Soccer fan Paul Dylan wrote a rather pointed article fraught with frustration about the lack of new seasons for the APBA Soccer Game on his website oneforfive.com.
He says in part:
Will we ever see a 2012 APBA Soccer MLS set? The 2013 MLS season starts on March 2nd. I hope we can have a 2012 card set sometime around then. In the Springtime, after 2012 Baseball sets are shipped, it would seem that there is a slow time in the APBA production schedule. Is it too much to ask to get an estimate as to when (or if) the 2012 MLS set will be released?
To APBA’s credit (and Paul’s too!), they responded quickly to his article. Within one day, APBA CEO John Herson responded to his article and Paul posted his response:
Paul,
We are going to release the most recent season sets for those leagues and others. The new sets will be cards not sheets. The EPL card ratings are done. Once the 2012 baseball card rush is over. We will start to offer soccer sets. APBA is committed to the soccer game. Now that APBA has completed the baseball reprint project, we can focus on other sports. Our 2013 production plan is the 2012-13 season cards will be prepared and offered in July after the conclusion of the European league seasons. There will be a second release of seasons at the conclusion of the MLS season in November 2013.
Regards
John
While the soccer fan base is indeed small, I would argue it probably the fastest growing among all of APBA’s sports. Paul Dylan’s points are well taken and Herson probably knows this. While baseball is big business with APBA and the past few months were pretty hectic, the APBA soccer is not to be trifled with.
I’ve seen what happens when soccer fans get riled up. :)
FYI, we’re schedule to feature some soccer demo and discussion with a very special guest at our Aug. 24-25 event in Canton.
AFC
I know soccer is growing somewhere in the world but look at the TV ratings here in the U.S. they continue to be dismal.
At the same time, college football ratings are about to catch the NFL. I would love to see the game company respond with some college football sets.
I think a set with some of the greatest teams of all-time 1920-80 and some recent great teams would fill a big void.
I would also love to see more older NFL teams from 1922-40 added to the mix!
Soccer is fine but limted in my opinion.
Time will tell if your right, Mike. I’m guessing there are tons of card sets the football and hockey fans would like to see now that all BB seasons have been reprinted. APBA chose to get in the soccer game business so thinking they disagree with you (at least at some point). Maybe that has changed. I hope that resources used to develop soccer sets are different than those used for football/hockey/golf sets so don’t understand how it helps your cause to downgrade soccer. Seems there is enough room for all of us. I feel the market could use a mid-level soccer game and with all the leagues around the world, there could be quite a few card sets to sell for APBA. Won’t match their baseball or football sells but who knows what the future holds.
I don’t know about the TV ratings, though I suspect you’re wrong about them being “dismal”. NBC broadcasts MLS games, Fox continues to broadcast the EPL, and ESPN just bought the rights to all Mexican national games in the US. Additionally, many MLS teams have local broadcasts. I don’t think “dismal” ratings would warrant such coverage.
In any case, the APBA game isn’t a tv broadcast. It’s a tabletop-sports game and it’s currently the only one of its type in the market. There are a couple of new games – Net Results Soccer and Diggin Deep: The World’s Game – which could challenge for the space that APBA Soccer occupies, but APBA was first and (most importantly) has a certain credibility simply because the APBA brand has delivered other quality products for years.
At this point, the question is whether or not the soccer product has earned and deserves that credibility on its own. Even those of us who are the most fanatical consumers of this product have become skeptical. It’s up to the game company to earn our trust back with quality, timely releases. Time will tell if APBA can deliver. If not, there is most definitely a market for a soccer game, and someone out there will deliver.
Maybe whenever the Game Company starts to work on the soccer card set, the involved employees all fall asleep.
DonS.
DonS,
I know it’s bad but I snorted at your comment.
Tom
kinda like I do during baseball…to each their own.
Bob
Robert- Sorry no offense to the soccer game intended just a comment on sales potential. Of course slanted to my desires.
Used to follow soccer quite closely just not anymore. I am from the George Best, Johann Cryuff days!
My fault, It came off sounding thin skinned on my part. I understand the business end of it. It seems to me that APBA has only scratched the surface in their hockey and football game sets. All those great teams of the 60’s and 70’s in both sports deserve card sets. It surprised me when they came out with the soccer game.
Bob