Magic: The Gathering put card games on notice and since then many popular card games have been created. A very important problem has been on my mind for a very long time and I am going to post my thoughts on the matter. Card games are one of the few entertainment industries that doesn’t have racial diversity. This is an issue that is rarely mention in the card game community.
The comic book industry went through a similar phrase. However, it was during a very racist period in American history. We have moved pass that time and many children franchises have more racial diversity than in America’s past. Justice League, Power Rangers, and X-Men are many of the racially diverse franchises that have been big hits with children.
Cardfight!! Vanguard and Yu-Gi-Oh! are two of the most popular card games today. Yet, both games are lacking in racial diversity. Furthermore, Yu-Gi-Oh! doesn’t have any excuses. Yu-Gi-Oh! has been a card game for fifteen years. Konami had more than enough time to add racial diversity in the game. Cardfight!! Vanguard was created in 2011. This isn’t the 1950s with only White characters. There should be characters from every race.
However, there are always players who will say that these card games target Japaneses players. That is partly true. However, Bushiroad and Konami target markets across the globe. Asians, Blacks, Hispanics, Jews, and Whites play fun card games. Most racial groups have been ignored or overlooked. The companies should consider and give more attention to players from every background. It can only bring in more players and show that they actually care about everyone who plays their games.
Finally, the lack of racial diversity sends the wrong message to the younger players. The negative message says to children that people from their racial groups aren’t good enough to be characters in these card games. The majority of players are young children. Kids who are African-American, Hispanic, and White may wonder why there aren’t characters from their racial backgrounds and different races in this game. This was a very common question during comic books’ early days. It is a question that I asked myself as a child when I watched cartoons that only had one racial group in it. Even though I am African-American, I still asked why was a cartoon dominantly black. Where are the Whites, Asians, Hispanics, etc?
In closing, it is time for card games to create racial diversity. The only way to stop the negative message to children from card games is to diversify the characters in card games. Diversifying the characters will tell children that anyone from any background can be a great and powerful person in these fantasy worlds. Diversity will only make card games more appealing and exciting for players.