Baseball cards "have been a lousy business in the last
few years," according to CNBC's Scott Cohn, who reported
that sales are "just a third of what they were" in '91 and
that "only three companies" are left in business, while
"once there were a dozen." Wizards of the Coast President
Peter Adkinson, in an effort to "bring baseball cards back,"
has turned them "into a game. Each card has powers based on
last year's statistics." Adkinson: "I think by adding the
play value that you can actually take your cards and play a
game of baseball, and it's a fairly simple game with a lot
of depth of strategy." Hasbro bought Adkinson's company for
$320M and, under Hasbro, Wizards is "developing games based
on pro wrestling" and other themes. Cohn: "Wall Street
loves this because for all the money trading cards bring in,
70% is profit" ("The Edge," 2/15). USA TODAY's Tom Pedulla
reports that Upper Deck will offer "almost" $1M worth of MLB
memorabilia in a "high-stakes" sweeps set to run from March
through the end of 2000. Entry cards are included in every
pack of Upper Deck MLB cards (USA TODAY, 2/16).
