Scribe
Legend
Its the optics that matter more in this case. It was a product that was soundly rejected by near everyone involved in the ecosystem.
WotC Hasbro CEO is going to have a Fireside Chat With Investors Over WotC
Its the optics that matter more in this case. It was a product that was soundly rejected by near everyone involved in the ecosystem.
Zardnaar
Legend
True but ultimately it's about the bottom line. M30 is fun for YouTube drama but has no real relevance to MtG or D&D overall.
MtG cratering though that's a lot more significant.
Art Waring
halozix.com
Well time will tell either way. The shift happened, affecting the game, the company, the players, and the collectors, we will have to wait and see at least a year from now to see the long term effects of m30.
Zardnaar
Legend
Think the stock pprice has been declining for last year or so.
M30 seems to be the poster child for MtG problems it's not the primary cause of it.
Art Waring
halozix.com
Like I said, we will probably have to wait and see.
Art Waring
halozix.com
Not at all trying to be argumentative, because I respect your opinion, but this statement doesn't seem to do wotc any favors at all.
By your logic, they consider m30 to be worthless if they are willing to cancel the set and set it on fire, as you say.
Except, the whole m30 release is based on the assumption that the cards have value.
If they are as you say willing to set fire to m30, then what was the point of making such a big deal of the release, and why charge so much for something that is essentially worth nothing?
Zardnaar
Legend
Don't get me wrong u think M30 was a disaster.
Relative to MtG turnover though 15 million if product is chump change.
If magic in general is tanking that's acway bigger problem than M30.
Art Waring
halozix.com
Its not just the 15mil though, its the perception that the cards had or have value on the secondary market, or no value at all (proxies, not allowed in tournaments). And they can print power 9 proxies now whenever they want, and if they want they can pile them up and burn it all on a pyre as you say... essentially saying that the cards are in fact worthless.
Not to mention, when they break the spirit of the reserve list, they break the goodwill of the community at large. The community made their opinion known on this matter. I am not part of the mtg community anymore since I don't play anymore, but they have spoken with their wallets in a pretty significant way. The sets failure represents not just loss of revenue, but loss of value for the cards in general if they continue this practice in the future.
The entire reason mtg has lasted as the #1 card game for so long is because of the perceived value of the cards, leveraged against the cards utility and use in tournament legal play. Except the creator of the game has stated himself that treating mtg as a collectible is actually bad for the mtg community. This entire idea of artificial scarcity is coming back to bite them.
"If you are treating it [mtg] as a collectible first then you aren't doing your players any favors" - Richard Garfield
Zardnaar
Legend
Personally I think the reserve list was a mistake.
Rather than print the power 9 willy nilly just scatter a few in each new block or whatever.
Art Waring
halozix.com
Agreed, that would have been the right move.
m30 could have been a success too, pricing it at say $60-100 for a draft box, that way it actually could have been used in draft play in LGS', and everyone could experience opening beta cards and get to play with them too. Win-win for everyone, players get to play with classic cards for a unique event, LGS' get to run the events to help their business and keep supporting mtg, and they probably would have sold out.
