Changes Coming to Pokémon TCG Online Code Redemptions

[Darkrai EX]

In theory, couldn't this increase the value of our unused codes? If new sets will only unlock a booster of their corresponding set, but the codes we have no continue to be wild cards, that would make them somewhat useful, wouldn't it?

 

[cabd]

In theory, couldn't this increase the value of our unused codes? If new sets will only unlock a booster of their corresponding set, but the codes we have no continue to be wild cards, that would make them somewhat useful, wouldn't it?

They already said no. They change to being the one you redeemed them from.

For now, code cards from earlier expansions will continue to unlock booster credits, which can be redeemed for any expansion released before Black & White—Plasma Storm that is currently available in the online game. When the transition is complete, unredeemed code cards from every Pokémon TCG expansion will unlock digital booster packs from the same expansion.

 

[deckmaster]

The PTCGO has been a terrible disappointment for the Pokemon TCG community. Ever since its start, the program has been a downward spiral that showed no room, hope or interest in improvement. What kept the program up and running with people playing was the hope from the dedicated fan base that the PTCGO would one day have online sanctioned tournaments. Though, and quite sadly, that day has not come and may never will. Now, to add insult to injury, the out of touch program adds a new redemption system that makes the months of code collecting useless.

For those of you who want to play Pokemon TCG online and for free, try Playtcg.me. It's been out longer than PTCGO and is 100 times better. Also, you can't beat FREE!

 

[Shen]

It could be considered broken, though: too many unredeemed codes in the system, and getting worse with every new set.

Why is this a problem though? I mean really, no one buys packs for the codes. They either trade for them or buy them separately (usually online like at troll and toad). Why would restricting access to codes increase sales?

 

[losjackal]

The PTCGO has been a terrible disappointment for the Pokemon TCG community. Ever since its start, the program has been a downward spiral that showed no room, hope or interest in improvement. What kept the program up and running with people playing was the hope from the dedicated fan base that the PTCGO would one day have online sanctioned tournaments. Though, and quite sadly, that day has not come and may never will. Now, to add insult to injury, the out of touch program adds a new redemption system that makes the months of code collecting useless.

Seriously? When you speak in such absolutes, I must reply with corrections.

1. Many people prefer to play on PTCGO, because the actions are automated. It's a lot less effort than clicking and dragging everything. PlayTCG has it's use, but not everyone is disappointed with PTCGO.
2. No hope or interest for improvement? They scrapped the Flash-based version and completely rewrote it in a new game engine.
3. Code collecting is not "useless" it will continue to work the same way for the next 18 months. The only difference, and it is a big one, is that they won't be equivalent to codes in new sets. As already mentioned on this thread, old codes cards will still have their fair value.
4. Didn't you see the latest Community Update? PTCGO is beginning work in earnest on Tournament mode: http://pokegym.net/forums/showthread.php?t=171944

 

[losjackal]

Why is this a problem though? I mean really, no one buys packs for the codes. They either trade for them or buy them separately (usually online like at troll and toad). Why would restricting access to codes increase sales?

That's right, the codes are just a side benefit to opening packs. And people don't value the codes highly enough, which is why there is such a surplus of them. Every three months the volume of codes goes up, and the price of them will continue to drop. Without a change, at some point the codes become near worthless. In terms of game design, that is a problem. So, going forward, if you restrict the codes from each new set to only be redeemable for that set, you just made them more valuable. The Plasma Storm booster codes will get consumed way faster. It may result in more sales, or it may not if people are already buying enough of them in aggregate. So I'm saying "increasing sales" wasn't the primary goal....fixing the hole in the system was.

 

[deckmaster]

Seriously? When you speak in such absolutes, I must reply with corrections.

1. Many people prefer to play on PTCGO, because the actions are automated. It's a lot less effort than clicking and dragging everything. PlayTCG has it's use, but not everyone is disappointed with PTCGO.
2. No hope or interest for improvement? They scrapped the Flash-based version and completely rewrote it in a new game engine.
3. Code collecting is not "useless" it will continue to work the same way for the next 18 months. The only difference, and it is a big one, is that they won't be equivalent to codes in new sets. As already mentioned on this thread, old codes cards will still have their fair value.
4. Didn't you see the latest Community Update? PTCGO is beginning work in earnest on Tournament mode: http://pokegym.net/forums/showthread.php?t=171944

I was not aware of the last piece of information. But as the old saying goes, "I will believe it when I see it".

