The TCG/CCG retail space is so dominated by Pokemon and M:tG right now. I’ve played quite a few in my day. When I heard that Disney was coming out with a new TCG, I thought that this may be good for the kids. But with the TCG market the way it is, will Lorcana get lost in the shuffle?
So what’s the issue?
Well, we’ve seen so many games come and go in popularity over the last few decades a few examples are:
- Wyvern
- Jyhad
- Spellfire
- L5R
- Middle-earth Collectible Card Game
- 7th Sea
- Redemption
- Highlander: The Card Game
- Star Trek The Card Game
- Star Wars Customizable Card Game
- Netrunner
The list goes on. I’m sure there are players of all these examples out there, but fact of the matter is, they’re not what i’d call ‘market juggernauts’. I kinda feel like the theme here for this one will be a novelty at best and a nostalgia based cash grab at worst. Selling big to start then dying off. “But Justin, you dashing over zealous realist; Disney is a corporate powerhouse able to overcome almost any financial obstacle. Tell that to their box office and streaming losses for 2023. We should also not forget that Disney has had its share of flops in the TCG space with titles like Pirates of the Caribbean: the Card Game, The Kingdom Hearts TCG, Mickey’s Wizards, and Star Wars: Destiny.
What’s driving this adventure?
- Disney net income for the quarter ending June 30, 2023 was $-0.460B, a 132.65% decline year-over-year.
- Disney net income for the twelve months ending June 30, 2023 was $2.252B, a 28.33% decline year-over-year.
- Disney annual net income for 2022 was $3.145B, a 57.64% increase from 2021.
- Disney annual net income for 2021 was $1.995B, a 169.66% decline from 2020.
- Disney annual net income for 2020 was $-2.864B, a 125.91% decline from 2019
The only year we saw an increase for Disney is 2022 but not nearly anywhere near enough to staunch the fiscal decline of the last five years. Let’s face it: Disney is hemorrhaging cash and is hoping for at least a short-term fix with this blatant nostalgia-bait cash grab. It’s a bit insulting too. Evidently, gamers are too stupid to know a game is doomed upon release so we’ll just throw money at them.
Maybe I’m wrong. Perhaps we’ll get to watch Hasbro and Disney slug it out over market dominance or maybe I’m spot on. A cash grab like this is right in line with their “Don’t Ask Questions, Just Consume Product and Then Get Excited for Next Products” mentality.
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