Hearthstone, is Blizzard's answer to MTG and without any paper basis, it's looking to take over the TCG world. But it's not a TCG...it's a CCG. That's right, at the time of launch there will be no trading, just "in game purchases" in the form of packs. As WoW has proven though, auction houses supporting 12 million people is perhaps not outside of Blizzard's grasp (D3 not withstanding).
But without getting too far into the nitty gritty, let's see what we're dealing with here.
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To the horde of WoW/D3/SC2 fans, Hearthstone is about to introduce the millions of them to card games and it's going to be easy to get started, simple to play, instantly have a massive player base, and be incredibly profitable. This is the company that smashed video game records and arguably was one of the most influential elements of mainstreaming geek-culture to date. This is first REAL challenge the MTGO program has ever seen.
MTGO is clunky, it's ugly, it can take hours to set up and run (I'm a Mac user, you don't want to know what I went through) it hasn't been forced to change before because it hasn't had to, it's been the only kid on the block.
If I have a shiny, clean, interface that instantly connects me to other users, I don't need to go through that hassle. Now I'm already in the system, I love MTG and I've crossed the hurdles but I'm also part of the community that's almost brand spanking new. This is where things get interesting.
My forecast for the impending Hearthstone release, a mix of sun a cloud:
Blizzard will single handedly cause the biggest surge of interest in card games in years. New players, who have for years been on the fringe of playing cards will be immersed in the mechanics and strategies that make MTG awesome. But they'll be introduced to the beginner friendly Hearthstone and gradually discover its underlying intricacies. Some of those players are going to break into paper MTG "horah!" and some of those are going to TRY to play MTG online...
..and WotC is going to lose them right out of the gates. MTGO for many new players isn't intuitive, it isn't easy to follow along, and there is no one there to offer you help (Orcs? Are you kidding me..). If you haven't got the drive to play MTG with all the "conveniences" of playing online, you're not sticking around.
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I think WotC has a real opportunity here, but they're going to be playing catch up the entire time (odd for a game that's been around 20 years). The Duels of the Planeswaker series of games are fantastic, they're made for new players, and they're what hooked my attention in the first place. WotC needs to accept that the MTGO "client" that they've been flogging for so long, is going the way of the dodo and that DotP is the future. But it's not one or the other. For WotC to thrive online, as it has immense potential to do, it needs to merge a few things:
- The interface and intuitive design of DotP, over several platforms
- The events and trade options of MTGO
- Incorporate the wider (paper) player base, like they're starting to do with Planeswalker Points
- The social elements (arguably the soul) of playing a card game
Paper is never going to go away, but digital is the future if WotC wants to continue to control the direction of its own market. Blizzard are getting a major head start, it's up to WotC to go with the flow or keep fighting against the current.
@Ricostravels
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