The current year 2024 could be great, especially for fans of trading card games. This is not due to the number of new products alone, but rather to the expected competition.
For many years there were hardly any new products on the market for fans of trading card games, at least none that caught on with masses of players. That will change drastically this year because the market is changing. Hasbro is breaking new ground with Magic – The Gathering, Ravensburger will continue to add new content to its best-selling TCG Disney Lorcana and launch it in organized play, and Asmodee, together with Fantasy Flight Games, wants to cause a stir in the trading card game genre with Star Wars Unlimited. Fans of the genre could particularly benefit from the situation.
Lots of games – lots of competition
With Disney Lorcana and the hype that arose around the trading card game, Ravensburger was able to focus on the genre again. Previously, there had been no new TCG titles that had achieved such popularity for years. Magic – The Gathering, Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh were always there, but for a long time they were hardly able to make a difference in getting new players excited about trading card games. The Hasbro subsidiary Wizards of the Coast only succeeded in doing this with cross-promotions: Magic cards as a brand mix with Jurassic World, Tomb Raider and now Doctor Who caused a stir, and this was even more successful with the spin-off of The Lord of the Rings Rings and the “One Ring,” a unique card whose mere existence built hype around Magic – The Gathering.
The numbers speak for the living scene: In March of last year, the Pokémon Company announced the news that almost 53 billion Pokémon trading cards had been sold worldwide, almost 27 years after the start of the trading card game. For Hasbro, however, Magic – The Gathering became the first billion-dollar brand at the start of the anniversary year on the occasion of the title's 30th anniversary. The genre's top trio of Magic, Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh continues to be expanded with new content today.
Trading card games: Popular, not very present
The visibility of trading card games alone seemed to dwindle despite good sales figures. In particular, you can hardly blame those who are potentially interested in quickly dismissing any idea of getting started in the TCG hobby: With the large number of cards and sets available and the constant rule changes, getting started is anything but easy. Anyone who starts collecting established titles today has essentially missed most of the game long ago. And novelties or niche titles like Keyforge or Flesh and Blood didn't reach the masses.
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Star Wars: Unlimited TCG Shadow of the Galaxy... * | 29,95 EUR | ||
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Fantasy Flight Games SWH0303DE Fall of the Republic... * |
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Then came Ravensburger. Then came Disney Lorcana. Then came the newcomers. The genre entered a new heyday. Last summer, the Disney trading card game sparked a hype that even surprised industry insiders. It was Lorcana's weakness, which was suspected before the game was launched, the Disney license and its fairy-tale characters, which turned out to be a strength in reaching new target groups. Ravensburger's appearance was so well received at Gamescom 2023 that the trade fair organizers reacted, jumped on the trend and even want to offer their own board game area at the next Gamescom.
The contingents of the first wave of content that were put on the market were quickly sold out; The anger about this erupted on the Internet. Ravensburger promised to remedy the situation and announced a reprint. At the same time, we continued with the second chapter and the announcement of the third for spring 2024. That's exactly when the starting signal will be given for a mega year for trading card fans. Anyone who has always thought about getting into the trading card game genre will hardly find a better time. Ravensburger is gradually releasing new information about the cards in the new set “The Ink Lands” to the public. Fantasy Flight Games is approaching the release of Star Wars Unlimited more generous with details, explains various aspects of the trading card game based on the powerful license - which is also owned by Disney. In any case, one thing is clear: It will be an exciting year, whichever trading card game you ultimately choose.
Possibilities!
Fans who get into a trading card game now can be there right from the start: This is easily possible with the already young Disney Lorcana and with the one starting in March 2024 Star Wars Unlimited from Fantasy Flight Games and Asmodee respectively. But even those who have always been interested in Magic - The Gathering could have a good time with the market release of the first "standard legal" release of the new year - Murder in Karlov Manor. Although it will be difficult to make up for what we have missed over the past 30 years, Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast are offering ambitious beginners a significantly better chance of competing in draft formats with the introduction of the new “Play Boosters”. This will initially benefit the absolute newbie for collecting reasons alone, but ambitious beginners will benefit from the change in the long term. In addition, the Play Boosters are actually a novelty, which at least ensures a little more equal opportunities in this regard.
Basically, for newcomers to everyday TCG life, three games with three approaches are also suitable for tournament formats. However, only Disney Lorcana and Star Wars Unlimited. Both games should be kept alive and supported in the long term through “organized play” and thus through competition structures. The official launch of Disney Lorcana is still imminent, as is its direct competitor Star Wars Unlimited. However, both titles will be vying for new players in the spring, and the publishers should also marketing their content intensively.
The fact that Ravensburger is also taking a new approach to advertising with Disney Lorcana is shown by the focused use of influencer shows at the start of the new sets. The stars of the scene competed against each other in small tournaments - with sometimes a rough understanding of the rules - and the idea seemed to be well received by many YouTube and Twitch users. You can hardly advertise a trading card game closer to the young target group. What you need to know is that, according to Hasbro, the average trading card player is around 30 years old; Although this is still in the age range for influencer formats to be most effective in influencing purchases, it is already towards the upper end. This means that there is enormous marketing potential for publishers in the area of trading card games, which has rarely if ever been used.
The publishers have to stretch a lot in order to be able to bring their products to fans in the long term. In any case, the will to do this is there, because both Ravensburger and Fantasy Flight Games communicated early on that they had already made plans for many years. The future looks bright for fans of trading card games.
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BILIPLE Card Box for 9000+ Trading Cards,Collectible Cards Box with... * |
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Mlikero Trading Card Storage Box for 1800+ Cards,... * |
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