PTCGO, for me, has been one big disappointment--and this latest move doesn't help at all. To be "Frank". it downright sucks, and my collection of codes were all in vain. I was a huge supporter of this program because Pokemon TCG is a relatively inexpensive card game--which is a great thing. However, I myself spend more in traveling to tournaments than on cards; so, I welcomed this program with open arms in hopes of having sanctioned tournaments to earn Championship points, and encouraged my league members to support it.

I strongly believe that the future of all TCG's will most likely adopt this type of online tournament structure for areas that are difficult to travel into for sanctioned tournaments, and to meet the expectations of the ever-growing field of technology (wouldn't it be great to play for points on your Ipad from anywhere in the world for any TCG?). I am aware that creating such a system is quite difficult, and I certainly don't mean to be so critical of the hard working members on PTCGO, but it is sure hard to overlook the many hardships this program has/is having.

 

[bullados]

Then be glad that it's still in "Open Beta". Which means they're still working on it. Don't start getting overly concerned until it ceases to be a Beta release. And, honestly, that's probably still a year (or more) away. They are working on this product almost completely in public, from conception through completion. The only other game I've ever seen do that was Minecraft. And that took, what, 3 years to go from public beta to an actual release?

My advice? Enjoy the program for what it is currently, ask them through their forums for stuff you want in the future, and don't get angry over it until it's actually released.

 

[canderson]

I literally just started playing tcgo 2 days ago. I thought that I was pack name for pack name sense i heard about tcgo. I come to find out I can get any pack! I was sooo happy to make my deck online by just getting packs i needed, but now this is kinda makin me sad. Y change this? I mean its noy a big change cuz i just found out about It, but then again i entered 400+ codes and got the packs i want, it looks like that's gonna b changing........oh well

 

[NinjaDeathStrike]

That's right, the codes are just a side benefit to opening packs. And people don't value the codes highly enough, which is why there is such a surplus of them. Every three months the volume of codes goes up, and the price of them will continue to drop. Without a change, at some point the codes become near worthless. In terms of game design, that is a problem. So, going forward, if you restrict the codes from each new set to only be redeemable for that set, you just made them more valuable. The Plasma Storm booster codes will get consumed way faster. It may result in more sales, or it may not if people are already buying enough of them in aggregate. So I'm saying "increasing sales" wasn't the primary goal....fixing the hole in the system was.

I love how when people expect something from ptcgo, it's defenders scold them with things like, "It's free, they don't owe you anything!"and "Ptcgo is a bonus for buying real packs!" But now, the fact that the code cards are losing value is a problem for TCPi. What does that matter if ptcgo is just a bonus?

Personally I think TCPi does care about secondhand sales...because they've been cut out of the process. Now they're essentially just punishing everyone who bought code cards no one else wanted, while also increasing their profits by forcing some of their biggest supporters (the people who have already redeemed so many codes they have all the cards online) to spend double. I mean really, it's a pretty brilliant move from a money standpoint, it's just too bad that they don't care about their customers at all.

 

[losjackal]

You don't feel you're exaggerating a little? ...

Now they're essentially just punishing everyone who bought code cards no one else wanted

Those code cards have the exact same value today as they did two weeks ago, but their future value will be surpassed by the newest code cards being released. That's your definition of punishment?


Look, it's not possible to satisfy everyone at all times. It's foolish (in my opinion) to be disappointed that the company's decision doesn't cater to the person who snatched up all the unused codes at attractive prices. That person is vastly outnumbered by everyone else. No one forced them to buy those unused codes, and the only reason they were able to acquire so many is because of the fundamental problem that the huge volume of unused codes is causing them to be so undervalued. Why should they be pitied, if they took advantage of the situation in the first place?

 

[AnUnown]

jackal, I commend you for even trying.

 

[NinjaDeathStrike]

You don't feel you're exaggerating a little? ...



