NZ card game No 1 in United States
Home-grown card trading game Flesh and Blood has beaten the biggest toy companies in the world to become the No 1 selling card game in the United States.
‘‘We have taken on the world from Epsom, and we have been winning,’’ the chief executive of Legend Story Studios, James White, said.
Flesh and Blood managed to outmuscle other industry titans such as Magic: The Gathering, Pokemon and Yu Gi Oh on its way to the top of the sales tables.
‘‘Globally, trading card games are a $4 billion industry occupied by some of the biggest companies in the world,’’ White said.
‘‘Hasbro, the biggest toy company in the world by market capitalisation, usually dominates this industry.
‘‘Pokemon is one of the most recognised and beloved franchises in history. We have beaten them all.
‘‘This is the first time in the history of the card game industry that an independent publisher has made it to No 1.’’
White launched Flesh and Blood in 2019 and has had two tumultuous years promoting a game that requires face-to-face play in the time of Covid.
But the focus on ‘‘tangible inperson experience’’ is what White credits with the company’s international success.
‘‘The key is that we want to bring people together, in the Flesh and Blood, through the common language of playing great games.
‘‘We believe that now more than ever we need to bring communities together in this way.’’
White said the gaming industry had a lot in common with another of New Zealand’s global business success stories, Weta Workshop.
‘‘They create stories, characters, worlds, and they apply them to films.
‘‘Legend Story Studios is similar in that we have created an indepth fantasy world with fans around the world, but we have applied them to a game system,’’ he said.
The success of Legend Story Studios echoes other players in New Zealand’s growing gaming industry, with Wellington-based digital game studio Pik Pok stating that gaming could be a billion dollar industry by 2025.
Leaders in the gaming industry have previously called for further help from the Government, if the sector is to develop to its full potential.