When I heard that Vs. System was coming to Japan, I was thrilled. During my years as a TCG reporter, I made many trips to Tokyo, Osaka, and all points surrounding, and to say that the country contains an intensely devoted audience for games would be an understatement. When it comes to competition, Japanese players are always innovative, since they tend to look at things from a perspective that us Westerners will often miss. If you want to find decks that no one has thought of yet, look no further than the other side of the Pacific.

I knew that Japanese players loved games, and they especially loved TCGs. However, I wasn’t prepared for the way that they received Vs. Before the game had ever been released in Japan, they were getting English boxes of cards and translating the rules and cards on fan websites. That kind of devotion to a game is rare and should not be overlooked. I can only imagine how fast the game will grow in Japan now that cards are being released in the native language.

A Sneak Preview was held for The Avengers a few weeks ago, and the first Japanese $10K is coming to Tokyo on October 9-10. I’ll be there personally to cover the event for Metagame.com, as we crown the first Japanese $10K Champion. With the Japanese Vs. community poised to take off, I sat down with Scott Elliott to get a better perspective on where things are and what we can expect in the future.

Metagame: How did Vs. come to Japan in the first place?

Scott Elliott: Upper Deck Entertainment and Hobby Japan, a longtime distributor and supporter of Organized Play programs in Japan, forged a partnership this year. Ultimately, that’s how the game has come to Japan.

Metagame: I heard that a few months back when the game hadn’t been translated, players took the initiative and got English boxes and learned the game on their own. That seems pretty exciting.

Scott Elliott: That’s very exciting. I also heard that they translated the rules from English to Japanese, and posted them on unofficial fansites. Japanese players were very eager to get into this game.
 

Metagame: What do you think this expansion to Japan means for Vs. in general, in addition to the expansion of the game in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, South America, and Southeast Asia?

Scott Elliott: Japan is a great market, so I think it’s a good opportunity. Vs. System is an incredibly good game, and once we tap into this base of enthusiastic TCG players, nothing but good things are going to happen. The Japanese usually playtest like mad and often come up with new ways to play the game that no one has seen before. It will change the face of Organized Play tournaments for Vs. all over the world.

Metagame:There will be a $10K in Japan on October 9-10. What does that mean for Organized Play?

Scott Elliott: The reason there’s going to be a $10K there is that Upper Deck Entertainment and Hobby Japan are committed to showing the players that this is not a soft launch of Vs. We’re coming in hard, and we mean business. We want Vs. System to be around in Japan for a long, long time.

Metagame: Thus far, I know there have been a few Sneak Previews and other events in Japan.

Scott Elliott: We’ve had a few Avengers Sneak Previews, and people are excited about the fact that the game is now in Japanese. Vs. is being well received, and the demos are quite popular.
 

Metagame: What do you see for the future of Vs. System in Japan?

Scott Elliott: The sky’s the limit. As the game becomes more popular, you’ll see us ramp up Organized Play support. Will there be more $10K’s in Japan? Yes. You should expect to see more, and not just in Tokyo. Japanese players should look for Sneak Previews for the JLA set coming to Osaka, Nagoya, and many other Japanese locations. The next $10K in Japan after Tokyo should come sometime in the first quarter of 2006. It’s also my understanding that Hobby League will be launching in Japan very soon.