~~~~~begin enterview~~~~~
Orgg: Thank you for this opprotunity Mr. Adkinson. for the first question, lets try to get to know you a bit better as a gamer.
First of all, lets make sure that WOTC upper management DOES play magic.
Orgg: now that we know that, what about you? what's your favorite Magic color?
Orgg: Favorite card?
Orgg: what kind of deck do you usually build, weenie-beatdown, control, combo, or a variation of the three?
Orgg: do you care to share the deck your currently playing with the most?
Orgg: Your job title(s) in the old days before the Hasbro deal were CEO and Janitor, WOTC. However, I doubt that since WOTC isn't your basement anymore that you are still the only janitor. What is currently your job title?
Orgg: Now for a few questions about the future. In general, what does WOTC, meaning you, believe about the future of magic?
Orgg: Seventh edition, scedualed for relese somtime next year, has been a hot topic for casual players and pros alike. I won't pry into what is being done to make it more satisfying to players, but I would like to ask if it's coming will bring upon major rules changes a-la 6th edition.
Orgg: Will seventh edition's official rulebook have an "Outdated Rules" section containing the official ways that rampage, banding, phasing, flanking, cumulative upkeep, et cetera in it to keep newer players from being scammed by "sharks" with sandbar crocodiles?
Orgg: According to rumours, Unglued II: unplugged was canciled this year due to the oversaturation of the insatiable Pokemon craze right before it went to print. when this craze dies down, will unglued II see print?
Orgg: another "II" that was canciled was 1998's Chronicals II. what's the plan for another Chronicals-type set? Are giftboxes the closest thing we'll get?
Orgg: In the last few sets of cards published, a few things have been missing. two of the most prevailent are the player-interaction that has begun to pick up in Masques block and the declining quality of art in the sets. Lets deal with the first issue first: Will future sets contenue the theme of player interaction found in Masques, or will there be a return to a less interactive goldfishing sets?
Orgg: what about future artwork? at one point Dr. Garfield expressed his gripe that the art of Magic is all leaning twards one style of painting. Many people, players and collectors alike, have expressed their discontent on this subject by mourning the loss of artists such as Anson Maddocks, Mellissa Benson, Ian Miller, R.K. Furguson, and the Foglios, Phill and Kaja. Will WOTC begin using theese artists again in the future?
Orgg: Another complaint is the fact that no gold cards have been printed since Exodus. when will more multicolored cards be printed?
Orgg: Now a few questions about the tournament scene. What is WOTC's opinion on decks with no player interaction such as Bargain and Replinish?
Orgg: Your new program Friday Night Magic has a very casual atmosphere. Would the DCI ever consider extending this type of casualformat and possible yspport "Multiplayer" tournaments, like free-for-all, emperor, two-headed giant or others with potential rules variations/deck limitations?
Orgg: what about other, more casual, formats commonly played such as Mini-master, Highlander-style, theme decks only, build the worst deck, or Block Party?
Orgg: on a darker note for tournament play, there have been several reports of a lack of sportsmanship on the professional level, specifically the Pro Tour. What steps are being taken to ensure that unethical or unsportsmanlike actions are frowned upon future tournaments?
Orgg: now lets get into a few more general inquiries held by some of the CPA members.
Orgg: first,(lemme go in order), What do you believe the biggest group of Magic players is, the casual players, professionals, collectors, or the beginners?
Orgg: what group do sets usually cater to among the beginners, casuals and pros?
Orgg: Many people who play Magic believe that your Topdeck Magazine focuses over half of it's content on Pokemon and then alienates the more casual magic players, the people that William McDermontt claims it is for. This claim seems berft of evidence due to the fact that half of the Magic related material is writtne by pro players and focuses on professional concerns- for an example, this deck is a pile turns a casual deck with four inexpensive rares into the latest type II deck that just happens to run a color the former deck did. Has the idea of splitting the magazine into two different magazines with different focus groups ever been considered?
Orgg: speaking of "focus groups," Has any research been done to find Magic's current audience? Has it changed from a mostly white-male from 15-25 as stated approximatly four years ago?
Orgg: Many many Magic websites exist on the internet today, meridian magic.com, mtgnews.com, casualplayers.org, thedojo.com, starcityccg.com, ad infinatum. What effects do you believe theese types of websites have on Magic?
Orgg: would you take offence to websites like the Casual Players' Alliance sending you results of surveys taken? If not, would it have any influence on the future releses?
Orgg: What influence do the beformentioned websites have on the development of sets?
Orgg: what is the usual amount of people working to design sets?
Orgg: How many people usually playtest sets?
Orgg: How mutch time is usually spent playtesting sets?
Orgg: How many formats are used to playtest?
Orgg: what is the usual group of people that playtest, pros or casuals?
Orgg: Has WOTC thought at all about slowing down the relese of new expansions so that an additional month of playtesting can be proformed in order to ensure a higher level of quality and balance in new sets and alliviate the need for pre-Pre-Relese erratta? This would also satisfy the people who believe the sets come out at such a rapid clip that they cannot keep up due to the amount of money required at the frequency required.
Orgg: What was the reason for the price increse from $2.99 to $3.29? after the price increse of Homelands it was stated that the price increse would "hold well into the next century"(If my memory is correct, the time period was around Duelist #9). what's changed since then?
Orgg: Why does the online store not carry boxes instead of packs? there's nothing quite like breaking the factory sealed plastic on your very own box. I even have the shrinkwrap from the first whole box I bought.
Orgg: What, if any, change has become Wizards of the Coast since Hasbro aqquired you, or, if you prefer, before you bought yourself a boss? :{ )
Orgg: the last few months have seen the relese of a Wrestling and baseball ccgs. Is WOTC looking for a bigger sports feel to ccgs, or trying to appeal to a newer, bigger audience?
Orgg: In your honest opinion, do you feel that Magic is a better or worse game than when it was first introduced? If it's better, in what ways? If worse, how do you see it improoving in the future?
Orgg: Do you believe that Magic has become any more mainstream in the past few years? if so, what to you attribute the greater acceptance to?
Orgg: Do you believe that Dr. Garfield's original dream or objective is soon to come to fruitition, say in the next ten years? Or has the objective changed from a society in which brainpower is looked upon as equal to brawn, and professional gamers like chess's Kasparov are admired as much as Michel Jackson to somthing else?
Orgg: thank you for your time, Mr. Adkinson. I have one final personal curiosity. What NON-wizards cardgame(when relesed)impressed you the most?
