Would you spendalmost $225for a single digital image of Han Solo from the original Star Wars?
For most people, the answer is obviously No.
And some people will pay dearly for it.
Theyre the company that makes the baseball cards everyone had when they were growing up.
Well, in the past several years, theyve created something truly unique.
Theyve started a whole subculture of digital trading cardsmeaning, cards that are nothing but images on your phone.
You collect them and trade them, and many of them are insanely valuable.
And thats when things really opened up to a whole new audience of fans.
Im one of them.
Before Star Wars: Card Trader, I had no idea digital cards were a thing.
And in fact, when I first heard about the app I, like most people, was skeptical.
Its just a stupid photo on my phone, I thought.
Neither I, nor my family or friends, had any idea of the monster Id just unleashed.
It only took a few days.
Star Wars: Card Trader quickly took over my life.
It was painful (Mom, now press Boba Fett) and embarrassing, but its true.
And some people out there totally understand where Im coming from.
The same kind of person whod pay $225 for a photo of Han Solo.
We saw how the brands popularity influenced real world value for the cards.
Topps went from having no market presence to being a major player in the Star Wars universe within days.
It was incredibly impressive.
I think it even surprised the team behind the app.
Heres how Card Trader works.
But once in a while, youll get a randomly inserted insert card.
These are ultra rare cards for whichif you get a full seriestheres usually a reward at the end.
Especially if the subject was a popular character.
The game redefined what it meant to collect.
To most people, the idea of a digital trading card having any value just doesnt make sense.
Its just an image, right?
Well, yes and no.
Its a digital object that you own, said Ian Hundiak, a producer at Topps Digital.
The space of the app makes ownership feel important.
Actually owning that card far outweighs the joy from just viewing it.
In the app, we manage all that for you.
Through the app, youre linked to a global, engaged and active audience.
Trading is an essential part of the game.
Theres also the simple joy of having your entire collection at your disposal at any time.
In the past, if you collected cards, you had boxes and boxes sitting in your bedroom.
This store is always open, and always being updated.
Which makes it very easy to get obsessed with.
When I first downloaded the app, first I was confused.
Theres a lot going on.
Cards are revealed on a digital message board called Transmissions.
The packs are listed in the Cantina.
it’s possible for you to connect with friends and view their cards for make a trade.
Immediately after the first taste and spending all your credits, you want to open more packs.
After only a few minutes, I was hooked, building my collection however I could.
That itch you get to buy something when you go to a store.
And make no mistake, once Card Trader finally takes hold of you, things do get stressful.
Its understandable, but difficult to work out a deal.
A few weeks back I was at the D23 Expofor work.
BOOM, there it was.
Odds of 1:65 and I got it first pack.
I jumped up and down, while waiting in line at the convention.
Oh, Im sorry MaamI got the new Diplomatic Mission Widevision in my first pack!
Number 23 in a series of 30!
That kind of high is part of why the app is so addicting.
Another reasons is because theres always something new to check out.
We try and get way ahead of ourselves.
Thus far, the most popular series on Star Wars: Card Trader is the Vintage set.
Those are accounts opened by people who bought some packs and never played again.
It means the number of Vintage Hans out there is probably closer to 1,000 or less.
The result was a set of cards that look familiar and old, but are actually brand new.
Because you were wondering, yes, I was affected by this crash.
Was the card going to sell out before I had a chance to snag one?
In those brief seconds, I snagged the card in a pack.
Later, Topps refunded all my credits too.
If a server crashes and the app goes down, we dont lose the data, Hundiak said.
We have all the data stored.
Sets like those two are prime example of how the app has changed for me as a daily user.
At the start, I was collecting everything.
But even with friends helping, it became increasingly time-consuming and frustrating.
It got to a point where the rarer a card was, the less attractive it was.
A set like the Sketchbook one is exciting, because its easy to get.
A set like Elegant Weapons, while stunningly beautiful, is more expensive and exponentially more rare.
Sacrifices have to be made, and personal preferences begin to take over.
That balance is one of the biggest issues the Topps team has to work with.
Then theres Lucasfilm, the keepers of the Star Wars keys who have been working with Topps for decades.
At the start, they werent sure if a digital card app was the right match.
Eventually though, the companys long relationship with Topps won them over and they moved forward.
But if something holds value to somebody, it can be bought.
Everyone knows this is mostly a positive, but they dont encourage it.
Its my leading argument when I tell other people about the app.
If, for example, I needed the 10th card in a set to get a special award.
I hope that wont happen, though.
As a matter of fact, I got my own Vintage Han without spending a cent.
That means there were only 50 of these in the app, so it was highly sought after.
We havent begun to scratch the surface of this apps capabilities, said Castellar.
Look for more from us in the next few months and into 2016.
Will I keep up with Star Wars: Card Trader?
But it wont end there.
The whole app is a big commitment, but its a rewarding one.
Its because of Star Wars itself.
Ive learned to never underestimate what Star Wars means to people, said Hundiak.
hit up the author at[email protected].
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