WotC's license expires

[Roarkiller]

Yep. WotC's license expires end of this year, which means skyridge is the last set with japanese cards, which means we wont get ADV cards, which means pkmn might die out, unless they make a new proposal which TPC will agree to, or a new distributor gets the license, which might mean diff, templating, or diff sentence structure, which means confusion amongst players, not that there arent any right now, considering the few tons of mistakes made so far, and the confusion too, although hey, theyre humans too, so we cant blame them, and no matter how much we hate wizards for that, they were still the ones who brought us the game, so we should be thankful, and maybe we can find some way to persuade TPS to accept the new proposal, cuz otherwise, pkmn will die out like Harry Potter, although HP isnt sorely missed, sux even, and although i feel like typing a lot more into this one sentence, i'll let u guyz continue with the discussion, and dont try to do stuff like this cuz its very confusing, and this is juz for the humor, and u start to ramble, like i am right now, so id better shut up before i hurt myself.

:o

[SageofDarkness]

Man that sucks.
To be honest, (especially here in Britain) Pokémon TCG never really reached its full potential, it seemed to be more about bringing out set after set to make more profit. It was promoted as a "collect them all" game and kids latched onto it, their parents went to buy cards and sets to complete the collection until low and behold, another set came out forcing commited collecters (Such as myself) to fork out more money. Kids (here) were banned from taking them to school, where most of the trading would have occured, local tourneys often flopped and stores in which to meet and trade closed. Eventually (About after TeamRocket) people began to realise that they would NEVER complete all the sets and just lost interest.
If it had been promoted as a card game (Such as Magic or Yugioh) instead of a collection, and more money was invested in tourneys, it wouldn't be dead now. even I have stopped collecting, I have 7 complete sets up to Gym Challenge and I can't be bothered to spend anymore. There are no new tournements so making a deck is pointless and I only hang out on this forum because I like the people here (Hobbs, Roarkiller) *blushes*
Anyhoo thats my HUMBLE opinion, thats why I hyave turned my attention to Yugioh :wave:

[hobbs]

To correct some information/add in additional info:

Skyridge is not the last set that Wizards will release. After Skyridge, both Legendary Collection II and Jamboree, a Wizards made set, will be released by Wizards. Once those are both released, it seems more than likely that TPC and Nintendo will take over the job of printing the cards for world wide consumption.

Additionaly, during this time span of their final three releases, Wizards will continue to support organized play. Battlezones will continue. Super Battlezones will come. Pokemon will be at Origions.

There is no way that Wizards will somehow get the license back. These kinds of decisions are not made overnight. The loss/gain of rights generally takes a few months of debating by both sides.

Wizards wanted to keep Pokemon. However, they simply were not willing to fork over the amount that TPC felt was fair.

In reality, the only thing this changes is the structure of our organized play. TPC has allways made the cards. Wizards has simply translated and remarketed them for a Western audience.

Lastly, remember headless chickens die quikly; however, chickens with their heads properly in place live on.

[Roarkiller]

I didnt say Skyrudge was the last set, i said its the last set with japanese cards. The other 2 r wizard-made i.e. old cards reshuffled into a new set.

[ace]

What set exactly is Jamboree?

[hobbs]

Roarkiller, guess I misinterpreted what you wrote. My fault.

Ace, Jamboree is supposidly like any other set except it was created by Wizards of the Coast instead of The Pokemon Company.

[Nikku-San]

Ummm... Will Jamboree be old cards or new? Because two rehashed sets in a row would kill it.

[hobbs]

Well, we're not exactly clear 100% as to what it [Jamboree] will contain, however, it's not a reprint set. It's either a Wizards made set (IE normal set except it was made by WOTC intead of TPC, like normal.), the Japanese "Vending" cards or a combonation of those two.

[Water Pokemon Master]

Didn't anyone here? :confused: Nintendo is going to take over the license and redistribute the cards where Wizards left off.

[pokemasterfrank]

Originally posted by Water Pokemon Master
Didn't anyone here? :confused: Nintendo is going to take over the license and redistribute the cards where Wizards left off.

That's what I'm afraid of...

Anyway, I live on the West Coast, in Oregon, and have been enjoying dirt cheap Pokemon cards for a while now. Since Wizards main location is in Seattle, we get the Company stores around (half off :D). $1.74 a booster isn't a bad deal. Anyway, I heard about the Nintendo thing and I know its going to be a price raise... *sigh*

[hobbs]

Why would they raise the price? Now they won't be going through Wizards, which means that they'll be getting more money per sale. So, raising the prices shouldn't be a problem.

