Old Fashioned CCG Fan

I don't know about you, but I loved the CCG. What Decipher did with that game is a step above incredible. It was a new breed of card game at the time, one where you actually play at certain locations and can mass an army in many different spots and fight on many different fronts. I just don't get the same feel with the new TCG as I did the CCG.

From the first I heard of Decipher loosing the rights, I was furious. I wanted to see it expand on with the first three movies, and even see just how interesting it would get with many of the Expanded Universe characters running around. Now we may never know what it would have been like to play with Interdictor Cruisers, or what I thought would have been real fun, MORE Super Star Destroyers! I would love to see a card of the Knight Hammer from the book Darksaber. Or maybe even the Third Death Star (which was only a basic frame) from the Jedi Academy Trilogy. On top of that, what with the first three movies, I would love to have seen that expanded with what exists. Luke Skywalker able to duel his father before he had to dawn the terrifying black armor? Imagine it. Unfortunately that is all we can do now, is just imagining it.

The TCG looks nice and all, but I don't think it could top Deciphers version. Not ever. And if at all possible, I'd like to see Decipher get the rights to the game back. I grew up on the CCG. I spent countless hours playing and revising decks. I invested hundreds, if not thousands of dollars into the game, owning almost entirely complete sets of everything produced. Now we are practically forced to go out and buy another game if we want to imerse ourselves into the what if's of the Star Wars universe.

With all that said, I have decided to try and take some action to help us loyal CCGers win back the rights for Decipher. Boycott the Star Wars TCG. Call me crazy all you want, but if there is anyone who feels as I do, join me. We might not do much, but we can at least make a statement. Thank you for your time.

 

I can't afford two games anyways.

 

I think hoping for Decipher to win back the license is farfetched, regretably. The decision to move the game to WOTC was based on ownership issues in my opinion. Lucas's stock ownership in Hasbro and Hasbro's ownership of WOTC was the deciding factor in Decipher losing the license in my view.

From what I've been reading, Decipher had quite a few ideas that would have kept the Star Wars license alive and vibrant. Lucas and company didn't want to listen to those ideas and as a result Decipher tried it's best to market what it could before it's license ran out. Oversaturation of Star Wars releases definately didn't help keep the player base alive.

I do believe the idea of marketing the new game to a younger audience, a la Pokemon, with simpler game mechanics and shorter game play was something that also appealed to Lucas licencing. After all... look at Episode One. It was definately aimed at trying to capture a younger generation for years to come. I do believe Lucas found that the younger generation had a limited attention span and the allure of JarJar Binks sure didn't take off the way that had hoped with that generation. From the looks of the new prequel... the target audience may have shifted to an older group. Time will tell as to how well the new TCG catches on. It's definately not aimed at the same crowd. SWCCG was_is a dynamic gaming envirnment. It'll be hard to replace. In my opinion, Decipher should at the least try and utilize the same gaming mechanics with another license. Don't have a clue as to whether or not they'd be able to do so even if they wanted to.

Restrainingbolt

 

Decipher owns the right to the CCG mechanic, with the bad blood between them and Lucasfilm, I'm not sure that's ever going to happen.

But if it did, I would support anyone who would continue making cards for swccg. I miss it badly.

 

I didn't realize that Lucas could get the swccg mechanic if they chose to. If wotc started making swccg instead of or as well as the tcg, would you buy them?

I would, my loyalties would definitely go to Sw and the sw ccg befor decipher. Even though I appreciate what decipher put into it. They've lost the license and I don't ever expect them to get it back.

 

If they made a compatible game, I'd play it, but I don't consider it too likely that LucasLisencing will go back and pick up the game mechanics.

 

<<Actually, Decipher's contract with lucasfilm allows LFL to lisence the game mechanics if desired.>>

This is incorrect. Hasbro/WotC COULD have licensed the gameplay from Decipher (and paid royalties to Decipher) but chose not to.

Doug Taylor
Red 4
Star Wars CCG Player Advocate
Gameplay Design

 

Exactly. And to add to what Doug said, I believe LFL had the option, they said "nah" and now they can't legally go back and say "Wait a sec, we change our minds." Now D would have to be willing to gve up the mechanics and I don't see that happening in this century.

 

I fully believe that if enough people boycott the game, it will crash. And LucasArts will have to wake up and smell the coffee. Decipher did something great with the CCG. WotC could make a million Star Wars card games, but I will not buy any one except for the CCG. If they started paying royalties to Decipher and expaned on what Decipher started, I might get it. But I honestly think the Decipher crew that came up with the cards and gaming ideas are much smarter and better than WotC. Just my oppinion. I'll hopefully be starting a web site soon dedicated to only those who will join me in the boycott of the TCG.

