One Piece is getting an official card game!
I've been a die-hard One Piece manga fan since almost two decades ago and likely forever will be. I enjoy card games too. So hearing about the announcement got me all giddy. I have no idea if the actual game would be fun, but I'm buying card packs no matter what if it gets distributed locally.
Apparently, Bandai announced it over a month ago but gone slightly under the radar. For whatever reason, gaming and entertainment news outlets like IGN are only talking about it now. Here's the official trailer published by IGN yesterday.
It may take a month or two before we get any details about the game. For now, I'm going to burn away the excess excitement by blogging about it and talking about my early impressions of the card game. As a One Piece fan, I'm all hoping it would do great. But as a gamer, I've got some real doubts about its future.
Here's what I think will work for and against the upcoming One Piece trading card game.
✔️ Massive Fanbase ✔️
If you haven't heard of One Piece even once, either you have been living on a remote island or got a total aversion to anime or manga.
It's currently one of the longest-running and top-selling manga ever, with over 490 million volumes in circulation. It spawned an anime, fourteen movies (going to 15 soon), tons of video games, and even an upcoming Netflix live-action series that I have mixed feelings about.
After more than two decades of publication, the manga hasn't shown any signs of losing steam. It's been that way since it was released in 1997. Imagine how many kids and teens grew up reading or watching One Piece, and how many are adults now with spending power.
The One Piece fanboys and fangirls would undoubtedly boost the upcoming card game's success.
Image from One Piece Fandom 😭
❌ Tough Competition ❌
The global Trading Card Game (TCG) landscape has a mythical and undefeated trifecta: Magic, Pokémon, and Yu-Gi-Oh!. These, as most players call them, the Big Three, have been around for ages to hone their craft and accumulate a colossal playerbase.
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Pokémon TCG has been here since 1999. Yu-Gi-Oh! came a few years later, in 2002. While Magic TCG has been released for way longer with a 1993 debut.
These games are the Big Three for a reason. They are splendid card games, successfully and constantly keeping the play fresh and exciting their players. I don't think One Piece TCG will be able to match these guys in gameplay elements, marketing, or player adoption.
One Piece would have a rough road ahead in getting a slice of the TCG players' pie.
✔️Top-Tier Collectibles ✔️
I'm worried about One Piece as a card game, but one thing I have no doubts about is its potential collector's value. It truly has the makings of a top-tier collectible that would go for astronomically high auction prices on eBay.
Yes, fans would drive the value up high. Just look at how gorgeous the cards are. I'm sure they, I mean, we, will be absolute suckers for these. I won't be competing for them in auctions, but I'll surely try my luck on opening tons of packs to nab one of these. 😎😍😭
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We can look at how the Dragon Ball card game is faring as a collector's item as a reference. The fanbase of the franchises is equally massive, so it's a good parallel to how One Piece cards will go. Consider this Dragon Ball card recently sold on eBay for $4,499. Also consider that this print wasn't a decade-old print or anything; it was a Secret Rare released last May 2021 in a standard booster.
❌Lackluster Gameplay? ❌
I mentioned how One Piece would have a Herculean task of vying for players against the TCG Big Three. But judging Bandai's track record of card games, One Piece TCG may not even be able to catch the dust the other games left behind.
Before One Piece's upcoming 2022 launch, Bandai had two earlier forays in the TCG world with 2008's Dragon Ball Super and 2020's Digimon Card Game. These games are built on well-loved franchises and can be considered successes. But the 'game factor' between these and the three TCG godfathers has a terribly wide gap.
Dragon Ball was the worse offender probably. Digimon seemed a lot more fun and complex. To be fair, I only know of the gameplay vaguely through reviews and videos, so I'm not a totally reliable judge. But on my impressions so far, the Dragon Ball TCG feels like a casual party game not far from the likes of Unstable Unicorns.
I'm not hating on party games. On the contrary, I love them too. But the simpler Bandai card games are out of the norm in TCGs, especially in the competitive scene. I can't imagine myself or other players obsessing over strategizing plays for those games.
And unfortunately, the early glimpse of One Piece TCG looks like that of Dragon Ball. For any players of Dragon Ball TCG out there, please feel free to educate me. I'm honestly all ears. 🙏 Thank you!
✔️Boundless Potential ✔️
One core fact why Pokémon TCG has remained successful is that it's not done yet. There's still new stuff to explore in the franchise's anime and games. We are already on Generation IX of Pokémon. Then, we'll probably reach what, Gen XXX, Gen L? 🤔 It'll likely persist that long since Nintendo games keep it thriving. The Pokémon card game has well-capitalized on this constant hype and re-invention.
One Piece won't be as long-lasting as Pokémon, but it's still an ongoing publication. Until the moment manga ends, and even beyond, there's boundless magic to unfold. The mangaka is a passionate and astoundingly creative guy. Fans affectionately call Eiichiro Oda, the creator, "Goda" for his godly genius. In Oda's hands, the manga will surely be more explosive in the years to come.
There's been talk about One Piece manga ending around 2026. It's bittersweet because I'll definitely miss it, but I also know and acknowledge the significance of its ending.
On thinking about the TCG, I'm happy that it's coming out while we're still in the manga's glory days. Hopefully, it'll be able to ride the waves of the hype and climax of the material. Then be able to outlive it and be something that fans could remember the One Piece world by. 💖
~ I'd like to end this post by sharing an amusing exchange when Oda first learned that One Piece would have a trading card game. ~
Screenshot from One Piece TCG Official Site
If you liked this post, you may be interested in my other TCG blog:
Guess the Most Expensive Yu-Gi-Oh! Card Sold on eBay and How Much it Costs
