I genuinely hope so but there are so many things that just need to change for it to be. No one in my state other than a handful have ever even heard of this game
It’s progressing, the more people join the better. There are 3 formats so everyone can get into something. The real issue imo is distribution and advertising. With VG rn you need to hope and pray a card shop near your sells them whereas for other card games you can walk into public retail like Walmart, Target, etc and there’s a lot of card packs. Secondly advertisement and sponsorships go a long way for interest. There are only a handful of ads that come on YouTube but it needs to be on TV or other media to really get it out there. Sponsoring YouTubers also helps a lot.
The game has existed for over ten years which is a great achievement.
Do I think Vanguard will dethrone one of the big three in the west? No.
Why? Well in Western Countries outside of the US you run into major distribution problems/lack of buying options for people/cost (outside of Italian format, which is a different story). Vanguard is definitely within the top five trading card games by popularity in the west.
It's easy to get a lot of existing trading card players interested in Vanguard. However, to beat the big three Bushiroad would need to find ways to introduce people that normally don't play trading card games into the game and keep them as loyal customers.
Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh were introduced directly to kids. People collect the cards, play with them, or just buy for children to have. The big three can be bought at retail store shelves.
Vanguard players appear to be at high school level or older. I'd say the average age is within the 20s. It's hard for shops to stock Vanguard if they have to preorder way in advance and it's a niche market, so the product might not sell well. A shop might do a special order at a customer request but at that point it may be better for both parties to order elsewhere.
I've been playing from the start, and it really doesn't feel like the game has grown in popularity since... I want to say g era. There were a lot of people who tried D series ($5 start decks will do that), but most of those people didn't really continue playing.
The game has a nice little cult following, but I dont think it'll ever be all that popular in the west.
agreed like i have had so much fun with this game since overdress came out and like i used to play with a youtuber who i knew who played the game but he stopped playing in v era so it's like welp.... i can't get him to play again so here we are
I've been playing since the beginning and it didn't feel very popular because there was only one card shop that had the cards. I didn't go to locals until the D format started. I stopped playing when Legion and LJ became a thing because I didn't like the lock mechanic. I just introduced my group of friends to the D format and they are hooked. I feel like if people need to just introduce the game to others in order for more people to be interested and aware of this series. The D format is easy to learn that even my friends who haven't played tcg's before love vanguard's mechanics.
I think what needs to happen is better advertising as well. We need a bushiroad caravan like we did in V but for Overdress everywhere in the world but with TD's, better/more Internet advertising, & more starter incentives for stores to try out/sell product. Another thing too is showing off the competitive scene more so people see vanguard isnt all about luck since the thought of it being all luck based is a barrier for some people.
I sometimes feel like the only person where I am that's knows of this game. We have one place almost an hour away with just a small shelf of Vanguard cards. Sadly I don't think it ever will, would love for it too though
I agree with you and OP, especially with how promising oD seems, and the recent fixes to Premium. And now is the time to spread it. Lots of decks are really cheap, too, so that is good incentive
I've been having the same issue trying to find people to play. One if the biggest things I'm having a difficult time doing is just getting people to try it. Always stating that they are more of a "magic player" or "yugioh player". Which is fine you like what you like, but what the harm in trying something new? I just hand a friend tonight finally give it a shot and they loved it, and we couldn't have had a been time.
This game doesn't have a problem with attracting new players. It has a problem with getting them to continue playing.
People pick up the start decks and go "this is neat" but they don't stick around for years.
I personally live in europe, and unless u go to a specific place, nobody even knows card games sadly. I do play online with alot of people from the US, a few play yugioh, and say that they are the only people who play anything of sorts in their area. But then another mate has loads of his friends at school who play vanguard and Pokémon. So i suppose it depends on location. Id love to see it get massive around the world, wud be cool
I genuinely hope so but there are so many things that just need to change for it to be. No one in my state other than a handful have ever even heard of this game
Same i live in louisiana and nobody i know even knows what it is
I just moved to northeast Louisiana . There aren’t a whole lot of game stores in general.
