Card games and collectible card series have long been a mainstay in entertainment, remaining popular to this day. Whether it’s due to their long-standing rules and inherent accessibility, or the perceived value in certain copies, cards can appeal to anyone. However, there’s been a bit of an issue with digital cards for quite some time. While the Statista research finds that card games are the second-most popular genre in UK mobile gaming, the experience simply lacks in many baseline digital card games. However, recent tech advancements and the application of NFTs may help with this final step in legitimizing digital card gaming – especially if the SAVAGE green initiative can cut the tremendous energy demands of minting.
Digital card games are popular despite their pitfalls
For most card games, the excitement comes from the luck of the draw, using strategy to defeat an opponent or collecting cards that are better than your existing ones or are more valuable. In digital card games, not only is there a persistent sense of unrealism due to the random number generator that governs most of the play, but in trading games, there’s an inherent lack of value. Regardless, people very much enjoy playing digital card games. You can look at the likes of the CardGames.io site, which continues to be used even though its massive selection of classic card games are what you’d call basic by today’s standards. Still, the likes of Mahjong, Scorpion, Go Fish, Gin Rummy, and War here remain popular. Even though Windows 10 dropped several games, with people looking for ways to return Windows 7 games, it did keep Solitaire, Spider Solitaire, and the Solitaire Collection – proving the importance of card games to this value-added part of the OS.
Even new games that lean on card games prove popular on consoles. For Nintendo consoles, Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics includes blackjack, poker, War, and President for single and multiplayer modes. A great non-classic example, though, is that of the Yu-Gi-Oh series. In 2019, even as a Nintendo Switch exclusive, Legacy of the Duelist: Link Evolution topped the physical copy charts, coming third with digital sales according to this GamesIndustry.biz report. The game that spans a great many generations of the physical card game through a single-player campaign and local multiplayer options – with cards only earned by in-game play – reportedly shipped 500,000 copies in less than one year after its launch.
Bringing realism to digital card games
A big part of the experience of all card games is being able to have, hold, and review cards as you collect them or get them in-game. It’s why card art is so important across the board, as Mitushiro Arita knows. This will never be relayed digitally, but the other aspects that make a game real are. Utilizing live streaming technology to connect a player to a proper table and croupier in real-time, live casino games deliver the authentic casino experience. While many Betway blackjack games that are purely digital remain popular, it’s the Live & Real creations that bring the classic card game to life.
Another way to bring that sense of realism to digital card gaming is by making it competitive. While not the most prominent form of eSports, card games certainly have their place, with the Hearthstone game being the epitome of eSports card gaming as it stands. With as much as $1 million on the line in annual World Championships, mastering Hearthstone is a very real pursuit. Several others use internet connections to create meaningful games within their digital card games, such as in the GWENT free title. Streaming to allow for play in real-time as well as ramping up the competition brings realism to a game of digital cards.
Attempting to make digital cards valuable
Perhaps the last frontier for digital gaming becoming as close to a legitimate to physical card games is getting over the value barrier. Right now, people are buzzing about the application of blockchain technology to mint limited NFTs of digital cards to ensure scarcity, rarity, and perceived value. Already, we’ve seen sci-fi NFT card game Parallel raise a $500 million valuation, proving the foreseen scale of NFTs in card gaming. It’s not the only one, either. In limited quantity card pack sales, Blockchain Heroes recently released its third instalment, Stonk Wars, which showcases the Reddit vs. Wall Street event of last year. The biggest on the scene right now, however, are Gods Unchained, Splinterlands, and Berserk – which are a few of many NFT card titles. The idea of using NFT cards is spreading beyond a core game, too, with YGG issuing 300 exclusive crypto cards.
Digital card games are gradually overcoming the obstacles that separate them from physical games and collections. How much value and long-term value NFT cards truly have is incredibly speculative right now, but if it can take root, it will add to streaming and competition to make digital games more realistic.
