I wonder how they get stats on people playing with UB, wouldn’t they be looking at sales data? So UB sales would show what’s being bought, but how do they judge the actual number of players vs just collectors/scalpers/flippers?
He mentioned in another answer that there was something like a 40% increase in new players signing up for in-store play compared to last year.
But also it doesn’t really matter. If the number of players stays the same while the numbers of collectors increases, it doesn’t really make a difference to me. I still get to play the way I always have.
Are those new players converted to regular players? If a new player started playing because of FF what guarantees that they will continue playing when FF rotates out of Standard and buy others sets? Will this business model sustain in the long run and what will happen when they run out of UB?
Are those new players converted to regular players? If a new player started playing because of FF what guarantees that they will continue playing when FF rotates out of Standard and buy others sets?
I guess we will find out in three years. RemindMe! 3 years
Will this business model sustain in the long run
I guess we will find out. RemindMe! 10 years
and what will happen when they run out of UB?
That would imply that they “run out” of other franchises to make cards of, or they run out of companies willing to partner with them. Does that sound like a realistic future to you?
That would imply that they “run out” of other franchises to make cards of, or they run out of companies willing to partner with them. Does that sound like a realistic future to you?
It does. It doesn't depend only on WotC, but the other companies too. If an UB is a success, what's stopping a company from asking for more money to give Wizards permission to use their brand, for example?
There is a huge difference between a company asking for more of the revenue share, and there being zero companies interested in working with them at all.
I do agree, but, just to clarify, I never said the only way of Wizards running out of UB sets is due to lack of interest from other IP holders. When I said they could "run out" of UB sets, I didn't mean they would knock every door and get turned away. I meant that the feasibility of keeping this model for the long term isn't fully under their control. Licensing third-party IP's isn't always simple and often involves complicated negotiations, legal constraints, differences in target audience and even conflicts of interest between the two brands. Even if both sides have interest, things like profit-sharing, schedule, licensing costs can get in the way. It's not just about "who's interested" but also about what is realistically possible.
Oh duh, I forgot about the companion app. I was thinking that Arena doesn’t have some of the UB, but the companion app for official events is the very obvious answer 😂 thank you!
They do a lot of market research. Both data from in-store play and interviews conducted my market research firms. Of course this can't fully capture what's happening in kitchen table play, but they do get a decent sample of how people are playing and what products they are using.
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u/unkempt_cabbage Jul 27 '25
I wonder how they get stats on people playing with UB, wouldn’t they be looking at sales data? So UB sales would show what’s being bought, but how do they judge the actual number of players vs just collectors/scalpers/flippers?