Those code cards have the exact same value today as they did two weeks ago, but their future value will be surpassed by the newest code cards being released. That's your definition of punishment?


Look, it's not possible to satisfy everyone at all times. It's foolish (in my opinion) to be disappointed that the company's decision doesn't cater to the person who snatched up all the unused codes at attractive prices. That person is vastly outnumbered by everyone else. No one forced them to buy those unused codes, and the only reason they were able to acquire so many is because of the fundamental problem that the huge volume of unused codes is causing them to be so undervalued. Why should they be pitied, if they took advantage of the situation in the first place?

What about the people who were just saving their codes for when the game worked properly? Or for when tournaments started? Or people who have to buy codes second hand because they live in countries where packs don't come with booster codes or aren't available at all?

Codes don't have the same value they did two weeks ago. They're kind of like gift certificates to a high fashion shop, only after Christmas, the shop announces that all the gift cards that were purchased won't be able to buy any of the next season's new clothes.

You can pull out little bits of my responses to nitpick all you want, but at the end of the day this is still a negative for the customer. Being a customer, of course I'm unhappy about it.

 

[losjackal]

Yes, there will be unhappiness, from someone or another, because there are different levels of customers. So instead of generalizing, it's productive to look at the impact on each kind.

What about the people who were just saving their codes for when the game worked properly? Or for when tournaments started? Or people who have to buy codes second hand because they live in countries where packs don't come with booster codes or aren't available at all?

Good question. How many codes have been saved up? The game's working much better now than the previous version, so arguably some of those people should already be redeeming. But for those waiting for tournaments, well yeah, those aren't ready yet. Let's say it's ready in 3 months. What are they going to do?

Well, they still need the old cards, so a good number of unredeemed codes are still going to be used to redeem booster credits to purchase older packs, so they can get the staples and good Pokémon that are in the format now. And if these people have been accumulating and saving up codes along the way, then they are probably going to acquire even more codes from Plasma Storm. So they will have to use those and those alone to redeem for packs of Plasma Storm.

So what's the difference? Let's say after redeeming their 18 - 72 codes of Plasma Storm (assuming they bought between 1/2 box and 2 boxes), they won't be able to use their older codes for Plasma Storm.


Is this a fair and reasonable situation to place some of their customers in? The Pokémon Company thinks so. The impact just isn't that big for this type of customer.


I do like your Christmas shopping example, but since gift certificates are like cash (with state-by-state laws that govern their redemption), I think the analogy would be more accurate if was a promotion code to get a significant discount off a certain type of clothing. And yes, maybe that Christmas promotion suddenly doesn't apply to the new line of clothing coming out in the spring. People still need other clothes besides those new spring fashions, so the promotion still has the same value as it did before. It's just not as good as the new promotions also coming out in the spring. To take advantage of that new promotion, yeah, you gotta buy something again.

 

[pokemonmike]

After reading many of the posts, what is to prevent people from making a killing on booster packs by redeeming a ton of each set and then holding onto them and trading them for much higher prices after the change? I know of quite a few of the players that have the ability to do this, such as GraveyBeast for example. Is this fair to the players who want cards from the older sets? I mean you can get a code for the new set under the new system for the cost of a booster pack, if you need a pack from say DXE, You can't get that booster credit so you have to trade say 2 codes for the price of one for DXE pack because only certain few have that type of pack.

Will this eliminate the use of the store because there is no use listing different sets for purchase afterwards if the codes are only good for the current sets? To me this makes no sense and will just drive the prices up even more which alot of people can't afford. I myself quit playing IRL just because I don't have 2-6 hundred dollars to travel to events to play but love the game and enjoy playing online.

Will this mean a simple "Catcher" could fetch alot more due to the fact it won't be available in packs but through trade only? I know they now fetch 3-4 online packs for one, will this make it that a new player will have to pay upwards of 5-8 packs?

Im my opinion the disadvantages out weigh the advantages.

Just my opinion though.

 

[NinjaDeathStrike]

Yes, there will be unhappiness, from someone or another, because there are different levels of customers. So instead of generalizing, it's productive to look at the impact on each kind.



