Gree To Try Hand At Trading-Card Games

TOKYO (Nikkei)--Social networking site operator Gree Inc. (3632) will debut trading cards based on characters from its popular online games at June's end.

A typical trading-card game consists of at least two players displaying cards they have collected. Each card carries specific functions or features that can determine who wins or loses.

Gree seeks to leverage the popularity of its online offerings to develop demand for trading-card games among players in their teens and older.

Group unit Gree Entertainment Products Inc. will roll out four to six trading-card titles a year under the new brand SiegKrone. Trading cards featuring characters from Gree's popular "Cerberus Age" game will be available from June 27. A set of 50 cards will be priced at 1,300 yen.

Gree Entertainment Products will eventually introduce more trading cards based on its other games.

The trading-card market in Japan reached 102.7 billion yen in fiscal 2011, a 170% increase from fiscal 2006, according to the Japan Toy Association.

(The Nikkei, March 19 morning edition)

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