If you are still trying to get familiar with the gaming environment, it is just about time to introduce you to Magic: The Gathering (MTG). This title represents a cornerstone of traditional gaming as it is one of the oldest games that successfully stand the test of time.
Although being nearly three decades old, MTG is still managing to stay on top of the card game list thanks to its universality and continuous improvements. Game developers made sure to digitalize the product and make it suitable for new players’ demands, so it’s a good idea to see how MTG has developed over the years.
In this article, we will present you with MTG’s digital history and show six key points every gamer should know. Let’s take a look!
What Is MTG?
MTG is a tabletop collectible card game originally designed three decades ago and released in 1993. The game soon became a global sensation, attracting thousands of players and designing a massive collection of cards.
To date, MTG published more than 12 thousand totally different cards in 11 languages. New reports show that over 12 million users play the game on a regular basis in 2021. It takes at least two people to play MTG, but the most important thing is that it takes the best of both worlds.
Namely, MTG is suitable for real-life and digital gaming simultaneously. It’s like having twofold best apple pay casinos that can serve gamblers both physically and virtually. That’s exactly what MTG is doing – it sticks to offline design because many fans love tabletop collectibles, while it also builds a digital edition that fulfills the needs of online players. Here’s how the game developed from 1993 on:
- MTG: The Beginning
It all began in 1991 when Peter Adkison decided to launch a brand new card game, but didn’t really know how to do it properly. Adkison asked a mathematician Richard Garfield for help and the pair came up with MTG, a very interesting and complex game that could be played within minutes. That’s how it all started.
- Early days of MTG
It didn’t take MTG a lot to win over the audience in the 1990s. Adkison officially launched the game at the Origins Game Fair in Dallas. Visitors fell in love with the game instantly and bought an entire stock that was initially believed to be enough for the whole year. MTG immediately proved to be the next big thing in the gaming world.
- The digital era
MTG appeared on computer screens in the late 1990s, but the game reached its full potential in 2002. That was the year developers created Magic Online and introduced a separate gaming console edition designed specifically for Xbox and similar platforms.
By this point, MTG generated a huge number of online fans who were eager to exchange card lists and game strategies. It helped players become better and it helped MTG become more popular: a true win-win situation.
- MTG tournaments
MTG soon entered an era when it could easily organize both small and large-scale tournaments in many countries around the world. The best thing about MTG is that you can organize a tournament even in a small gaming store, but it is also suitable for huge events with thousands of participants. The media hype follows every major tournament, while cash prizes for the most skilled players reach high levels thanks to numerous sponsors.
- Video games
At the moment, MTG administers two types of video games. The Gathering Online and The Gathering Arena make a couple of popular releases, with the former being nearly 20 years old (or young). The Arena has been published in 2019 and it brings substantial innovations to the way developers approach MTG.
- MTG today
Fast forward to 2021 and you’ll see MTG as fresh and vital as ever. It has an army of over 10 million and lots of different iterations. It keeps adding new strategies and cards, thus making the game more challenging and entertaining.
The Bottom Line
Players who want to explore the history of video gaming through one game alone should definitely try MTG. It is one of the oldest and most successful card table games that smoothly transitioned from analog to digital mediums.
The six most important details from MTG’s history are not enough to explain the whole picture, but they should serve as an incentive for new players to start exploring the game. Are you ready to give it a try?
AUTHOR BIO
Paul Calderon is an online gambler and a blog writer who creates articles about gaming, sports betting, and casinos. He is particularly interested in tech innovations that make the gambling industry possible in the first place. Besides that, Paul loves horse riding and reading French literature.
