I remember when the Yu-Gi-Oh! card game first bursted onto the scene, the collectible card game market was booming with virtually all gaming companies were following Wizards of the Coast’s success (with Magic: The Gathering) and trying to gain a piece of the pie. Yu-Gi-Oh! was extremely popular because of the fact that it was backed by a successful manga and anime. The key demographic was definitely kids and teenagers and it was evident when you see them go to their local gaming shop and spend their allowances and lunch money for a pack of cards…it was an ADDICTION!

I definitely got into the whole wave and watched the show and bought a few cards, but the reality of it was it was getting way too expensive. Stores were charging like $5.00+ for a pack of FIVE CARDS!! I don’t know how kids were affording to play this game because I sure knew I couldn’t (I later gave my whole collection to my cousin). The other alternative I saw was to play the videogames, but they were either poorly created, there weren’t many cards available and lastly there wasn’t multiplayer.

I was watching Nathan play the newest Yu-Gi-Oh! incarnation on the Nintendo DS and I must say that I’m pretty impressed. Not only can you duel against CPU opponents for cards and earn money for packs to improve your deck, but with the wifi capabilities, you can pit your deck against you other friends or even other people in the world! I’m thinking to myself, what is the drawback? Aside from the fact that not all cards are available in the set, this probably the best alternative for parents who’s kids spend a fortune on cards.

Think of it this way, the cost of the Nintendo DS handheld and the game will at most cost $200 - $250, that’s only enough to buy like a box of cards from one or two sets! Even then, you won’t get all the cards you need or want. Plus on Yu-Gi-Oh! WC 2008, you can technically have an unlimited supply of cards and there are neat little animatons for the cards and you can choose your own character/avatar.

Honestly, if they cam out with a Yu-Gi-Oh! WC every year, I’d probably buy it because it’s a steal. Now if only Wizards of the Coast would come out with something similar, then I would gladly buy that as well!

-Stephen