby - its not expensive in comparison to other hobbies, but its expensive for "just" beeing 60 pieces of cardboard with cool artwork and a good game balance. If you order something at amazon you get a decks worth of cardboard as packaging - cardboard is percieved as "trash-material" in many cases. Even printed cardboard envelops 50% of our products (the other 50% have plastic... some have both)
So, comparing on what a card costs, and how much it costs to produce that card, in comparison to other things can seem quite expensive.
Also, other hobbies have practical uses:
If you have a Car, you can drive wherever you want. A staple of 60 magic cards... can sit on your counter until you play with it.
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60 paper cards for 500€ could net you a playstation + playstation vr + moove controllers or aim controller or a game if you get a good deal.
(180€ playstation 4 slim, 250 ps vr, 70 for the game or controllers)
Now compare this:
- A Console with lots of development time and high-tech materials
- A headset stuffed with tech that lets you dive into other worlds
- A game that was developed by a ****ton of people and consumed lots of time not only by programming, but also balancing and artwork. Compare the artwork going into a game alone with the artwork going into a magic set - it has to be A LOT more. Development Time: Sometimes years, while a single magic set comes down to 1/4 of a year (yes, I know, they are in development and playtesting much longer, but there are also multiple sets in construction at the same time, so cut this as you like)
- Some neat free 2 play games like warframe, wich will allow you to sink houndreds of hours into.
Oooooor you could have
60 paper cards, and if you are lucky 15 more to sideboard. Hope you don't get the bannhammer.
- "Permanent" costs (mainly: your electricity bill) are also usually much cheaper than the cost to regularly drive to your gamestore.
Now, don't get me wrong, I love magic, but I can also see why people see it as an expensive hobby - its not expensive in comparison to other hobbies, but its expensive for "just" beeing 60 pieces of cardboard with cool artwork and a good game balance. If you order something at amazon you get a decks worth of cardboard as packaging - cardboard is percieved as "trash-material" in many cases. Even printed cardboard envelops 50% of our products (the other 50% have plastic... some have both)
So, comparing on what a card costs, and how much it costs to produce that card, in comparison to other things can seem quite expensive.
Also, other hobbies have practical uses:
If you have a Car, you can drive wherever you want. A staple of 60 magic cards... can sit on your counter until you play with it.