I remember when Ravensburger first announced Disney Lorcana. I also remember wondering who could possibly want yet another trading card game since the market already seemed overcrowded. Both of those things were on my mind at this year’s D23 as I stood in front of Ravensburger’s massive booth. Just a few years later, my original skepticism has proven laughable. Disney fans, gamers, and collectors have made it a huge success that is only getting bigger. That was obvious from the excitement around Ravensburger’s massive D23 setup adorned with giant recreations of official Lorcana cards both old and new. The area featured a store, elaborate photo ops, and an enormous gaming area. The latter is where the company held its first-ever Disney Lorcana Challenge Championship Qualifier event.
Over the weekend, most D23 attendees stopped by to pick up some new merch, take a picture, or participate in a tournament. I was there on behalf of Nerdist to speak with Ravensburger’s Naomi Kim, International Product and Brand Manager, Trading Card Games. You might have seen her onstage during the game’s panel where the company announced new drops that will roll out over the next couple of years. After talking to Kim, it’s clear that while Ravensburger might not have been as skeptical as I was about Disney Lorcana‘s potential, even those responsible for the game are still overwhelmed by the reaction it has garnered. They don’t just appreciate their fans, either. They’re always listening to them. And that definitely includes when Kingdom Hearts fans speak.
Nerdist: What do you gain from being here at D23 and interacting with fans in a way you can’t on a-day-to-day basis?
Naomi Kim: The energy that we see from the fans in the community that are here. We have our Challenge Championship Qualifier that’s happening. We have Disney fans that are just seeing the beautiful artwork on our booths. And to see and hear the reactions in real time, that is the fuel that sparks the fire as we want to create more of the beautiful artwork, the beautiful glimmer, the beautiful stories. To do more amazing things with the Disney Lorcana Trading Card Game.
We are one of the biggest licensees that have been able to do something really special with all the custom artwork that we do. We’re doing a lot of things that not many other people do, and it’s just really spectacular to see in person all the reactions from the fans. And also to be with Disney fans who appreciate and know and want more of this. There’s nothing that can compare.
Does D23 work almost like de facto field market research?
Kim: In some ways, yes, because you see, “Oh! I’ve never imagined seeing a character like that. That’s amazing.” And then to see and hear, “Oh, I wonder if they’ve done….” Then (fans will) come up with ideas and it’s like, “Okay, that’s interesting. Note to self.”
It’s really great to hear. And if that’s what we’re seeing here, what else can we see? And so Disney Lorcana as a TCG is great for that because it becomes kind of a “What if?” The history and the legacy of Disney, everyone knows the stories, everyone loves the stories. What’s wonderful about Lorcana is we can immerse ourselves in those stories, but also change it up a little bit to give them something like Pooh Hunny Archmage that everyone didn’t know that they needed. But now that they know they need, they’re like, “How do we get more of this? We want to see more of this.” It’s fabulous.
It’s great to hear that they love what we’ve already done and they’re already saying, “Okay, what else are they going to do next?” We announced Cosmic Quest a couple nights ago, and to see Ariel in the Cosmos, everyone’s like, “Wait! What just happened?” To see that reaction, that’s what we were hoping to hear.
I don’t want to say “bad,” but what might be the most surprising thing you’ve heard from fans at D23? Because again, as you said, you’re dealing with the most hardcore fans here.
Kim: Yes.
So what’s the most surprising thing you’ve heard in terms of feedback or just reactions?
Kim: I don’t know if it’s considered a surprise, but I guess for us it’s always surprising how much of a delight it is. We set this (event) up as to be a surprise and delight, but to see the amount of delight? We know that we can do a lot of the surprise, obviously in small bursts, but we hope and we dream, and when we see it it exceeds our expectations. So it’s the amount of the joy that we see. Again, we hope for that, but to actually see it, that is always a surprise for us.
We don’t ever want to take that for granted. We’re like, “Let’s manage our expectations and let’s see what happens.” And then just to see the full response is always the surprise of, “We’re doing the thing. We’re doing something amazing.”
Is there an idea Ravensburger and Lorcana developed that you can trace back to one of the conventions?
