Star Wars Card Trader: The Definition of Insanity

[Dolemite]

Getting stupid people to pay for imaginary bullshit is brilliant, and I applaud this app's creators for having the wherewithal to tap into this lucrative market. I don't blame the developer, I blame the people who willingly give them their money.

Unlike Mzo, I'm not bothered by this in the least. People have been getting conned for thousands of years. The con has just caught up with the digital age, that's all.

[YellerDog]

Thinking on it, part of what was cool about actual physical cards is just stumbling on them randomly years later out of their original context, I don't know that there's a digital version of finding a "Pee Wee's Playhouse" Cowboy Cody card in a moving box.

Maybe finding a GIF on an old HD.

Chill Yeller, There's no need to go all personal on people over this.

I'm beginning to think it's part of your charm that you're a day late and a dollar short to every minor dustup.

[James]

The original item is just a picture. Do you print every photo you take?

Hey, remember when you didn't have any choice in the matter? Each picture had to be carefully lined up and you hoped like mad for a couple days you didn't waste film. Then you got the pictures back, put the crappy ones in the rear of the paper envelope they came in, and showed off the good ones.

Digital cameras changed that. Now you can waste as much as you like for the one perfect shot, printing out only the ones that matter if you bother to do anything other than upload to Facebook.

Digital changed the finances of gaming in a huge way. I'll still pay $50-$60 for a disc release, but the spending cap on a digital game is $20. I'm not saying I haven't exceeded it in rare cases, but only by a little. A physical thing has more value than a non-physical thing, for reasons that have been endlessly reiterated forever. Sure, the Realm sketch glitch in FFIII would be patched out of the SNES cartridge nowadays, and I know that Just Cause III will have a pile of patches to turn it into its final form, making the disc more a relic than actual copy of the game, but it's still mine in a way that an XBLA/PSN/Steam game will never be. I'll cheerfully pay extra for that.

Short version- digital is disposable and therefore cheap. Physical isn't non-disposable but it's much closer, so it's got more value. It's all about what you choose to carry with you.

Thing I don't get about the cards, though- if they're just .jpgs, how are they only stored server-side? They'd only be official in the official Topps app, but you can still download a .jpg to your PC any time you'd like. Do they only have value when viewed through the app, and as part of your official card collection rather than through the card viewer? Because that's just kind of ridiculous.

[BonusKun]

Thinking on it, part of what was cool about actual physical cards is just stumbling on them randomly years later, I don't know that there's a digital version of finding a "Pee Wee's Playhouse" Cowboy Cody card in a moving box.

Maybe finding a GIF on an old HD.


I'm beginning to think it's part of your charm that you're a day late and a dollar short to every minor dustup.

Let's just say I saw a few deleted posts from someone that I'm glad were deleted. A day late or not, you shouldn't just make snide remarks at someone who didn't make any at you. If anything I would have carded you for it but I'm hoping you'll just not continue doing it anymore.

And yes you're right on that aspect that finding cool stuff like that you'd literally forgotten about. I feel that physical media is something that is tangible and will keep it's worth or value over the years vs something you can just bring up an image of to look at. People buying into this crap is stupid and what makes it more stupid is people who believe stuff like this has any kind of long-term value. I feel sorry for them.

[Yoshi]

I'll still pay $50-$60 for a disc release, but the spending cap on a digital game is $20.

Congratulations? So what you're really saying is that you don't care about the people that made the game or took the financial risk to publish it. You're quite the supporter of the industry.

[YellerDog]

Thing I don't get about the cards, though- if they're just .jpgs, how are they only stored server-side? They'd only be official in the official Topps app, but you can still download a .jpg to your PC any time you'd like. Do they only have value when viewed through the app, and as part of your official card collection rather than through the card viewer? Because that's just kind of ridiculous.

I don't think it's that the image is stored that's the thing (because lol printscreen), it's that the 'collection' checks with the server and your unique 'permission' for that card in Your Collection is verified; it's that permission that people are trading.

So yeah, value is in the context. Very 'zen' really.

Let's just say I saw a few deleted posts from someone that I'm glad were deleted. A day late or not, you shouldn't just make snide remarks at someone who didn't make any at you. If anything I would have carded you for it but I'm hoping you'll just not continue doing it anymore.

Would you quit derailing this very important thread?

[BonusKun]

Would you quit derailing this very important thread?

You were the one that started this ya dork. Don't get all huffy with me about it.

P.S. Repped you for this post just because it made me laugh.

[James]

Congratulations? So what you're really saying is that you don't care about the people that made the game or took the financial risk to publish it. You're quite the supporter of the industry.

Yeah, fuck you.

[YellerDog]

James! You write! Why didn't we know about this?

[Yoshi]

I'm perfectly aware of what you do for a living, and it doesn't change anything. In fact, people who profit peripherally from said developers and publishers and don't support them are especially disturbing.