Bakugan New Vestroia
As any good eBay seller or niche marketer knows, eBay pulse is a great resource for finding the latest hot trends. For the last couple weeks Ive noticed Bokugan is strongly placed in the list with regulars (Wii, Xbox 360, PS3), so Ive spent the last couple of days trying to unravel and understand this latest craze.
So for starters, Bakugan is a television series, “Bakugan Battle Brawlers,” it apparently is a direct rip-off/spin off of the popular Pokemon and Yugi-oh concept.On the show a Battle Brawler will summon a Bakugan for battle with other Battle Brawlers Bakugans.This show is done in the anime style, originally airing on Japanese television and now also airs on Cartoon Network.
In the tradition of all smart marketing, the creators have worked an incredible merchandising plan involving an interactive game into concept. I have browsed through the selections on eBay and actually think the little characters are quite clever.Bakugan the game is a collaboration of glorified marbles and a trading card game the players act as the Bakugan Battle Brawlers and summon their Bakugans which are represented by small metal figurines. Which basically one ups the concept first put forth by Magic: The Gathering and adapted to younger children via Pokemon and Yugi-oh.
To play Bakugan one needs cards, marbles and figurines. Along with the standard Bakugan starter packs which come with three Bakugan marbles and three character cards, there are also your standard upgrades, battle packs, booster packs and as a unique new concept, actually Bakugan Battle arenas and launchers that bring this game to more interactive level.Essentially, players roll marbles across their playing field and different actions are required based on how they lie on your cards.Another unique aspect to the game is the use of metal cards and magnetic spring-loaded miniature figures. To win the player of the game must capture three of the opponent's gate cards or defeat all of the opponents Bakugan.
This new toy is probably going to break a lot of banks as it is highly addictive and ties in very well with the show. Considering that its been in eBay pulse for weeks now, it doesn't look like its going anywhere anytime soon.
Some anti-Bakugan Sentiment does exist. I remember as a young man, I played a trading card game called Magic The Gathering, it was very popular with my Boy Scout troop as it was easily portable and we could play all night during campouts. One day, out of the blue, my father took them away, and claimed they were a tool of Satan.
Bakugan are getting similar backlash by zealous Christians and parents. As the overall concept is that a child acts as summoner of creatures from another dimension and some cards include occult symbols and references to eastern religions and paganism, the game has received some backlash.
Certainly, this is merely overthinking on the parts of those with misplaced conceptions of what is dangerous as the children surely do not think they are actually summoning creatures from other dimensions,but are in fact just taking advantage of an opportunity to roll marbles, play with figurines and collect cards that relate to a television show they enjoy.Nonetheless, the sentiment is out there.
In Spring 2009, a new series is set to air, titled Bakugan: New Vestroia.