From: Ben Good [doublexraven@hotmail.com]
Sent: Friday, January 04, 2002 10:17 AM
To: cardtips@pojo.com
Subject: Article on 15+ Developments
Fight For Our Right To 15+!
So...the news is in. 15+ in all major tournaments has ceased to exist. As
this news broke, I wasn't in the Wizards chat, but I quickly managed to
figure out what was going on from Pojo's IRC room. There was hardly anyone
who hadn't had something to say. " Wizards." was probably the
favorite remark, followed by "Wizards ."
Obviously, people are going to be EXTREMELY annoyed by this decision. And
rightly so; Wizards has essentially just told all Pokemon players of ages 15
and up exactly where they can go and shove their pieces of cardboard. Many
of the players who have followed the game from the beginning are now 15 or
over, so this is a REAL slap in the face. What the hell is Wizards doing?
Well, instead of actually letting players in the 15+ division PLAY in their
major events, Wizards has now introduced a "Professor" system, whereby
older players of the game become judges for the younger players. Wizards
insist that this is necessary for the games survival, which may be true. I
actually think this is a good system, as the people who take this up ARE
rewarded. However, it seems when Wizards thought of this, they saw a
problem. People want to PLAY in the major tournies, not judge in them. So
Wizards has told the 15+ players that they can't play in the major tournies.
Now you only have 2 choices. Judge at the major tournies, in which case you
get to play in the Professor side tournies, or just don't go. Wizards knows
that most people will still want to attend these events (probably to meet up
with people more than anything else), so there's not much we can do about
it. We either embrace the Professor program, or we're forced into the minor
local leagues. Even worse, Wizards are hold large Professor-only events, but
in different times and places to the 14- events! As Matt Moss said on the
Wizards chat, a lot of people knmow people from the 14- division online, and
now they will not get to meet them at all (most of us can't afford that many
trips a year).
So... What can be do about it? After much deliberation, I've come up with
this:
PLAN OF ACTION
1. UNITE
Not everyone in this game likes each other. We all have different views on
how the game should be run, and what changes should be made to it. These are
not important! If we can't present our views as a united front, we WILL
FAIL. If we present ourselves to Wizards in an ORGANIZED manner, they are a
LOT more likely to pay attention to us.
2. STOP BUYING WIZARDS PRODUCTS
I know right now, you're probably thinking; "What the hell?", but seriously,
this HAS to be done. Complaining will do ABSOLUTELY NO GOOD if you carry on
to buy more Wizards products. If you complain, but Wizards' profits dont
change one bit, why SHOULD they listen to you? If you need to play, play
online, with Apprentice. Wizards makes no money from you doing this. It may
be hard, but this is necessarry. And to all you people who say, "If we do
that, Wizards will just stop making the game!" NO THEY WON'T! NOT if they
know WHY we're doing it. We're basically providing them with a solution to
get their profits back. Which leads me on to this...
3. COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN AGAIN, AND THEN...COMPLAIN SOME MORE.
Of course, not buying any products won't do any good if Wizards don't know
why the hell it's happening. EMAIL THEM! Let them know of your
dissatisfaction. Let them know WHY you are displeased, WHAT you will be
doing about, and WHAT Wizards HAVE TO DO to make you satisfied. Then, write
them a written letter, expressing the same views. And KEEP DOING IT. Every
week - 2 weeks, send them a written letter. Every single day, email them. I
know this sounds ridiculous, but imagine how pissed off Wizards are going to
be if they're being bombarded by letters and emails every single day. They
won't be able to handle it. Also, I am starting a petition at
PetitionOnline.com. If, when you email Wizards, you would put it's address
(see bottom) in the body of your email, I'd appreciate it :).
4. SPREAD THE WORD
Tell EVERYONE you know that plays Pokemon to do the same thing. Get your
younger brothers and sisters to do the same thing, because their big
brother/sister can't play. Hell, get your non playing friends to email them
too! Any bit of help we can get, we need.
5. DON'T GIVE UP!
Don't just say, "Oh, there's no way way we can make a difference." That is
just completely defeatist. If you say this, then you should quit Pokemon
right now. You don't care about the game enough. We, the players, we MAKE
THIS GAME EXIST. That means without us, the game CEASES TO EXIST. Wizards
doesn't want this. They are still profiting from the game. Show them they
CANNOT CONTROL US. They are a company serving US. It is NOT the other way
round. Show them what happens when they forget that.
***
Together, we can make a change. Unite, for the future of the game!
Oh, some addresses might help :P
Custserv@Wizards.com
Wizards Customer Service. Send emails here.
Wizards of the Coast
P.O. Box 707
Renton, WA 98057
(425) 204-7289
Wizards' main office. Any written letters should go here. Disgustingly,
there seems to be no Pokemon Customer Service department, or if there is,
there's nothing about it on their website, so I would advise just sending to
that address. They're probably more likely to read them that way anyway.
NOTE: When sending a letter, make sure you do it properly, and be polite.
Wizards already thinks we're a bunch of dumb kids. Don't prove it to them.
Petition to
Wizards
Petition stating the views I've stated here. Please sign it with your REAL
NAME, it just makes it look more respectable.
doublexraven@hotmail.com
My email. Feel free to contact me about anything said in this article. You
can also contact me on IRC in Pojo's chat.
Benjamin R. Good (TheRaven)
_________________________________________________________________
MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos:
http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx