Yugioh exposure in SA

After returning from rAge this past weekend, and visiting a number of Toyzones, Toys R Us and even Top CD's this past week, I must say I'm really disappointed at the rate Yugioh is dropping. Regarding The toy stores where I used to be able to buy good structures like Machina Mayhem etc now have 0 stock other than 4 packs of a 4yr old booster. Top CD Centurion used to stock Yugioh, now have 0 stock and only stock Magic and Pokemon. Pokemon seems to be the rising star in SA. At Toys R Us where I used to buy some cards but now have none, have a massive range of Pokemon cards, I mean like 6 shelves full. Even at rAge there was a large Magic area for play alongside BT Games which also stock Magic and now Pokemon.

If there was a time and place to get more exposure for Yugioh, this weekend's rAge was the place to do it. I could buy ample Pokemon, ample Magic, I even received a free CD of a Magic the Gathering made to teach people to play and get the game more exposure. Yet I could not find a single pack of Yugioh on sale... at SA's largest game expo :/ on a somewhat unrelated note it was also sad to see how anime had dropped at rAge. From AWX (Anime Worx) having a huge stand and even having an anime screening lounge along with 2 other anime stores, there was now only a tiny square store with minimal stock and no Anime Worx. The cosplay was also held by the artist's corner since the anime stand would not be able to accommodate it. But anyway back to Yuigoh...

I would really like to send out a plea to Treveshan and Blowfish to inform us on what's going on. Why stores don't have stock and why, at something like rAge, Magic and even Pokemon has exposure yet Yugioh can't be found anywhere on the grounds of the expo. I fear that ,very shortly, Yugioh will completely be swept clean from Jhb and Pta, and players will be forced to only buy online and support ourselves with the interests of this game. Our player base will also never be replenished and will only have those who are already playing, likely soon to fade as well. I can't account for anything in CT and Dbn, from what I've heard you guys all seem to be doing well, just a problem with players actually attending locals etc. But over here it's really a problem and one I won't just watch happen. If there is a way to turn it around then I would like to help out, and hopefully others will follow. I have a number of suggestions for Blowfish, both for some local stores and the next rAge event. But it really takes the help and support of the players/collectors and distributors to make it work.

This i also what we going through down here man, where is Treveshan ? can someone get him to start frequenting this site?

I'm going to contact him on fb, hopefully we can sit down and have a conv on windows live or gtalk, hear what's going on and what we can do about it.

Sounds promising

Hi Guys,

I understand your frustrations, and believe me, they are shared.

To address topics individually:

Rage: The reason why Magic was promoted at rAge is because we received support (in terms of half-decks, promo cards and learn to play CDs) from Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast for a stand to be put up at rAge to demonstrate Magic. We have received no support from Konami thus far in terms of marketing related activities, and very little support in terms of organised play despite us asking quite profusely. We are in no way affiliated to Pokemon - so that initiative must have been taken on by Nintendo and the local distributor.

Stock: Believe me, we would love to see more stock going into the stores. However, it is quite difficult to convince stores to take on new stock of a product when they still have old stock (and lots of which have been returned to us) sitting in their stores. The sad truth of the matter is that Yu-Gi-Oh! is no where near as popular as it used to be when it was on TV. The only way we can possibly keep the game alive and kicking is through organised play.

Organised Play: Organised Play seems to be one of the few ways we can possibly revive the Yu-Gi-Oh! community in South Africa. When looking at Magic, they are a lot of people/stores interested in hosting and organising tournaments, in terms of Yu-Gi-Oh! that number is significantly less. I have been speaking to Jascha from Durban about getting regular tournaments at Toy Zone Umhlanga going and to a couple of guys here in Joburg, but other than that there hasn't been any real interest from the community to be part of the organising side of organised play. There are a few guys around the country who put it quite a bit of effort to keep their local tournaments going, but the effort put in to grow these tournaments is lacking from both our side (Blowfish) and from you guys. This is something we are all going to have to work on.

Looking forward to your guys responses, questions, concerns, etc...

-Trev

I would totally be at locals every week if Toy Zone at the Crescent had regular tournaments.

