Well, I’d like to start by saying that I’m nowhere near as good of a player as some of the names that have posted before me. Fulop, Ness, even Mr. Silver are all better players than I. But if nothing else, I still want to have my opinion heard.
I’ve been playing TCGO since the closed beta period, quite enjoying myself, and doing my best to encourage people I knew to join too, even going as far as giving out extra beta codes to younger players that I knew had no way to get one. (There’s no game stores here, only target and wal-mart) Seeing the efforts of Pooka and several others, I began recording matches I played online, saving each match, including my commentary, and uploading them to youtube, while also live streaming each match. Already, having a visual record of matches has helped to identify misplays and to show players who are still “learning the ropes” about a deck observe how to use it.
As of most recent count, I’ve redeemed about 350 to 375 codes. Some of those are from boosters I bought physically, others are from buying codes online, and some were gifts from other people, such as Rogue_Archetype’s Pokegym guru contest.
To be entirely honest, I figured this would happen. Pokemon USA has to serve their masters in Japan. Japan does not like the idea of selling codes and singles via a secondary market like this. I note that most of the above examples other players of posted about are US or European companies. The problem we are currently facing is that Japanese mentality about digital single sales and the player base mentality about digital single sales are at odds.
We can protest all we’d like, in fact, every single person who has even read this thread could leave right now, and Japan would probably still be okay with it. To them, it’s “kids kids kids” and “forget the adults, get more kids in their place.”
Sadly, there’s not much we can do. Our best bet is to continue to argue with logic, class, and skill for our side of the argument. After all, if recent examples in the physical TCG world are any indication, TPCI does listen when they can.
In a world where I was in charge of figuring out the solution to this problem, here’s what I’d implement:
• Gems cost $1 USD (or equivalent currency)
• A single booster credit costs 3 Gems (so $3)
• Gem rewards for winning tournaments
• A “Gem Store” (more on this below)
A Gem store would allow people to order physical rewards, just like the My Nintendo Rewards program, which rewards players for registering games and consoles. The gem cost of the items would be placed above market value, so an item that would cost 5 dollars in real life might cost 8 Gems. That way, if one really wants the item, they can buy it with gems at above market value. Or, they can try to win it via tournament wins. Make items costing a lot of gems, maybe things such as Fancy Deck Sleeves, Playmats, or even Game Cartridges for lots and lots of gems. This provides your “Way out of the closed loop” while also rewarding players for playing and not just selling.
But of course, I’m not in charge, and that’s purely a suggestion. But tying the TCGO to the Player Rewards system would be a win-win in my opinion.
