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 ONLINE STORE
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Scott Johns Likely the most anticipated product in Magic's history, the upcoming Magic Online program from Wizards of the Coast has been one of the hottest topics among the online community for weeks. While there have been a number of excellent reviews in the past month, there has also been a considerable amount that hasn't been said yet - and much of it has been the subject of heated debate and speculation on the various online venues. When should we expect it? How much will it cost to purchase? What about the effect on local tournament organizers? And perhaps most importantly, what business model will be used to determine payment for the online service? With so much confusion and debate surrounding this important new product, our Editor, Scott Johns, organized an interview with Wizards of the Coast Sr. Marketing Manager Kyle Murray to find out the answers everybody was clamoring for. Brainburst: First off, I'd like to thank you for taking the time to meet with me and to help inform our readers on these questions that everybody seems to be asking lately. To start off, when do you anticipate the actual release of the final product? Murray: We are currently planning on Spring, but we won't release it until it's ready, so there's no "official" date yet. We want to do this right. BB:What kind of cost will be associated with the initial purchase, and will it be available in stores, by download, or both? Murray: This could change, but currently the plan is to have a retail box, which would include a disk, instruction manual, and a certificate for a free online theme deck. The cost would likely be around $14.99. A free download is also planned, which would allow players a chance to log on and try the service out. This would allow them to look around, use the chat rooms, etc. There would probably be a "free play room" which would come with a 7th Edition theme deck so that the players could try out the interface for free. We think that once they try it, they're going to like it. BB: What kind of delay do you expect between when expansions are released for the card-based Magic: the Gathering, and when they become available for use in Magic Online? Murray: Expansions will be released simultaneously between the two platforms. BB: Is there a concern that Magic Online will pull players out of local stores and event? Murray: Actually, we want to pull in a whole new audience. Our plan is for this to bring new players into the game, as well as those who may have played in the past but left. Playing Magic at an event for the first time can be very intimidating for newcomers. Playing online has a more anonymous feel, and we hope that it will help bring many new players into the game. Once they become comfortable and familiar with Magic, our hope is that they'll start looking into local events and stores so that they can play in person as well. We really see this as a feeder for organized play, Friday Night Magic, Qualifiers, and the Grand Prix. BB: What kind of Internet connection will be necessary to play Magic Online? Murray: Actually, this game has considerably lower requirements than most popular online games out there right now. Since this is a turn-based game, even a 56k modem should be fine. BB: Are prize events planned? Murray: We're envisioning this at a lower level of organized play, so while we definitely do plan to have events with prizes, you won't see anything like the Pro Tour or Grand Prix, since there's no control over players consulting or helping each other. However, the game offers a tremendous training ground for players to experience organized play, both for the anonymity and the fact that the game won't let you make rules mistakes, so it represents an excellent opportunity to get comfortable with how the rules work in a low pressure environment.
BB: A number of players have complained about the lack of hot keys, citing programs like Apprentice by comparison. Are enhancements like this in the works? Murray: We actually have a wish list that has all the things we want to include, timed by priority. Hot keys are certainly on the list, but may not be available in time for the launch. BB: What would you say has been the single largest snag in the process? Murray: [Long pause followed by a chuckle] You know, we're just really, really pleased with the whole process so far. A lot of discussion out there is being held in a vacuum of information though. BB: Was there anything in particular that brought WotC and Leaping Lizard together on this? Murray: We've been envisioning something like this for a very long time. The original idea came from Richard [Garfield] and Skaff [Elias], and they decided around two years ago to do this. Interestingly, right about the time WotC was strategizing how they wanted to go about the project, a group of programmers at Leaping Lizard was doing the same thing. In fact, if I remember right, they approached us first, and right as we were deciding that we wanted to do this.
BB: Speaking of the Microprose program, what lessons did Wizards learn there? Murray: I think the main problem with the Microprose program was the A.I. Trying to include something like that really held the product back. Also, there was the focus on the older cards, which made it much more difficult to get the game "current". With Magic Online, we're focusing far more on the current cards. The older sets are on the wish list, but the "current" sets are the top priority. BB: What goals characterized the design process with Magic Online? Murray: The vision for Magic Online was to recreate the entire Magic experience, online, top to bottom. Second, we were looking for something that would offer real convenience - giving you a way to play when you get a chance, whether it's on a lunch break, or once the kids have gone to bed. We also wanted to capture the video game audience who might not normally play "cards". I think there's a certain crowd out there that just may be more receptive to the idea of Magic as something of a "video game". Getting together and playing with cards is something that some groups may not necessarily be interested in, but with the immense popularity of online, computer, and video games, we're hopeful that this alternative platform for Magic will be more interesting to these other crowds of players, which then would trickle down to the store and local level. So the goal there is to be able to grow the game by bringing it to the new platform. BB: Have there been any real snags in the alpha test stage? Murray: You know, there have been almost no issues there. We just switched into the beta test phase, and even with the vast increase of people on the server, there have been relatively few real problems. The alpha phase was a real success, with many testers commenting that it was very far along and stable for an alpha test. For the beta, we're hoping to get 30,000 testers. It sounds kind of funny, but we're almost hoping there's more problems, as this is the best time to deal with them. [laughs] BB: Okay, the question everybody's been waiting for: what pricing model are you planning for the online service? Murray: Magic Online represents a different venue for players to experience Magic. This is a platform, just like cards are a platform. Since we're replicating Magic here, the purchase platform is that you'll be purchasing boosters and entry to events. We don't want to charge a subscription base, to allow the casual players a better chance to use the service. This way, players can come online and use the cards they already have to play against others when they want, and without having to worry about a subscription fee. The exact charge for boosters and events is still being decided upon.
Murray: We definitely won't be selling singles - we don't want to be the middleman. As to others selling online cards, we don't have any problem with this - expect to see people specialize as traders or vendors. BB: Our thanks again for your taking the time to go over all this with us. Any parting words? Murray: Magic's doing really well, in fact we're stronger than ever. With that in mind, we're really looking forward to this opportunity to grow the game even further by giving a great learning opportunity to newer players, and offering older players who may have left a reason to come back. - Scott Johns scottrjohns@yahoo.com Editor, Brainburst.com No portion of this web site may be used in any way without expressed written consent. All rights reserved. Magic the Gathering and it's respective properties are copyright Wizards of the Coast. Privacy Policy |
  
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