Call of Duty - The Card Game (TCG)

[RelentlessRolento]

http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/d22_8357-1.jpg


http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/d22_8351.jpg

Official Site:
http://entertainment.upperdeck.com/cod/en/

Impressions:
http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008/04/21/hands-on-with-the-call-of-duty-card-game/




wow... I've been waiting years for a real time based card game that's not magic. call me very intrigued.

[MSUHitman]

Well I am supremely pissed off at UDE right now. As if WoW wasn't a big enough flop, now there's this POS (IMO) card game that will be lucky to get anyone to buy it (I guess the OP is interested though.) Instead of concentrating on getting WoW to rebound or, heaven forbid, put some money back into their CCG with the most rabid fanbase, VS System, we get this fucking ninja junk.

It's a complete waste of time and money and I predict this will last one release and then fade away into obscurity. Anyone remember the Kingdom Hearts CCG that released last fall, yeah I didn't think so.

There is a set pattern for CCG's that work and others don't work beyond this initial 1-3 sets:

Works

Magic - Loosely based around fantasy/D&D in a different form, plus it was the first game so it set the precedent.

Pokemon/Yugioh - Based off anime/manga plus aimed at a younger audience. Plus, the videogames for both came AFTER the anime/manga/CCG so it didn't syphon off players. Fun games that give kids the feeling that they can win if they have the best cards, which drives the secondary market through the roof. Tier 1 Yugioh decks can run anywhere from $200-$2,000 or more to build if you don't pull cards because almost all the cards in Yugioh that are any good are super rare or ultra rare, few rares and commons are worth anything in Yugi.

VS System (Marvel/DC/Hellboy CCG) - All UDE got to do for Yugi was collect the money for publishing/distributing/running the tournament system outside Japan for Konami but didn't get to design the cards, have any say on what the prizes/promos were, and had to start issuing rules additions and ban/restricted lists for Yugioh that take tens of pages to print out.

While that made them a lot of money, they wanted their own CCG to establish before (if?) Yugi's popularity ended they would still be viable in the CCG market. They wanted a game they controled that fixed Magic's problems but also had a license that would sell to hardcore and casual fans. Since comic books were open for a license, the VS System was born.

It is still one of the most successful CCG's in it's initial start (right behind Magic, Pokemon, and Yugioh) but UDE spent so much money or setting up the Pro Circuit, it didn't make money it's first 3 years and finally Upper Deck corporate mandated cutbacks that drove most of the "pro players" away because of cutbacks in prizes, but focused on local play and the hardcore fans.

The last 2 VS sets sold out of their print runs, but that was after UDE cut back on the print runs because there was so much older product out in the market distributors wanted less risk of being stuck with extra product.

Doesn't work

Anime licenses (Yu Yu Hakusho, Inyuasha, Bleach, Naruto, etc.) - These games are just a cash in for the anime's they are based off of and do not have the money behind them to properly test the game for balance, broken/infinite combos, etc. They maybe fun to learn, but once you go to a tournament and see 3 different broken or infinite combos make you lose every game you play, you're read to trash the cards. Usually companies at fault are either Score Entertainment or Bandai. Only non-Pokemon/Yugioh CCG based off an anime to do well for more than 3 sets was Dragonball, but with all the changes Score made between Dragonball, Dragonball Z, and Dragonball GT, they killed the game off.

WoW - It's initial couple of sets sold faster than any CCG maybe ever, but a significant portion of that was driven by players of the MMO just looking for the loot cards (special codes with scratch off codes for exclusive in-game items.) I heard stories of people literally buying boxes, opening the packs looking for the loot cards (which had a ratio of 1:2 boxes), then throwing all the other cards away.

A lot of people saw that $100K check that went out at the WoW CCG World Championship last year, but if you look at the prize distribution, it was horribly unbalanced and only the top 2 or so players really got enough money to justify the trip to San Diego.

Now with next year's WoW World's being in Paris and the same uneven prize distribution making traveling a losing effort to all but the winner, unbalanced constructed play where only rush decks can win, power creep coming into the game too quickly, and a bad sealed environment, the WoW CCG is fast dying and doesn't have the fanbase that VS does to survive the money players leaving.

This CoD CCG looks like Activision wanting UDE to get them a quick buck like Blizzard got with WoW, but WoW translates better into a CCG (art of characters, fantasy setting, etc.) than CoD does (guns, RPG players more likely to play CCG than shooter fans, etc.) so this isn't going to work.

Mark my words, CoD will go down in a blaze of glory after just one set as TMNT, Avatar, and Pirates of the Carribean did for UDE between 2004-2006.

[RelentlessRolento]

have a bit of a bad taste in your mouth :lol:

totally understandable. I'll assume positive though as even if a game fails horribly in the market, game mechanics always make or break the total fun of a game.

[suko_32]

As soon as I saw TCG I knew it was Rolento :)

[zerowing]

I've heard the game will come with "Spoils of War.” What does that mean?

Each Squad Deck will contain a Spoils of War card. Each Spoils of War card has a special code on it that lets you access unique items. In addition, players who collect all eight Squad Decks can get some exclusive “spoils of war.” These items will be revealed in the coming months!

So what DLC for Call of Duty 4? If so I might be slightly interested.

[MSUHitman]

So what DLC for Call of Duty 4? If so I might be slightly interested.

This is a direct copy of WoW's tactics (read my initial post) to get the game players to buy the cards even if they won't play the game. Since this is not an MMO and on a console all I can think of is maybe these will be exclusive themes/gamerpics/clothes on the consoles or maybe swag as I seriously doubt they would do any type of special weapon as that would unbalance the game.

Plus any of this stuff from the cards will be for CoD 5, not 4, as the CCG is based only on the WWII Call of Duty's.

[Cao Cao]

Yugi: I summon my British Commando and place a face-down card!
Kaiba: Your pathetic Commando is nothing compared to the power of my three... Desert Panzers!
Yugi: Not so fast Kaiba! You've activated my trap card... summoning the Panzerfaust, which increases my Commando's attack power for every Desert Panzer on the field and, as a bonus, gives him the ability to counterattack! You lose!
Kaiba: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! *Desert Panzers are destroyed and Kaiba's Life Points goes down to 0*

[InuFaye]

I am down with this.

Where can I get my starter pack?

[insertcleverthing]

Is there a camp card where you sit around eating s'mores, making the game unbearable for your opponent?

[Clarke]

Pokemon/Yugioh - Based off anime/manga plus aimed at a younger audience. Plus, the videogames for both came AFTER the anime/manga/CCG so it didn't syphon off players.
The Pokemon games were first and the Yu-gi-oh manga was first.

[eswat]

I'd prefer a Pokemon spin off actually.

http://img379.imageshack.us/img379/9880/heilpikachuev1.jpg