Middle earth ccg? why is it...

[swarmingUwithGoblins]

Why is middle earth ccg or meccg more collectable then lotr tcg? I always see them selling for so much on ebay.

[HawkeyeSPF]

Because it was vastly popular with hardcore Tolkien fans in the early-mid nineties, ICE lost the license, and over the past ~14 years has become increasingly rare. Combine rabid collectors of a game that so far out of print and sealed product of that game - what do you get?

[swarmingUwithGoblins]

ok cool thank for the answer
also what does that mean ice lost the license? does that mean anyone could reprint it now if they wanted to?

[HawkeyeSPF]

Nope. If a company wanted to make a LotR card game now, they'd have to answer one question first: Do I want to use images from the movies? If not, then they only have to get permission from Tolkien Enterprises etc. If they do, not only do they have to license the property from Tolkien Enterprises and its associates, but also New Line Cinema, as well as all related parties (actors etc).

The PC that is forming will also have to have certain agreements with those companies (and Decipher as well) in order to create V-cards ala SWCCGpc.com / trekcc.org - that hurdle is yet to come, and is usually the reason people are asked to keep visual dream cards off the web or asked to leave the formation of the PC to former volunteers who have a prior relationship with at least one of the parties.

[SomeRandomDude]

Um...if I understand correctly, you don't need to use the images to create a V-Card, you would just slip in the paper over the game text and leave the picture as is.

[HawkeyeSPF]

That is obviously correct - where did I state/imply otherwise? V-Cards do not require new images, they're just a nice bonus if the companies involved are so inclined to allow it. For example, the Trek CC has permission from Paramount to use new images in order to create entirely new (virtual) cards - Lucasfilm does not, so the Star Wars PC has to make due with the existing images in that game.

Again, if a COMPANY wanted to produce a BRAND NEW card game based on LotR material found only in print and not at all from the movies, they would only need to license it from Tolkien etc and NOT New Line Cinema. I think you read that as an organization (PC) instead of company (Upper Deck). Being that the PC would be using the movies as its primary source document, as well as (possibly) other Tolkien works, they would need permission from all parties, whether or not new (or even old) images are involved.

[Malachi]

Player committees and copyrights are... tricky things. The PC for SW CCG creates virtual expansion cards - using same old images with new gametext. The PC for SW TCG on the other hand creates brand new cards using both movie images and computer graphics. They have no promblem with copyrights, because the company that produced the game abandoned it. And I honestly can't imagine any company caring more about their copyrights than Lucasfilms.

For the LOTR TCG PC personally I would prefer new cards with both both new images and gametext. Since decioher abandoned the game this shouldn't be a problem. And LOTR was always known for its great imagery 

[SomeRandomDude]

The PC that is forming will also have to have certain agreements with those companies (and Decipher as well) in order to create V-cards

That's where you implied otherwise, but oh well.

[HawkeyeSPF]

NB: Please to be reading the following again:

Being that the PC would be using the movies as its primary source document, as well as (possibly) other Tolkien works, they would need permission from all parties, whether or not new (or even old) images are involved.

Malachi: A couple of things. First, the SWTCG PC is able to use images because the manufacturer of that game is owned in part by Lucasfilm, and if that PC is able to keep moving old product, that is a good thing for WotC as SW could be seen as a gateway to the SW Mini's that they produce. Second, that PC doesn't always do things this side of the law - see their versions of Imperial Banker and Captain Pellaeon (http://www.skywlkr.net/idc/articles/archive/2007/071307/article%20two%20071307.asp). Stealing (let alone altering) copyrighted images to use as their own is quite against copyright law. Did either WotC or Lucasfilm shut them down? Of course not, they both looked the other way.

Just because a manufacturer abondons a game does not mean that said company relinquishes their copyright to that property.