Chaotic Cards – The Future of TCG’s?

I want to push some buttons in your brain a second. No not literally. I don’t want to reach in and start seeing how squidgy and mushy your brain is (my guess is very) but I want to see how you think about Chaotic cards and how they may effect the future of TCG’s.

I ask because I’ve been thinking about Chaotic cards a lot recently, not just in a ‘I’ve started playing and obsessed with my new craze’ kind of way, but ever since I have been giving away free Chaotic codes on the forum I’ve been wondering about them as a medium.

The Chaotic TCG

Now obviously the Chaotic TCG is nowhere near the size of some of the TCG’s. Whilst it’s relatively big (think I remember reading it is the 4th biggest selling TCG in USA supermarkets and 2nd biggest in Canada, could be wrong though) it is neither turning much of a profit nor does it measure up to the sheer volume of players that Pokemon, Magic the Gathering, Yo Gi Oh and others have.

It’s growing, but it’s reach is nowhere near that of the more established Trading Cards Games.

So where does that leave them? Can they compete in the future or will they forever be relegated to the role of little brother behind the ‘big boys’ of the CCG world.

The Future of TCG’s

The question really becomes a matter of how the trading card games are going to develop. Already with other games we have seen them, or their fans, move decks online, develop the ability to use their cards in online battles.

But none of them have approached the Chaotic online game for versatility or its interaction with the traditional game. They don’t give anything like the ‘Chaotic code’ that allows the physical cards to be used in the interactive, online world.

And that gives Chaotic and edge, for the moment, over rivals CCG’s such as Pokemon. It means that players can trade, play and plan all over the world. Debates on TCG forums can be easily solved – by battling it out!

It also removes the problems of using fan driven websites and online battle strategy games. By Chaotic online being the OFFICIAL game you can play as Maxxor, Chaor, Klasp or Lore whenever you want, safe in the knowledge that they are quality.

And that’s what matters, the quality of the online game. Fan sites are all well and good, this is one for example, they have a place in marketing, in fandom and in interacting with users. But they are still fan based and the quality can vary.

By having an official site for the game to be played online then Chaotic allow themselves to control the quality of the online experience. Yes they gives themselves other headaches but they control everything about their offering.

Almost all services are moving online. Newspapers are struggling to compete with online media, shops are doing more sales online than they are in their bricks and mortar establishments, letters have become emails, magazines have become newsletters (by the way have you signed up to ours yet?). Should TCG’s be any different?

Games are always progressing, lines are being blurred between consoles and computers. One of our regulars on the forum is currently accessing it via his Nintendo Wii, another via his mobile phone. Chaotic the computer game is coming out… things progress.

Marvel changed things up with the introduction of their own TCG that was based entirely on a computer console, no ‘real’ cards involved. Chaotic have bridged the gap between that and traditional card games by providing both – based off of the same cards.

THIS is what I see the future of TCG’s doing. Many will love the cards, not every game will go completely online (many have). The artwork, the feel, the style of cards in trading card games is something to be treasured – and the cost of starting up ensures that only those interested in quality are likely to bother. But it is not enough to suit a demanding market any more.

The players of TCG’s are traditionally far more technology savvy than the average man (or woman) on the street. They spend time on the internet, they (and myself) enjoy interacting there – talking to people on forums (I even met my girlfriend on a forum, though it wasn’t a Chaotic one). So it is, in my opinion, inevitable that the cards progress from hard copy to digital – whilst still containing the elements that makes the industry so successful. The collectiblity, the options, the story, the art work.

That, for me, is why Chaotic cards are the future of TCG’s. But that’s enough of my meanderings. What do you think?

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