The digital age has come and conquered our society. It has changed the way we perceive the world. The creation of the internet has turned our existence upside-down. New advancements in communication has permitted information to be instantly available at the swipe of a screen that exists in your pocket. As this technology grows, we move towards an area of complete sensory takeover such as virtual and augmented reality systems.
Virtual and augmented reality has come and gone from the headlines over the decades. From the Super Nintendo’s Virtual Boy to Google’s Google Glass. Some were complete failures, and some exist only to cater to a specific niche. One of the common themes as the technology grows is more of these devices are sticking around for the long haul. Pokémon Go was the first mainstream mobile app which allowed augmented reality to display the popular Pokémon creatures super-imposed on top of camera lens images which were displayed on the mobile screens. It was a major success both as a generation (in terms) of revenue for the company Niantic Labs and as an indicator of what is popular with today’s youth. The snowball effect from people going to social media sharing their latest Pokémon catches caused a worldwide frenzy where streets and parks were filled with hundreds and sometimes thousands of players trying to ‘catch em’ all’
With augmented reality, you have the ability to virtually place items in front of your vision. That means it can replace ALL physical objects which are purely viewed without physical interaction. This is your TV, these are your wall paintings, but most interestingly…this could also be your prized and cherished card collection.
We are moving towards a digital era. The idea of owning a digital copy of an item is slowly becoming more and more accepted. With the likes of MP3s on iTunes, and books on Amazon’s Kindle…more and more of society is moving away from physical goods. Along with leaving physical goods behind and accepting digital ones comes some pros and cons of course. Not being able to physically turn a page or move the needle on a vinyl might be a great selling point for the older goods. Although, as we move forward the benefits of having digital goods is becoming more evident. As an avid traveller, it does not make sense to carry or purchase copious amounts of vinyl or paper books because they are heavy and take up space. This is why I love the idea of digital cards.
As an avid Pokémon fan growing up, I remember going to my local corner store and buying booster packs which contained 12 cards. I would buy them in hopes for a shiny rare card. The euphoria of obtaining a new shiny card was ecstatic. There was no other feeling quite like it. Looking at today’s youth they have replaced these emotions with corresponding digital actions. The popular Blizzard game Hearthstone has the same ‘booster’ pack style opening. There is a major emphasis on receiving new cards and opening the pack which you can tell the company spent a lot of time emphasising to try to emulate the same euphoric feeling I would feel as a child with physical card booster packs. The great part about the cards in Hearthstone is they are digital. They don’t suffer wear and tear, they are stored online and accessible everywhere.
This new paradigm shift is why the world needs a platform like Gamedex. It is a marketplace for digital collectable card games which will allow any brand to create and build their own cards and the games along with it. With a marketplace (similar to the popular marketplace for games “Steam”) that has the catalogue of multiple digital card games, you will be able to trade your cards with other users anywhere in the world - instantly and practically fee-free. You will have cards which are provably scarce to ensure that the company who made them are not lying about the rarity or re-printing limited edition sets for profits. You are in control of what you own, unlike centralised games or systems. This technology alongside augmented reality I believe will be the next big thing for gaming and the collectible industry.
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