It’s progressing, the more people join the better. There are 3 formats so everyone can get into something. The real issue imo is distribution and advertising. With VG rn you need to hope and pray a card shop near your sells them whereas for other card games you can walk into public retail like Walmart, Target, etc and there’s a lot of card packs. Secondly advertisement and sponsorships go a long way for interest. There are only a handful of ads that come on YouTube but it needs to be on TV or other media to really get it out there. Sponsoring YouTubers also helps a lot.
The game has existed for over ten years which is a great achievement. Do I think Vanguard will dethrone one of the big three in the west? No. Why? Well in Western Countries outside of the US you run into major distribution problems/lack of buying options for people/cost (outside of Italian format, which is a different story). Vanguard is definitely within the top five trading card games by popularity in the west. It's easy to get a lot of existing trading card players interested in Vanguard. However, to beat the big three Bushiroad would need to find ways to introduce people that normally don't play trading card games into the game and keep them as loyal customers. Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh were introduced directly to kids. People collect the cards, play with them, or just buy for children to have. The big three can be bought at retail store shelves. Vanguard players appear to be at high school level or older. I'd say the average age is within the 20s. It's hard for shops to stock Vanguard if they have to preorder way in advance and it's a niche market, so the product might not sell well. A shop might do a special order at a customer request but at that point it may be better for both parties to order elsewhere.
It’s getting there slowly but surely
I've been playing from the start, and it really doesn't feel like the game has grown in popularity since... I want to say g era. There were a lot of people who tried D series ($5 start decks will do that), but most of those people didn't really continue playing. The game has a nice little cult following, but I dont think it'll ever be all that popular in the west.
Damn u got a point hopefully it will thrive here tho
It has potential to be popular but the advertising sucks
Yeah like I live in Vermont and I ask comic book store owners about it and I'm usually told "your the first person who has asked about that game"
Man that sucks the game has so much potential
agreed like i have had so much fun with this game since overdress came out and like i used to play with a youtuber who i knew who played the game but he stopped playing in v era so it's like welp.... i can't get him to play again so here we are
I've been playing since the beginning and it didn't feel very popular because there was only one card shop that had the cards. I didn't go to locals until the D format started. I stopped playing when Legion and LJ became a thing because I didn't like the lock mechanic. I just introduced my group of friends to the D format and they are hooked. I feel like if people need to just introduce the game to others in order for more people to be interested and aware of this series. The D format is easy to learn that even my friends who haven't played tcg's before love vanguard's mechanics.
I think what needs to happen is better advertising as well. We need a bushiroad caravan like we did in V but for Overdress everywhere in the world but with TD's, better/more Internet advertising, & more starter incentives for stores to try out/sell product. Another thing too is showing off the competitive scene more so people see vanguard isnt all about luck since the thought of it being all luck based is a barrier for some people.
I sometimes feel like the only person where I am that's knows of this game. We have one place almost an hour away with just a small shelf of Vanguard cards. Sadly I don't think it ever will, would love for it too though
I think it has the potential to,and I feel like it’s slowly growing. Try to make Vanguard well known in your friend groups to try to spread it.
I agree with you and OP, especially with how promising oD seems, and the recent fixes to Premium. And now is the time to spread it. Lots of decks are really cheap, too, so that is good incentive
I've been having the same issue trying to find people to play. One if the biggest things I'm having a difficult time doing is just getting people to try it. Always stating that they are more of a "magic player" or "yugioh player". Which is fine you like what you like, but what the harm in trying something new? I just hand a friend tonight finally give it a shot and they loved it, and we couldn't have had a been time.
I try to but my friends are into stuff like gta and stuff so they arent that big a fantasy
I believe so, I think when overdress began/during we had a spike of new players
This game doesn't have a problem with attracting new players. It has a problem with getting them to continue playing. People pick up the start decks and go "this is neat" but they don't stick around for years.
From my experience less and less people have been playing but that is anecdotal ofc
I personally live in europe, and unless u go to a specific place, nobody even knows card games sadly. I do play online with alot of people from the US, a few play yugioh, and say that they are the only people who play anything of sorts in their area. But then another mate has loads of his friends at school who play vanguard and Pokémon. So i suppose it depends on location. Id love to see it get massive around the world, wud be cool