 

While I would love to see the licence returned to decipher, I don't believe lfl would allow itself to be seen doing such a move, as it would be an extremely bad indictment of both the games designer's and the people who made the decision, and also the ccg industry, for allowing one of the premier licence's to descend to such a level.

As they say "pride goeth before the fall"

And i just don't see that happening

 

I'm sorry, I don't believe there is anything we can do, this game will or won't succeed based on its playability and appeal, boycotting it won't help.

I refuse to boycott it because its a SW product and specifically AoTC, which I'm all kinds of stoked about. I'll play the new game as a fun diversion and when I want to get serious I'll play SWCCG for the real, true gaming experience.

If you could guarantee that boycotting would give me back SWCCG I'd do it, I just don't believe that's the case.

 

Exactly! The game looks fun and although it is not SWCCG, there is about a snowballs chance in hell the CCG will ever go back into production. If any of you haven't noticed LfL doesn't want a game as complicated as the CCG. That is why D tried to appease them by making JK. IF this game ends up failing (which I doubt because the marketing of sending it to places like Walmart and the hype over AotC will keep it steady at the least) I will guarantee you that WotC will just make another different SW game.

 

Wal-Mart... is that the solution to a successful CCG? Placing promotional cards in with action figures and the like? If that's the mechanism that makes a great SW CCG I suppose we'll find out soon enough. I would hope that the game has more going for it than just plain availability.

Episode One toys were available at Wal-Mart, Target, TRU (just about everywhere on the planet for that matter) and how many toy retailers regreted having them on the shelves just a few months after the movie hit. I wouldn't bet the farm on the game succeeding on that account. Judging from comments from even some of the strongest proponents, the game is definately lacking in depth with a player mechanic that seems to work with just a few rounds of play.

Statements like "if this CCG doesn't make it, Wizards will just produce another one", are really comical in my book, and really somewhat insulting to a Star Wars CCG community that has grown to love the Decipher game. It's time Lucas got got off his high horse and started caring more about his fans than just his pocketbook. Let the market decide how great your beloved TCG will be. Stop the wishful thinking and lets just wait and see how well it does in the weeks and months to come.

Restrainingbolt

 

If any of you haven't noticed LfL doesn't want a game as complicated as the CCG.

Convenient that you skipped over Young Jedi which was exactly what LFL was looking for...AND it was very popular and very successful in appealing to the younger kids and more casual gamers. It only flopped because it was based on solely on the over-hyped Episode I. As stated beore, everyone lost who invested so eavily into TPM. Beluieve it or not, the Classic version of Young Jedi (which would have been compatiable with TPM stuff) was turned into the nightmare that was JK at LFL request. So if you want to blame the true "someone" for that game, blame Lucas Licensing. Everyone and their droids knew that a third Star wars game would fall on its bum...and what does LL do? Try and start a fourth. Yep, Obi-Wan would have a field day with his Jedi mind tricks in that deopartment.

Anyway, I've written in enough threads about the game so you'll have to go back into the early archives if you care to read the various opinions this board had on that game's demise.

 

"Wal-Mart... is that the solution to a successful CCG? Placing promotional cards in with action figures and the like?"

No but it sure helps

"Statements like "if this CCG doesn't make it, Wizards will just produce another one", are really comical in my book, and really somewhat insulting to a Star Wars CCG community that has grown to love the Decipher game. It's time Lucas got got off his high horse and started caring more about his fans than just his pocketbook. Let the market decide how great your beloved TCG will be. Stop the wishful thinking and lets just wait and see how well it does in the weeks and months to come. "

Listen I didn't say I agreed that this is how it should be, it is just how it is. This game tanks WotC will just pump out another. It makes a hell of alot more business sense to keep a license like this away from your competators (which is what D is to Lucas because of his involvement with Hasbro)



"Beluieve it or not, the Classic version of Young Jedi (which would have been compatiable with TPM stuff) was turned into the nightmare that was JK at LFL request. "

Actually I loved Jedi Knights, it was the crap rarity scheme that ruined it. Young Jedi sucked for at least the first 3 sets (when I stoped collecting).

"So if you want to blame the true "someone" for that game, blame Lucas Licensing. "

So I guess I should be thanking LL instead of Decipher then right?

I think alot of people just need to accept the fact that the old SW CCG will never come back. I loved the game but it is time to move on. If you still like it play it (I still do) but protests and boycots won't do any good.

 

I'm not saying "boycott". In fact quite the opposite. I want to go head-to-head with the new TCG--let's see which is truly better SWCCG/YJ or SWTCG. To say I am more than confident that players will stay with the CCG (or pick it up) once they see the alternative would be an understatement. We're already experiencing a player increase in a few regions. So yeah, I've got my "See, I told you so" letter to LL all ready to go.

