Yeah absolutely! Hard to say anything with conviction at this point.
Anecdotally, many friends and I played religiously from middle school through college. Nearly all of them have stopped, most have sold their cards. Of course, we got older/more busy during that time, but we also have more disposable income (and chose not to spend it on cards). So, it certainly feels like my sphere has left, personally.
It’s strange for me to hear takes like this. I have thousands of dollars in magic cards from the 90s, but stopped playing when I became an adult.
During the pandemic I started playing Arena, and was astonished to discover I could play entirely for free. I haven’t paid them a dime since the last tournament I went to in the 2010s.
As far as I can tell there is a HUGE amount of play on Arena. Presumably someone is paying for that, but it’s not me.
So from my perspective WotC has done the opposite of the money grab they’re accused of.
Anecdotally, many friends and I played religiously from middle school through college. Nearly all of them have stopped, most have sold their cards. Of course, we got older/more busy during that time, but we also have more disposable income (and chose not to spend it on cards). So, it certainly feels like my sphere has left, personally.