Thats coz you live like right there

We working on the crescent situation

Yes i have been speaking to trevesh about it. They seemed very keen initialy but recently i have hit a brick wall. there response was that blowfish and toyzone head office needs to put the even together rather than them doing it (or rather us doing it for them) at a local level...in my opinion that is foolish. They did pretty well with both the regionals and sneak being held there. I cant understand there reason to hold back at this point as it will only mean more money coming in. I think it could be a subject of them not trusting us to host events as we arnt known to them or that there are brand standards they need to follow or a combination of both.

With regard to us doing more. we definitly can. the issues are that most of the people willing to put in the effort cant afford to sacrifice the time and money pushing the game forward all the time. at the moment it seems like only our effort is causing ripples and those arnt even that big at all. I think you are right about the anime. that was a big help but it seems from my seat that blowfish is moving away from yugioh rather than investing in it. organised play can only flurish if more new people 1. learn of the fact that there is organised play 2. if they are intaised into buying cards and 3.have an ongoing medium pushing there interest towards yugioh (that being the anime). it most definitly is expencive but if there is any intention of building the game anywere close to rival a Jump (ycs) then investment is the only way. i know the amime failed to deliver the last time it was run but that was because it was a new season with a new concept that eeryone took a while to get a custom to. there was such along brake between the last injection that existing players had already left or moved on to other things.

This will hav2 be a from scratch job and im not sure how blowfish will feel about that. starting up the anime again would be a good start. next should be an aggressive push towards how to start and where organised play is held (even without prize support). and next is keeping players stimulated with activity so as to not loose them in the future. but thats just my opinion.

Its MARKETING MARKETING MARKETING all the way.

I think the players that are wtill here have learnt there lessons from the past and there are more of us willing to carry the game forward now. Put your plans together and let us run with it forward

I've thought about this, and here's what I think:

The BEST (and probably, only) way we could increase yugioh exposure is by petitioning SABC to reinstate Yu-Gi-Oh! as a television show.

ZeXal just started, so they won't be behind at all. It's also much better than the original Yu-Gi-Oh! series. It's slightly more mature... Even though
the main character is childish at the start of the series, it's clear that he matures as the series moves on. I'm sure kids would enjoy Yu-Gi-Oh!, and it would
increase overall exposure. We can highlight to SABC the fact that Japanese anime cartoons are always a hit. For example, Dragonball...

If we could get letters written by some big toy stores, like Toys R Us, Toywiz, Wizards, and any other stores that sell YGO, from all over the country, and send
it to SABC in an organised format, I am sure they would at LEAST take it into consideration. If they feel like they can get more viewers, they will at least be forced
to analyse the possibility. I mean, seriously, Bey Blades???????????? That's a show that can be replaced without second thoughts. Any one who plays that stupid
game would be set FREE by a game like Yugioh, a game that one can actively partake in AND watch on TV. Especially now, the game is MUCH better than when it
started. If YGO was so popular then, imagine how popular it would be now...? That goes without say... SABC, SABC viewers, the YGO community and South African
hobby shops/toy stores would all benefit from televising YGO. We just need to communicate that to them, 'en masse', preferrably.

I am willing to put in some effort. The game is worth it...

SBV wrote:

I've thought about this, and here's what I think:

The BEST (and probably, only) way we could increase yugioh exposure is by petitioning SABC to reinstate Yu-Gi-Oh! as a television show.

ZeXal just started, so they won't be behind at all. It's also much better than the original Yu-Gi-Oh! series. It's slightly more mature... Even though
the main character is childish at the start of the series, it's clear that he matures as the series moves on. I'm sure kids would enjoy Yu-Gi-Oh!, and it would
increase overall exposure. We can highlight to SABC the fact that Japanese anime cartoons are always a hit. For example, Dragonball...

If we could get letters written by some big toy stores, like Toys R Us, Toywiz, Wizards, and any other stores that sell YGO, from all over the country, and send
it to SABC in an organised format, I am sure they would at LEAST take it into consideration. If they feel like they can get more viewers, they will at least be forced
to analyse the possibility. I mean, seriously, Bey Blades???????????? That's a show that can be replaced without second thoughts. Any one who plays that stupid
game would be set FREE by a game like Yugioh, a game that one can actively partake in AND watch on TV. Especially now, the game is MUCH better than when it
started. If YGO was so popular then, imagine how popular it would be now...? That goes without say... SABC, SABC viewers, the YGO community and South African
hobby shops/toy stores would all benefit from televising YGO. We just need to communicate that to them, 'en masse', preferrably.

