I played Magic for a long time, so this article really caught my eye. It’s behind a paywall, though, so if you don’t have CNBC Pro, check out this second article at Magic-specific publication Star City Games:
This story made me think over what I remembered about collecting and playing Magic in the 90s and 00s, and while doing some research to make sure I was actually remembering things correctly, I wrote down a lot more than I expected.
Hasbro, Wizards of the Coast, & Magic: the Gathering
Hasbro bought Wizards of the Coast in September of 1999. A CNN Money article on the deal told readers “The agreement gives Hasbro, one of the biggest producers of toys and games, exclusive domain over Wizards’ best-known products …”, explicitly calling out “the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game” (of course) and “particularly its Pokemon trading card game – a wildly popular game among children”. No mention of lesser-known “Magic: the Gathering” (which wasn’t based on a popular tv show, hmm..)[1], but that’s no surprise because it’s the turn of the millennium and Pokemon is positively exploding. Fast forward to October, 2022: Magic: the Gathering is Hasbro’s first BILLION dollar brand. In the face of the Pokemon behemoth of the late 90s, who could have said it would be Magic to break that ribbon? Well, some people at Hasbro, probably. But someone else too: me. Not because I knew (or know) anything, but because I loved (love) that damn game.
It’s September of 99, Magic is 6, Pokemon is nearly 3, and I am 11. And despite being smack in the bull’s eye of Pokemon’s target demographic, I’m already an avid Magic player, thanks in no small part to my older cousin who found and played the game long before I was old enough to (I have fond memories of looking at the wonderful artwork on his cards years before rediscovering the game in middle school). Hasbro made the purchase and I was too young to really get it, but some of the older guys at the local card shop where I sourced my habit lamented the end of an era. I got it a few years later, when they decided to update the style of the frame, or border surrounding the text and artwork of the card. I got it again years later when “double-faced” cards were introduced, which could transform (or flip) to a different card printed on the back. This one was an atrocity, the back of a Magic card is beautiful and sacred.[2] At this point I had been playing competitively for more than a decade, and not long after made the decision to spend my time and money on music instead of Magic (those cards had appreciated a bit and sure bought a lot of recording equipment).
But let’s be real, all that stuff is pretty much superficial. Fans care about it, I cared about it, but the brand didn’t only survive, it thrived. Certainly none of these things were the “end-of-an-era” of a caliber that warranted CNBC articles about the BoA downgrading the company’s rating. Right? Maybe:
- Hasbro buys WotC in 1999, to the lament of some Magic players
- Hasbro changes Magic cards in 2003, much to the lament of many more Magic players
- !!! from Wikipedia: “In June 2003, Nintendo transferred the publishing rights from Wizards of the Coast to The Pokémon Company”
- Hasbro changes magic cards again in 2004, very much to the further lament of even more Magic players
Nintendo bailed when things were chaotic, perhaps it was a sign of the beginning of a slow decline? Well, we’d have to ignore the fact the Magic continued to be wildly successful for 16 more years before the next cherry-picked part of my story, but perhaps.
Despite being years away from the game, I got it once again in 2020 when WotC announced a “The Walking Dead” crossover set, the first in what would eventually become the “Universes Beyond” sub-brand of Magic, whatever a “sub-brand” is. The game still holds a place in my heart and this decision made me feel some feelings, but I didn’t play any more so I tried not to have too many opinions. And there was also a pandemic going on I think. Anyway, WotC went on to release 10 more Universes Beyond sets between then and today, with four more on the way; these include such theme-conforming properties as Fortnite, Transformers, and Dr. Who. Grim, indeed.
So was the Walking Dead crossover set the real beginning of the end for Hasbro’s golden boy? If we define “end” to mean a CNBC article about the BoA downgrading the company’s rating, then yes, I think so.
But even given all the uncertainty around the future of Magic, we can all be sure of one thing: I sure miss playing that stupid game. And that stupid game is worth a billion dollars lol. That’s two things.
[1] An astute reader has pointed out that, while not based on a tv show, Magic tournaments were indeed featured on ESPN2 - there is even footage on YouTube (warning: kind of loud).
[2] This is an opinion, but not really.
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