2008 Address - New Year, New Fun!

Hello all!

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone for the continued support and love! We love getting the cool content, links, and other ideas from you guys. Going into 2008, we all seem to have the same ideas and concerns about the direction of Yu-Gi-Oh! Online. Believe me: I am with you guys and gals – something needs to change! While we still have our shop open and love the entire Yu-Gi-Oh! universe (especially the unique community), I know that my Yu-Gi-Oh! dueling has declined in recent months. Hopefully 2008 will be different…

Adam, David, Moko, Yali, Taiyo, Lola_Girl, KiNgDeeM, and all our returning visitors… This one is dedicated to you! ^_^

( BTW,  why is it that some people say they duel only for money yet they won’t pay to duel online?  Seems like they may not be all that good if they’re not willing to put any money on the line.  Everyone knows that the most competitive tournaments are all in pay leagues with high stakes! =oP )

While I still love dueling as much as the next fan, other projects have taken the precedence and I haven’t had much gaming time, to be honest. The little gaming time I *DO* have I tend to spend with my gaming clan, Nips ‘O Fate (the Nips are now on Facebook), on XBox Live and various FREE or cheap PC games (Warcraft III, Rappelz, GunBound, KartRider, etc.). I’ve become a bit of an Internet celebrity over the past decade using my Yogizilla namesake and it seems that, whenever I get on any Yu-Gi-Oh! game, people gripe to me about how Yu-Gi-Oh! Online is being ran. It gets old quickly, though I do agree with you all, for the most part.

I have said it time and again: the current pricing model in Yu-Gi-Oh! Online Duel Evolution (PC) is not very different from what we see in other places so why is everyone acting like it’s so weird?? World of Warcraft (WoW) has a similar structure but it is much more expensive and you don’t get to keep the credits you don’t use. I personally prefer a pay-as-you-go model so I am happy with Yu-Gi-Oh! Online, for the most part. Sure, FREE is the best price for everyone, including cheap gamers, but there are other solutions for that. Having paid subscribers ensures more quality interactions and competitiveness, if you ask me. Plus now you get to battle NPC’s (Non-Player Characters – in other words, computer players) so the fanboys should finally shut the fudge up and have FUN!

Now, I can repeat my points over and over again until I am blue in the face but cheap gamers will be cheap gamers. Believe me, I pick and choose what I feel is worth paying for and what is not. I try to get all my clanmates in NoF into free or cheap games personally, because there are too many bills and debts in life as it is to have to worry about paying for recreation. In a perfect world, money wouldn’t be necessary and people would do things out of the goodness of their hearts but this is a material world where cashflow keeps things going. Don’t get mad at us: get mad at the capitalist pigs that run the world!

I definitely agree that Konami *NEEDS* to add more payment options and incentives for long-term subscribers. While the community is quite diverse, a big part of the Yu-Gi-Oh! community is under-age and under-financed – we understand this but Konami does not really see it just yet. As a reseller, I have trouble getting my hands on duelpasses, which is a big reason I do not even bother entertaining the possibility of free duelpasses any time in the near future. If your parents won’t let you buy duelpasses, you have a few options but your best bet is playing one of the free games out there. As I’ve said before, I highly recommend the DS Yu-Gi-Oh! games, especially the last installment of Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship (2007)! I personally plan to play that game for years to come. It’s just THAT good and it offers plenty of opportunity to try different strategies, pick up new tricks, and get lots of variety. If your folks won’t buy you that game (which you can find for as cheap as $20), then send The Forbidden One, Exodia, after them and they may change their minds…

…Or get a job;. At around eight years of age, I was doing errands for a couple of bucks here and there. Where there’s a will, there’s a way!

Anywho, let’s address some of the big questions that keep coming up as I can’t possibly answer the hundreds of you that keep repeating them over and over again. First and foremost, we do not and will not ever give out free Yu-Gi-Oh! Online duelpasses. As cruel as it may sound, we can’t give you free duelpasses even if you’re dying of cancer and only have one limb left. We just don’t have the supply and the paying customers get priority. I mean, wouldn’t you be pissed if you paid for something and someone cut in line and took the last one away.. For FREE? Exactly. Let’s be reasonable, folks.

In regards to free web sites for Yu-Gi-Oh! dueling, I don’t use them since most of them are scams loaded with spyware, key loggers, and other UNfun stuff. Some of our readers advertise FREE Yu-Gi-Oh! dueling. Use these sites at your own risk; I don’t mind the competition nor does my partner but, remember, we DO NOT own Yu-Gi-Oh! Online. We’re simply one of few surviving resellers. We’re not in any way affiliated with Konami. In fact, they’ve made our life as resellers quite painful. Believe me when I say that the gamers and resellers alike are suffering right now. It’s hard to get your hands on quality Yu-Gi-Oh! Online duelpasses.

Hmmmm… I am in quite the bloggy mood right now so I think I will finish some updates that have been long in the making. I just hope you all understand our unique position a bit better. We are like you guys and gals. We’re just trying to stay afloat so that we can do you all a service. Everyone else seems to be giving up but I think we can fight the good fight and make Yu-Gi-Oh! Online Duel Evolution better than what it already is!

Remember: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably ISN’T true. Be wary of people promising free duelpasses. Free games are also dangerous if you’re not careful. I’m glad that many of you read our articles about current scams and have taken action. I can’t tell you how many people need to reformat their computers or buy new ones due to some malicious code out there. Beware of free game and warez scammers!

 Let’s have a safe an AWESOME 2008 – YAY!

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