Click here for the previous article from 4/29
How was everyone's Golden Week? Normally this would be a time to get together and have fun with your friends and the store would be brimming with people every day, but this year was something no one could have really imagined. I hope everyone was able to have at least a bit of fun at home.
We here at TokyoMTG spent our Golden Week pondering the future. The store renewal plan for April was postponed, the government-issued state of emergency was extended, all of our employees switched to working remotely, and our lives have been completely upended. Even still, I am eternally grateful to our staff who have worked diligently at home every day and to those who have bravely gone to the shop for limited shifts, to work on only the most essential tasks.
Slowly, this way of working and living is becoming the new "normal", and the reality that things won't be returning to what they were for quite some time is starting to set in. There is definitely a possibility that things will never go back to the way they were, and I have to admit, though I am reluctant to, there is nothing to do but accept it.
At times like these, I normally love having the chance to find some new approach, but this time it took me some time to fully understand the situation. We haven't come to a definitive conclusion, but I think the direction we need to go is fairly clear.
Firstly, we need to think more about our community. Here at TokyoMTG, our mission is to connect people; and the best communication tool for that is Magic. This remains unchanged. What has changed though, is that the store is no longer the center of the community. This doesn't mean we're shutting down the store, but we need to take some more time and consider how exactly things are going to be moving forward; so we will remain closed for now.
From now on, TokyoMTG will be focusing more on this amazing community, through the power of the internet. Of course, things like MTG Arena are great alternatives, but we humans are social creatures and connecting with other players and collectors is such an important part of this game.
Moving forward with that new goal in mind, we are currently working hard on an all new homepage. Originally, we were focusing our efforts on the store itself, but now the number one goal is the renewal of our homepage. Providing content for the variety of users, as well as making the card purchasing process more enjoyable. Our goal is to connect as many MTG fans as possible in our community, from beginners to old collectors.
In addition to the homepage, we plan to make a more concerted use of our communications tools, like social media for example. We've had a lot of followers on our Twitter account for a while now, but we want to increase our daily activities on that account, as well as expanding on other platforms to help grow our community!
For example, we have recently created a Discord channel where we are doing all sorts of activities like Arena matching and deck advising, answering rules questions, etc. and our staff will be checking in every day!
The game of MTG has the best community in the world, and as long as you're connected online, you'll never be alone. Our company, TokyoMTG, started in Tokyo, but we want to become closer with not just everyone in Japan, but around the world as well. So when we meet again offline, whether it's at the store, or a MagicFest, or in some other part of the world, let's continue to enjoy our beloved game together!