I am willing to put in some effort. The game is worth it...

none of deny that tv makes our game go round. the problem lies in sabc not wanting to pay for the airing of the series.
that's the major issue in airing things on a national level. especially as it is a new series.

I understand that, but we can force action by petitioning. Get a flood of letters going in to SABC to air Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, which is old now so should be less expensive to air.

Not just 1 or 2 people asking for it to be on TV, I'm talking about every single individual who plays the game in SA today, as well as all owners or managers of stored that stock Yu-Gi-Oh! products... Each one must write his own letter or email. If they get lots of requests, you can be guaranteed it will prompt them for action. They'll actually take us seriously if we are many. If they can secure enough viewers, they will at least analyse the options.

No point in sitting back and taking, right?

I agree with organized play, also. We need some one with money, who is able to invest and then expect a return in the future. For example, organizing with a lesser shopping mall to allow us to host a tournament during the school holidays, with banners and posters inviting people to come learn to play the game, including TV's hooked up to DVD players playing the series. We could make multiple copies of the anime' on blank discs, and just distribute them to people who enjoy watching anime'. Yes it's piracy, but we have no other CHOICE but to play dirty, or the game will DIE in South Africa. None of us have endless piles of money to invest, so we must do the next best thing. There are many people who are getting interested anime' in South Africa. We can use this to OUR advantage. Recommend the Yu-Gi-Oh! animes - force it down people's throats. It's an ANIME', that one can actively PARTICIPATE in... It's like a treasure hidden in a sepulchre... We know the treasure is in there, but others just see the sarcophagus. No one in their right mind will want to search in a tomb for treasures, but if we KNOW it's there, we should encourage them fervently. Yu-Gi-Oh! seems like a child's game to outsiders. We KNOW it isn't. Therefore we should push in every way possible to reach those who will be willing to give it a try. And we can't give up, because that's where you lose..

Yu-Gi-Oh! does well everywhere else because it is a BRILLIANT collectible trading card game. We just need to bridge an understanding with those who don't haven't been exposed to it.

I know I may be echoing what others have said about 1000 times, but it needs to be said AND reiterated, so that we do not give up.

Who would be willing to spam SABC with letters & emails?

Hmm, I will meet you guys on Saturday if God so wills... It would be good to start some sort of coersive Yu-Gi-Oh! movement - the community along with the Yu-Gi-Oh! retailers. We can do this easily, IF we are willing to PUSH and culminate all our efforts... We must be like those looking to revolt, we must be a well-oiled machine, all driven by the same goal, and all willing to put maximum effort towards achieving that goal...

okay. if you're willing to act as laison between the player base and the sabc i don't think there will be a problem at all.

I would, but obviously co-operation is necessary. For example, Durban and Pretoria players would have to do their bit by going to all local stores that stock YGO and ask them to submit some sort of letter or declaration of their interest in having YGO aired. They definitely won't give a damn; as long as they see more sales involved, any business would take a mere 5 minutes to make some sort of statement if it would positively affect sales...

SBV wrote:

I would, but obviously co-operation is necessary. For example, Durban and Pretoria players would have to do their bit by going to all local stores that stock YGO and ask them to submit some sort of letter or declaration of their interest in having YGO aired. They definitely won't give a damn; as long as they see more sales involved, any business would take a mere 5 minutes to make some sort of statement if it would positively affect sales...

okay what i'll do this week is get a hold of the people that generally host their local events and have them either approach the store or forward the store's email addresses to me which i in turn shall pass on to you ???
is that okay? you may only get these things later than next week i can only get a hold of them by thursday hopefully.

ADMIN wrote:

SBV wrote:

I would, but obviously co-operation is necessary. For example, Durban and Pretoria players would have to do their bit by going to all local stores that stock YGO and ask them to submit some sort of letter or declaration of their interest in having YGO aired. They definitely won't give a damn; as long as they see more sales involved, any business would take a mere 5 minutes to make some sort of statement if it would positively affect sales...

okay what i'll do this week is get a hold of the people that generally host their local events and have them either approach the store or forward the store's email addresses to me which i in turn shall pass on to you ???
is that okay? you may only get these things later than next week i can only get a hold of them by thursday hopefully.

I agree with this. I'll do my part if I have something to work with. I will also strive to see you on Saturday. Speaking personally > forums... rofl