‘Magic: The Gathering’ Head Designer: “Is There Some Point Where We Can Accept That ‘Universes Beyond’ Is Actually Doing Good Things For MTG?”
In ostensibly trying to move the ever-raging conversation forward instead of litigating the same arguments for time immemorial, Magic: The Gathering head designer Mark Rosewater has inquired with Universes Beyond critics as to just what, if anything, it will take for them to minimally accept that the crossover cards have had “a positive affect” on the overall game.
Rosewater offered his latest thoughts on the Universes Beyond debate in response to a fan question, as submitted to and subsequently answered via his personal Tumblr blog, regarding the designer’s recent defense of the game’s overbearing release cycle.
“Right now, a lot of people are playing Magic, more so than ever in the history of the game,” Rosewater explained in a recent-but-separate blog post. “The data is emphatically saying what we’re doing is working and that the Magic audience, again as a collective whole, is enjoying what we’re producing.”
Taking issue with Rosewater’s framing, said fan directly pressed him as to “is the current pace of set releases and the resulting changes in the player base truly sustainable?”
“Sometimes the impacts of [one’s] choices aren’t born out in the data until it’s too late to correct the mistakes,” he then explained of the reasoning behind his question. “It seems to me that, while perhaps anecdotal, the opinions of people who read your blog could potentially be seen as a leading indicator of enfranchised player sentiment. But, of course, I could be completely wrong about how closely my own sentiments align with the majority of blog readers.”
In turn, Rosewater adamantly asserted “This sentiment isn’t new” before pointing to the Universes Beyond situation as evidence to his claim.
“The popularity of Universes Beyond, for example, goes back many years. I get posts about how it’s bad for the game. I explain our data says there’s an audience for it, lots of people play it, and it starts selling really well. Posters claim that it’s a short-lived thing, that even though it’s doing well now, it’s going to spell problems long-term for the game.
“The popularity of Universes Beyond, for example, goes back many years. I get posts about how it’s bad for the game. I explain our data says there’s an audience for it, lots of people play it, and it starts selling really well. Posters claim that it’s a short-lived thing, that even though it’s doing well now, it’s going to spell problems long-term for the game.
“But the line of play and sales (and other various positive indicators) keeps going up. Yes, the current signs might seem good, the posters say, but it’s spelling doom. It’s appealing to a new audience that won’t have the staying power of the enfranchised audience.
“So, we do a lot of research into who is buying Universes Beyond, and lo and behold it’s mostly the enfranchised players. The second biggest group is lapsed players. The Universes Beyond products continue to do well. Even more people are playing, sales go up even more.
Drawing his thoughts to a close, Rosewater ultimately used the opportunity to try and reach some common understanding with those players who were still holding out hope that the Universes Beyond line would soon come to a close:
“This loop keeps continuing. We’re many years in now. Universe Beyond is no longer a new thing. Is there some point where we can accept that Universes Beyond is actually doing good things for Magic? It’s raising awareness (Magic‘s brand awareness is at an all-time high), it’s bringing in new players in record number, it’s bringing back lapsed players in record numbers, and the enfranchised players are rating the sets highly.
“This is a question to all the Universes Beyond naysayers. Is there anything that can happen with the product where you can accept that it’s had a positive affect on Magic as a whole?”