 

Ok this has turned into a CCG bashing thread basically. A few things about some of these comments. First you cannot get the entire story from Decipher. While I believe that some of their ideas were good ones to improve the game, the fact is that many of them were immpossible. You had people complaining about Vader and Qui-Gon fighting each other and people said they wanted Jania, Jacen, and Anakin (Solo) cards.

Also I am sick and tired of hearing everyone say that Wizards stole the license from Decipher. Yes, Wizards was granted the license. Yes they are owned by Hasbro. But LFL was constantly unhappy with the way Decipher treated the license and constantly asked them to make changes. They didnt. While everyone is quick to side with Decipher the fact is that LFL owns the license and they should have some say in how it is used.

Also Wizards did try to keep the CCG going. They offered to buy Decipher three times when they first recieved the license. Decipher turned them down each time. Granted many people will say that the owner of Decipher didnt want to sell his company but dont say that he did everything in his power to keep the CCG being produced. In fact Decipher will not be around four years from now. All they have keeping them from going out of business is the LoTR CCG. This game has a limited lifespan and in my estimate I was being generous by giving them the benefit of the doubt that they would find some way to keep the game going an extra year (such as a Hobbit expansion).

Now all that being said I have personally played many of the card games on the market and found that the Star Wars CCG did not rank up there with some other games. Dont get me wrong the CCG was a good game but it wasnt the god game people on here claim it to be. Decipher made it that you had to spend big bucks to be competitive (with games like Magic you can skip an expansion or build a deck of commons and uncommons and still do well in tounements) and they also made it too easy to cheat. Dispite what people say on here counting cards is not an essential skill for card games. It is cheating. If anyone disagrees with me then just go to a casino and see what they say.

I could go on like this for a while but if I had to come up with a reason why everyone is mad about Decipher losing the license isnt because the CCG is a great game but it is because everyone that is really mad about it has put thousands of dollars into the game and feels betrayed. It is that simple. Look at everyone who doesnt like Decipher losing the license and you have the people who have played the CCG since it came out. Now I have a confession to make, I started the CCG when it first came out. I have put a lot of money into the CCG but the person I am mad at is Decipher. LFL had constantly told them that if they did not listen they would lose the license. They didnt and then they did. Then when they lost the license the owner of the company personally wrote on the site that the license was not in danger and that Decipher will keep making the CCG for the forseeable future. Doesnt that make some of you a little mad? Knowing that Decipher knew they lost the license but that in an effort to make money they turned out expansions at a rapid pace. Well now I will end this and let everyone start saying how wrong I really am.

 

A couple of comments IMO:

1) Yes, Young Jedi suffered because of the over-saturation of Episode I. But it also suffered because the second expansion, Jedi Council, added absolutely NOTHING new to the game. It was like Pokemon's Base Set 2 -- completely and utterly pointless. By the time Battle of Naboo came out (the third expansion) most players had written the whole game off already.


2) I've heard this comment way too often: LOTR TCG only has a 3-year life span; once the movies are over the game is dead. Huh? Then the new SW:TCG game only has a 3-year life span too, because that's when Episode III comes out, is that right?

I'm sorry, but LOTR's (the books, not the movie or TCG) fan base is AT LEAST as loyal as Star Wars, if not more so. LOTR appeals to an older audience than Star Wars; that will mean MORE stability for LOTR TCG, not less. A younger audience is more fickle -- which is one of the dangers SW:TCG will be facing.

So I really couldn't disagree more with this arguement that LOTR TCG's life span is so limited.

 

"2) I've heard this comment way too often: LOTR TCG only has a 3-year life span; once the movies are over the game is dead. Huh? "

I think the staying power of LotR really depends on what D's license lets them do with it. If they can pull from books not associated with the movies then they will do fine, but otherwise I would be worried. I personally don't like the how LotR CCG plays but many do so I think Decipher is going to be OK for a while.

 

Yeah right the TCG will stop after Episode 3. No, Wizards has not said anything about the classic universe characters and expanded universe. Right keep telling yourself that.

Also you might be sick of hearing it but it is true. LoTR only has a three or four year life span. The fact is that Decipher only has permission to make the game with images from the movies. Now they might be able to swing a Hobbit expansion but that will be it. None of the other books are stories so much as a history book of middle earth. The LoTR game has become so popular because people who had never read the books saw the movie and thought they would like to try the game. My advice is to not bother with the LoTR game. Yes, it did out sell Magic the first month it came out (when Magic was about to get a new set come out so the sells were off for that month anyway) but it does have a limited lifespan.

 

Kenix,

Interest in the LOTR TCG will not die after Return of the King any more than interest in SW:TCG will die after Episode III.

Decipher has the rights to all three movies, but from day one they have said they will use images from the movies PLUS photo-realistic images created in-house. This leaves the door wide open.

LOTR outsold Magic the first month it came out (Nov 2001) and AGAIN in January 2002.

Do you think SW:TCG will have what it takes to knock LOTR out of the top slot? I don't.