Digital collectible card game
A digital collectible card game (DCCG) or online collectible card game (OCCG) is a
Gameplay
These games manage all the rules of a CCG, such as tracking the avatar's health, removing damaged creatures from the board, and shuffling decks when necessary. The games are managed on servers to maintain the player's library and any purchases of booster packs and additional cards through either in-game or real-world money. Some games, like Chaotic, Bella Sara, and MapleStory allow online players to enter a unique alpha-numeric code found on each physical card as to redeem the card in the online version or access other features. In other cases, primarily single player games based on the existing physical property have also been made, such as the Game Boy Color version of the Pokémon Trading Card Game and Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers.
Most DCCGs follow rules that exist for real-world implementations of CCGs, simply played out in the virtual space. However, some games like Hearthstone have gameplay elements that would be impractical or impossible to perform in a real-world game but is easily done within the digital game. For example, Hearthstone has a "Discover" keyword that lets players temporarily obtain cards from across the entire Hearthstone library for the duration of a match, even if they do not own that card yet.[1]
History
1980s–1990s: Origins
Prior to DCCGs, video games had used both
Tabletop-based CCGs came about in 1993 with Magic: The Gathering by Wizards of the Coast which became a phenomenon that year in the traditional game market. The CCG craze grew in 1994 onward as a result. This was also approximately the same time that widespread availability of the Internet was beginning. DCCGs evolved out of the ability for CCG players to challenge each other online rather than in person, as well as to provide computerized opponents so that players could play these CCGs by themselves.[2]
The first DCCG games eventually appeared in the late 1990s. Early examples of DCCG games include (1996), and Chron X and Sanctum were original DCCG games with no physical CCG counterpart.
There have been CCGs developed solely for computer play and not based on any physical product. The first online CCGs were Sanctum and Chron X, both developed in 1997. Sanctum was taken offline in 2010, but has since returned due to fan intervention;[3] Chron X still exists, producing new expansions over a decade later. Chron X was developed by Genetic Anomalies, Inc, which later developed other DCCG-like games based on licensed content.
2000s: Growth
DCCG games first gained mainstream success in Japan, where online card battle games are a common genre of
In Japan, CCGs that are played on
Related, many video games have adopted CCG-type mechanics as part of a larger
The success of
Unofficial ways to play some digital versions of CCGs also exist, such as brand specific programs like Magic Workstation.[5] The bulk of DCCG programs however are not specific to any brand, such as LackeyCCG and Gccg or general game simulators like Tabletop Simulator, though the legality of these systems relative to the CCG's copyright is dubious. Such systems are often used to play copyrighted games whose manufacturers are no longer publishing the game, most notably Decipher's Star Wars Customizable Card Game[12] and Precedence’s Babylon 5 Collectible Card Game. Most of these systems do not have the CCG's ruleset programmed into the game, and instead require players to perform the necessary actions as required by the physical game's rules.
2014–present: Hearthstone vs. MTG Arena
Blizzard Entertainment released
The digital card game market was expected to be as large as $1.4 billion in 2017, according to market analysis firm SuperData.[16] Hearthstone encouraged the release of the digital CCGs Gwent: The Witcher Card Game and The Elder Scrolls: Legends.[16] Shadowverse has also been compared favorably with Hearthstone.[19]
In some cases, new elements are added to the digital CCG to improve the experience that cannot be recreated physically. The online card games Sanctum and
Developers have also looked for other revenue models for offering digital CCGs to players.
In October 2022 Marvel Snap was released. Marvel Snap is a mobile and PC-playable collectible card game that allows players to build a deck with 12 cards each representing a Marvel villain or superhero—and each with their own unique abilities—and compete against other players in short, three-minute face-offs.
Monetization issues
Digital collectible card games are general free-to-play but monetized through
A 2022 report by the Norwegian Consumer Council called loot boxes (including booster packs) as "predatory" and can "foster addiction" in players. The report was backed by government consumer groups in 16 other European counties, urging regulations in upcoming European Union regulations to address the matter.[28]
Impact
With the growth of mobile gaming and streaming viewerships, digital card games are a significant part of the video game market. SuperData estimated that digital card games will bring over US$1.5 billion in 2018, with a quarter of that from Hearthstone, and the potential to grow to US$2 billion by 2020.[29]
Forbes reported that the global Trading Card Game market size in 2022 was valued at $2.99 billion and it is expected to reach $4.2 billion by 2028.[30]
See also
References
- ^ Shae, Cam (January 19, 2016). "Creating Hearthstone's new 'Discover' mechanic". IGN. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
- SuperData Research.
- ^ "Sanctum Redux - Come play the game of Sanctum again". Retrieved 2013-11-07.
- ^ Gamasutra. 14 February 2013. Retrieved February 14, 2013.
- ^ Venture Beat. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
- ^ "A Look into the Crazy Thriving Japanese Arcade Scene - Your Guide to the Game Room". Archived from the original on 2012-05-05. Retrieved 2017-10-04.
- ^ Ricardo Torres (2004-08-30). "Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories Updated Hands-On". GameSpot. Retrieved 2007-06-08.
- ^ Good, Owen (June 13, 2016). "Phantom Dust is back on for Xbox, arrives in 2017". Polygon. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
- Gamasutra. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
- ^ "Idolmaster Mobile Game Earns 1 Billion Yen a Month". Anime News Network. September 27, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
- ^ 2013-10-10, 提督100万人突破、そして島田フミカネ氏による航空母艦も実装決定! ─ 『艦これ』秋のイベントも実施準備中, インサイド
- ^ DECIPHER.com : Star Wars CCG Archived February 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Goldfarb, Andrew (August 24, 2013). "Gamescom: The Origin and Future of Blizzard's Hearthstone". IGN. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
- ^ Pereira, Chris (August 11, 2015). "Hearthstone Now Earns About $20 Million Every Month - Report". GameSpot. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
- ^ Frank, Allegra (April 26, 2016). "Hearthstone now has 50 million players". Polygon. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
- ^ Venture Beat. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
- ^ Kohlar, Phillip (January 13, 2017). "Could we finally get a real Hearthstone competitor from Magic: The Gathering?". Polygon. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
- ^ Orsini, Lauren (March 20, 2018). "With 100,000 New Invites, 'Magic: The Gathering Arena' Opens The Floodgates". Forbes. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
- ^ Cam Shea (2016-07-20). "The Japanese Collectible Card Game That May Just Surprise You". IGN. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
- ^ Bailey, Dustin. "Artifact has 280 cards and three lanes of play". PCGamesN. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
- ^ Marks, Tom (9 March 2018). "Artifact: Everything We Know About Valve's Next Game". IGN. Archived from the original on March 9, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
- ^ Orcutt, Mike (July 11, 2019). "This blockchain-based card game shows us the future of ownership". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
- ^ Lawrence, Nathan (April 23, 2017). "The Troubling Psychology of Pay-to-Loot Systems". IGN. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
- .
- .
- ^ Schreier, Jason (October 11, 2017). "ESRB Says It Doesn't See 'Loot Boxes' As Gambling". Kotaku. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
- ^ Peters, Jay (April 13, 2020). "ESRB introduces a new label to indicate that a game has loot boxes". The Verge. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
- ^ "INSERT COIN: How the gaming industry exploits consumers using loot boxes" (PDF). forbrukerradet.no. Norwegian Consumer Council (NCC). May 31, 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
- Venture Beat. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
- ^ Whitfill Roeloffs, Mary (1 September 2023). ["'Marvel Snap' becomes top-grossing digital trading card game — beating 'Yu-Gi-Oh!' and 'Magic: The Gathering Arena'". Forbes. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
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