Anyways, Nintendo printing the Pokemon TCG is now 100% official. Just check out this e-mail that IPGeek 21 got.


Pokémon-e TCG Q&A

Q: When will the next ‘series’ of Pokémon-e TCG cards be available, and who will market and distribute the product?

A: The first Pokémon-e TCG release with Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire characters will be available in the North American market in June 2003. Nintendo of America will market and distribute the product. Pokémon USA and Creatures Inc. (the TCG designers) will support NOA.

Q: Is the Pokémon-e TCG compatible with the game product released by Wizards of the Coast?

A: The cards will feature the same card back, and the game itself is 100% compatible with previous releases.

Q: Will the new TCG products continue to be available where they are currently being sold?

A: In general, you should continue to be able to purchase the product where you have in the past.

Q: What will happen to leagues and tournaments?

A: Pokémon USA and Nintendo of America are committed to these programs. Our plan is to expand them throughout the year.

Q: Who will run Organized Play?

A: Pokémon USA, in conjunction with Nintendo of America, will run Organized Play.

Q: Where does one obtain information about leagues and tournaments?

A: An announcement will be made soon about the Organized Play programs starting with Pokémon-e Ruby and Sapphire TCG in June 2003. New programs will start with the release of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire. Keep checking www.pokemon-tcg.com
for updates.

Q: Who should retailers and Tournament Organizers contact for future organized play plans?

A: Please direct all comments and questions concerning organized play to organizedplay@pokémon-usa.com.

Q: How do retailers obtain information about new product releases?

A: Product updates will be distributed by Nintendo Sales team. To request further information, e-mail pokemon-tcg@noa.nintendo.com.

Q: Who will distribute and market Pokémon-e TCG products outside of North America?

A: Pokémon USA will announce its international partners shortly.

Q: Why is The Pokémon Company switching marketing and distribution partners?

A: We are proud of the successes Wizards of the Coast and The Pokémon Company achieved working as close partners on the Pokémon TCG. As we move forward over the next few years, we want to expand the game play experience for Pokémon fans by using the e-Reader dot code technology to more closely connect the Pokémon-e TCG with the Pokémon video games. Working closely with Nintendo allows us to move the TCG game play experience in this direction.

It looks like the US versions of ADV cards will be e-reader compatible, and they'll have some sort of interaction with the Ruby & Saphire games.

[pokemasterfrank]

Originally posted by hobbs
Why would they raise the price? Now they won't be going through Wizards, which means that they'll be getting more money per sale. So, raising the prices shouldn't be a problem.

Well, like I said, Wizards is just up North from us, and we have the Wizards' company stores all over Portland. It will raise from the $1.74 that Wizards slaps on every once in a while.

[Roarkiller]

Im still in the game because of 2 things: DCI points and being a professor. I believe both r under WotC, which means when WotC loses its license, both the reasons for which i play the game r gone. So like there's almost no point in continuing. And stuff about being compatible with RS? What the hell? The japanese ones dont have that kinda crap. And who knows what kind of stuff r gonna change when Nintendo takes over.

I dunno bout u, but im having seconds thoughts even bout buying skyridge. Doesnt help that im going into the army next yr anyway (remember mewx88? he's in the army for a yr already).

[Scythemantis]

I don't play, but I like buying cards sometimes for the art, which I really really love. It's great to see pokemon drawn/painted in all sorts of cool ways by a variety of artists.

So...will new sets continue to come out in japan, just now from WOTC? Will there be TCG cards for ruby/sapphire pokemon?

[hobbs]

Pokemasterfrank, ah, true it will be raised in Seatle because there'll be actual shipping charges now, but other places shouldn't have any affect.

Scythemantis, I think you've got this backwards. WOTC won't be distributing Pokemon cards anymore. WOTC never made Pokemon cards; they translated the cards from the Japanese company, then printed them for markets outside of Japan. Now, Nintendo will be in charge of printing Pokemon cards outside of Japan.

Anyways, yes, the cards will continue on with Ruby & Saphire Pokemon. In both the US and Japan.

[Scythemantis]

I know they only translated them, but other people were taking it to mean the TCG was cancelled entirely so I wasn't positive. Like I said, I don't keep up with it.

Already collect magic and one game eats up money as it is :)