Good question. How many codes have been saved up? The game's working much better now than the previous version, so arguably some of those people should already be redeeming. But for those waiting for tournaments, well yeah, those aren't ready yet. Let's say it's ready in 3 months. What are they going to do?

Well, they still need the old cards, so a good number of unredeemed codes are still going to be used to redeem booster credits to purchase older packs, so they can get the staples and good Pokémon that are in the format now. And if these people have been accumulating and saving up codes along the way, then they are probably going to acquire even more codes from Plasma Storm. So they will have to use those and those alone to redeem for packs of Plasma Storm.

So what's the difference? Let's say after redeeming their 18 - 72 codes of Plasma Storm (assuming they bought between 1/2 box and 2 boxes), they won't be able to use their older codes for Plasma Storm.


Is this a fair and reasonable situation to place some of their customers in? The Pokémon Company thinks so. The impact just isn't that big for this type of customer.


I do like your Christmas shopping example, but since gift certificates are like cash (with state-by-state laws that govern their redemption), I think the analogy would be more accurate if was a promotion code to get a significant discount off a certain type of clothing. And yes, maybe that Christmas promotion suddenly doesn't apply to the new line of clothing coming out in the spring. People still need other clothes besides those new spring fashions, so the promotion still has the same value as it did before. It's just not as good as the new promotions also coming out in the spring. To take advantage of that new promotion, yeah, you gotta buy something again.

And those who have no choice but to buy codes because it's the only way for them to get them (like me), or who only play online? I'd say they make up a significant percentage of TCGO's players. Maybe as high as 20% (just a guess)? This is a major drawback for them. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to afford to continue to play due to this change, and I don't think I'll be the only one. This isn't a threat or anything like that. I want to play, but this change is going to make it a lot harder for me to continue to do that. As I've said multiple times, this is a drawback for players. There is no upside for them. Even for players who can afford to continue playing or get their codes from packs, they're still losing a convenient feature and having the acquisition of cards become more difficult. The decision was motivated by money, plain and simple.

Also, the implied value of codes was much higher, and TCPi did nothing to warn or notice players of the coming change. Even telling us before boundaries crossed was released would have been better than saying "Surprise all your codes don't work for the next set!" There are numerous ways this (in my opinion poor) decision could have been handled better.

 

[losjackal]

After reading many of the posts, what is to prevent people from making a killing on booster packs by redeeming a ton of each set and then holding onto them and trading them for much higher prices after the change?

Do you mean 18 months from now? Because regarding older packs, nothing is changing until then. Yes, after then, if you don't have booster codes for Emerging Powers, you can't acquire virtual packs of Emerging Powers. EP is popular due to Catcher, but other sets are popular for other reasons too. I believe only the most current set will have the highest value, everything else will remain mostly equivalent. That means I could probably still trade a pack of Dark Explorers for a pack of Emerging Powers one-for-one. Though, in theory this means each set's pack value can begin to increase and decrease individually, because right now the booster credit system is forcing them all to remain equal now. So maybe the trading system will prove that some sets' packs become more valuable than others. Just like real life.

 

[NinjaDeathStrike]

A lot of the sets may have rotated by then too. Meaning there's no real need to acquire those cards.

 

[FireFighter095ReBorn]

This is bull. This change means if i want a BC pack i need ot buy a BC pack or trade a trainer for a BC code and so on for the set. Man i dont like this because im a big supporter of the online game but when i get my credits i like to be either diverse or like to go to the one set. This hurts that option but in a way i understand because players wanta get into modified and the older sets arent big anymore. Its gonna be a weird transition but i hope it works well for them

 

[losjackal]

FireFighter, to be clear, you have 18 months from now where nothing is changing regarding packs up to BC.

After that, yeah, if you want to BC pack you'll have to trade for it. But if the economy works the way we think it will where the most recent set is the most valuable, you could probably trade 1 pack of that set for 1.5 or 2 of BC.

So in the end it is a good change for people who will have recent codes on hand. That includes most new players to PTCGO.
Not so good of a change for people who have hoarded tons of old codes (myself included...I have a reasonable amount, 250+).