Sole-Licensing or Multi Company Competition???

Gambit · 10-29-2012, 04:04 PM

The recent news of Panini extending their NBA license definitely makes an impact on the future of the hobby whether you like it or not..

Panini has owned the NBA-license for the past a couple years now and some collectors, including myself, are not amazed with the quality/creativity of the designs that they have been pumping out. I believe that a single company taking sole-ownership of the NBA license as somewhat deteriorated the creativity and diversity that was once present in the hobby.

Will sole-ownership of the NBA license still spark motivation to create unique card designs in the future or does it take industry competition to promote innovation?

Don't get me wrong, innovation can still happen when one company has a strong choke-hold of an industry, but I feel like it happens at a much slower rate. Kind of like Intel releasing a brand new chip that is only slightly faster and smaller than the last one that came out a couple of years ago.

Panini is in its 4th year owning the NBA license, and now they're finally coming out with fresh designs like Prizm. With the lack of competition from other card companies, Panini has no pressure whatsoever to do anything drastic with their designs for more years to come.

One thing's for sure, only time will tell if this continuation of sole-licensing is a good move or bad move for the hobby...

View Poll Results: Which is more beneficial for the hobby?
Sole-Licensing	5	8.62%
Industry Competition	53	91.38%
Voters: 58. You may not vote on this poll

10-29-2012, 04:04 PM	#1
Gambit Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 204 toolzofthetrade	Sole-Licensing or Multi Company Competition??? The recent news of Panini extending their NBA license definitely makes an impact on the future of the hobby whether you like it or not.. Panini has owned the NBA-license for the past a couple years now and some collectors, including myself, are not amazed with the quality/creativity of the designs that they have been pumping out. I believe that a single company taking sole-ownership of the NBA license as somewhat deteriorated the creativity and diversity that was once present in the hobby. Will sole-ownership of the NBA license still spark motivation to create unique card designs in the future or does it take industry competition to promote innovation? Don't get me wrong, innovation can still happen when one company has a strong choke-hold of an industry, but I feel like it happens at a much slower rate. Kind of like Intel releasing a brand new chip that is only slightly faster and smaller than the last one that came out a couple of years ago. Panini is in its 4th year owning the NBA license, and now they're finally coming out with fresh designs like Prizm. With the lack of competition from other card companies, Panini has no pressure whatsoever to do anything drastic with their designs for more years to come. One thing's for sure, only time will tell if this continuation of sole-licensing is a good move or bad move for the hobby...