Since my post questioning the veracity of Vince's statements wasn't deleted as I thought, I get to answer it anyway. Joy. ¬_¬
OK, cards shouldn't be obscenely expensive, but not requiring any cost to play this game at the highest level?
Who said that there should be no cost? If I managed to miss a post on a small thread, that is horribly embarrassing, but if not then your post is the only one that makes such an assertion, Vince.
Most of us are concerned that the cost to play a competitive deck is too steep for many players, especially younger. That is not the same thing, and if you were trying to demonstrate a point through exaggeration, well there is a reason I have been trying to stop using that technique myself; it doesn't work too well.
No one is saying that the game should be free, and the logic behind keeping "entry costs" down seems to hold even when taken to extremes.
If you or your kid is the best in baseball, you'll pay for the best glove, bat, travelling team...or your kid will just not play at that level.
We aren't talking about being the best, we are talking about the ability to play at a competitive level; lacking
Pokémon Catcher is crippling. I don't know every deck in the game, so maybe there is one that doesn't use it, but most I see run at least three copies... unless the person doesn't have them.
While there are more practical issues with quality (that can affect performance) for sporting equipment, if we are comparing the expenses for sporting equipment to TCG costs, then the equivalent of buying the best bat, gloves, etc. equates to buying "golden"
Pokémon Catcher and top quality sleeves.
Both are going to have travel expenses (and similar things), so again the comparison fails.
Playing this, or any game at the highest level requires a financial commitment.
This is a factual statement but also don't apply to this discussion. We are talking about any attempts at competitive play, not just going to Worlds, Nationals, etc. The price of
Pokemon Catcher is frustrating for even casual play.
---------- Post added 10/05/2012 at 10:04 AM ----------
Why don't you explain why a business owner should continue to dedicate space to a game they can't profit from?
Except that post you quoted wasn't addressing that point, was it? It was questioning the dubious comparison of high level sports competition to playing the Pokémon TCG beyond the most casual of levels.
I already tried to address the business side of it;
bad set is bad set. ¬_¬