[Help Needed]Research on the Pokemon Community in the US

Is the Community/People a major factor for you to play Pokemon TCG?

  • Yes

    Votes: 20 90.9%

  • No

    Votes: 2 9.1%
  • Total voters
    22
T

tc19930815

Aspiring Member
Member
Dear Pokebeach,

This is Timothy from Hong Kong, a PTCG player. I am currently working on an essay on the Reasons for the Popularity of Pokemon TCG in the United States. After going to worlds last year, I have heard from players saying that they play Pokemon Cards because of the Community and people here. Therefore, I would like to know more about what the Pokemon Community is like in the US and how is it different from the community of other Trading Card Games or other Games in general? Also, please vote whether or not the people or community is one of the major factors to keep playing Pokemon TCG.

I have created a Google Form (survey). Please do me a favour by filling it in!
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dGdUQnhwRm1ScjBkUkUtdGdZVEFMenc6MQ

Your help will be much appreciated :DDD Thank you so much.

P.S. I am not sure if I can post this thread here. I am sorry if I have violated any rules.
 
While I haven't played many other TCGs, generally speaking, I do find the Pokémon TCG community to be fun, respectful, welcoming, and diverse. If it weren't for that, I would probably restrict myself solely to collecting, instead of attempting to play and also participating in online communities.

(For the record, I do currently live in the Netherlands, but only moved here a month ago, so all of my Pokémon experiences have taken place in the US.)
 
Thank you very much! The community in the US for Pokemon TCG has always been one we Hong Kong players envy of. Therefore, I would be very happy to know more about the characteristics of the community which make you guys stay in this game :D
 
The US community (in Florida) has mostly nice people, and a lot of people are willing to help other players when in need. When my aunt played at her first tournament, 2 of her opponents showed her how she would have won if she played differently or used a different Supporter on her turn, ect.

The popularity stems from things like Pokemon in general being popular, kids wanting to get their favorite Pokemon, collectors, competitive players, and being a really fun TCG to play. Pokemon was #2 behind Magic a few months ago.
 
For me, I love this game, so I would probably still play it, regardless of the community, but luckily the community here is great overall, and I have made some really close friends at league, which is just another reason I play.
 
I know that at least where I go, the fan base always tries to help each other out. We always help the new people at our league gain more consistency in their decks and explain to them how to do better at the tcg as well as pointers on how you should build a deck. I remember the first time I showed up at league. As soon as I showed up they were all nice and friendly. It's like a gift that keeps on giving. After you get used to it and become more advanced, then you start helping the new kids and teaching them what you were taught.
 
If the community wasn't the way it was, I probably would have left PB the day after I had joined. I then would have never been introduced to the Pokemon TCG, and so on. Throughout the time I've been playing, I've met probably a grand total of two people who haven't been a nice and accepting. Heck, I was walking to Regionals once in PA, and when it was clear I had no clue where I was going, another player walked up and showed me where the event was. We even had a full conversation about our deck strategies, as we if we had been friends for years.

Keep in mind this is coming from someone who is probably one of the most competitive people out there. I'm the kind of person who never lets anyone win and is always about the strategy and playing aspects of games, rather than the social ones. The community is what drives the Pokemon TCG in my opinion, without it, Pokemon would be a dud.
 
The community is a large factor of Pokemon TCG.

Where I live, I don't socialize with anyone who collects or plays face-to-face, so I am stuck to the online portion of the community. Without the community though, I most likely would not collect Pokemon cards at all. The community adds the whole competitive aspect, even in collecting. I wouldn't have anyone to brag too about my new cards if there were no community!
 
The St.Louis community is AMAZING.
We have a close niche of people in our competitive groups.
We all travel together and stay together when we travel to the main tournaments.
We always have our St.Louis players area where all the parents of the younger children get together
and talk while tournaments are going on. Always welcoming.

As far as St.Louis pokemon goes, I consider it to be more like a family than a community.
If you ever need a card for a deck, you can get it from anybody.
If you ever need to playtest and work out the kinks in a deck, you are just a text away.
If you have an idea you want somebody to overlook, again, just a text away.

We are all very close, and I hope it is like that in all the other areas in the USA.
 
It is always cool to hear from you guys' positive reply! This bails me out haha
Do you guys know the difference between the community of Pokemon and other games? My research would be so much more convincing if I can tell the differences :)
 
While many comments have been positive, I would like to mention some of the negative aspects of the PokeCommunity, however generic and extreme they are. These are negative similarities.

For example, cheaters:
Of course, there are cheaters not just in every community, but in every aspect of gaming whether it be board games, PC games, console games or just games in general.

Another example would be thievery - again, this happens in almost every KIND of community. I've had friends who had cards seemingly stolen, and I have heard second-hand accounts of where person A would borrow person B's cards, but person B would never see his/her cards again.

I just wanted to mention that if you're expressing your opinion in an essay, you may want to note some counterarguments against how positive the community is. But, you probably already know this.

I sound awfully negative posting this, but I wanted to say that I have enjoyed the community more than any other because of well, what everyone else just said :) Unfortunately, I don't know many differences because while I've played most other TCGs, I haven't played within communities other than Pokemon.
 
I have uploaded a google form. Please do me a fouvr by filling it in! Your opinions would mean a lot to me,

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dGdUQnhwRm1ScjBkUkUtdGdZVEFMenc6MQ
 
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