Kim: Disney fans…and I am total nerd here, so I am part of this…these are my people. I am happy. This is my home. I would say there’s always inspiration that’s coming from every convention that we’re at. Whether it’s directly with people talking to us or sharing with us , “We really want to see this.” Or, “Hey, we really want to see this glimmer or this kind of character or this kind of amethyst treatment. We would love to see that.” So I can’t trace back exactly things, but again, we’re always being inspired by what’s around us.
We also see amazing things that are happening from the Walt Disney Company. And then also from just the conversations that we hear, it’s more of that inspiration of like, “Okay, they want to see this and they want to hear this.” How do we bring that experience? It might not be exactly what they’re saying of, “Oh, we want it this way and this.” It’s more, “They want this or they want that and maybe we could take elements of certain things and try to make that happen in real life.”
So I don’t think we have an exact example of (a specific product). It’s hearing all the messaging, hearing all of the feedback, hearing all of the fans, and just trying to take that information. Then how do we integrate it best that can reflect what they want.
The nice thing about doing interviews is you get to ask questions that you personally care about. Of all the things announced at D23, the Figment card.
Kim: (laughs) The reaction to the Figment card was everything that we had hoped and dreamed. Oh my goodness. My favorite is we had one of our very biggest fans in the audience who has been dreaming about a Figment glimmer in Disney Lorcana, and when I said it, he said, “Finally!” And you can hear it on the stream apparently. That’s a surprise and delight. “Yes! We want that joy. We want you to be happy.”
Figment we know has been a fan favorite for many, many years. We said, “Okay, we’re saving this. We’re saving this.” And then to do the announcement with people who actually really wanted it and really cared about it, that’s what it’s all about.
Was it a coincidence or was it very much some synergy going on with announcing it here and then the announcement Walt Disney Workd fixing the Figment ride?
Kim: I don’t have any knowledge of anything with the ride, but when we saw that announcement, we were like, “Whoa, that’s amazing. That’s very cool.” Yeah.
What other characters that you have not introduced yet to Lorcana are you most excited to bring to to the game? If tomorrow you could say, “I’m designing this card and we’re putting it the game,” which character would be your dream one?
Kim: There’s a lot of characters obviously that we really, really want to include in the Disney Lorcana TCG. So we’re hopeful. And so we’re going to try to keep it, even the hopes and dreams, kind of under wrap so that we can have those conversations and hopefully, again, surprise and delight everybody when they come out.
Okay. You’re obviously too good at this to slip up, so I’ll try this a different way. What character have you heard from fans that they most want introduced that hasn’t been?
Kim: With all the Kingdom Hearts things that are happening around, that was I think the biggest speculation that we heard. We were thrilled with that announcement, by the way. I’m a Kingdom Hearts fan on the side, so that was very cool. The announcement on the floor about the animated series was fantastic, but that’s one that has been far and above since the beginning, back in 2022, that people have been asking about. “Is this coming? Are you going to do it?” That’s what we’ve heard the most about to answer that question in particular.
Is there something I haven’t asked you that you wish I had?
Kim: How does this D23 in 2026 differ from the other D23 events that we as Ravensburger as a company have been at? We first announced the Disney Lorcana Trading Card Game in 2022, and back then no one knew who Ravensburger was. What is a Lorcana? Those were all the questions. And so for us to have gone from the beginning in 2022 of the announcement, where that was the speculation and the questions, to the biggest booth that Ravensburger has ever done, and to be a sponsor and to be this big of a presence at D23? We have a challenge event. We have a championship qualifier happening. And you see Disney fans asking, “What is that? What’s going on over there?” And the intrigue and the excitement of, “I’m curious, but [the players] looked serious….”
To see how far we’ve come from, what was basically the size of this product booth area to have…I don’t even know the full measurements of this [year’s booth]. To see how far we’ve come and how big that Lorcana has grown? We hope to grow more, obviously. We seem to be on a good trajectory. And we’re in it for the long haul and we really want to grow this into something special.
The next D23 in 2028, that’s our fifth year anniversary already. And to have that line up with the next D23, the ultimate Disney fan event. To see that and to just already hope and plan for the future. We hope to get bigger and better. To Infinity and Beyond.
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Source: Kiat Media
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