Editing Trading card (section)

=== Digital trading cards ===
In an attempt to stay current with technology and digital trends, existing and new trading card companies started to create digital trading cards that lived exclusively online or as a digital counterpart of a physical card.

In 1995 Michael A. Pace produced "computer based" trading cards, utilizing a CD ROM computer system and floppy discs.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pace |first1=Michael |title=Computer-based trading card system and method |url=https://michaelpace.com/press-archive-of-michael-pace-ema-multimedia/ |website=Michael Pace Digital |date=11 September 2015 |access-date=22 August 2021}}</ref>

In 2000, [[Topps]] launched a brand of sports cards, called [[etopps]]. These cards were sold exclusively online through individual IPO's (initial player offering) in which the card is offered for usually a week at the IPO price. That same year, [[Tokenzone]] launched a digital collectibles platform that was used by media companies to distribute content in the form of digital trading cards. The quantity sold depended on how many people offered to buy but was limited to a certain maximum. After a sale, the cards were held in a climate-controlled warehouse unless the buyer requests delivery, and the cards could be traded online without changing hands except in the virtual sense. In January 2012, Topps announced that they would be discontinuing their eTopps product line.<ref>{{cite web|title=eTopps Brand Retired|url=http://etopps.com/ipomarketplace/jan2012faq.asp|work=etopps.com|publisher=Topps|access-date=16 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207151720/http://www.etopps.com/ipomarketplace/jan2012faq.asp|archive-date=2012-02-07|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[Digital collectible card game]]s were estimated to be a $1.3B market in 2013.<ref>{{cite web|title=Digital Card Games Report|url=http://www.superdataresearch.com/market-data/digital-card-games/|publisher=Superdata|date=2014}}</ref> A number of tech start-ups have attempted to establish themselves in this space, notably Stampii (Spain, 2009),<ref name=digi1>[https://elpais.com/diario/2010/04/08/ciberpais/1270693473_850215.html La española Stampii lanza colecciones de cromos digitales] by Javier Martín on ''El País'', 8 Apr 2010</ref><ref name=digi2>[http://sportics.es/stampii-coleccionismo-multimedia-que-aprovecha-al-maximo-las-tic/ Stampii, coleccionismo multimedia que aprovecha al máximo las TIC] by Nacho Azcona on Sportics, 4 Apr 2012</ref> Fantom (Ireland, 2011), Deckdaq (Israel, 2011), and 2Stic (Austria, 2013).

[[Panini Group|Panini]] launched their [[Adrenalyn XL]] platform with an [[National Basketball Association|NBA]] and [[National Football League|NFL]] trading card collection. Connect2Media together with Winning Moves, created an [[iPhone]] Application to host a series of trading card collections, including Dinosaurs, James Bond - 007, Celebs, Gum Ball 3000, European Football Stars and [[NBA]]. In 2011, mytcg Technologies launched a platform for hosting digital trading card content.

On July 1, 2011, Wildcat Intellectual Property Holdings filed a lawsuit against 12 defendants, including Topps, Panini, [[Sony]], [[Electronic Arts]], [[Konami]], [[Pokémon]], [[Zynga]] and [[Nintendo]], for allegedly infringing Wildcat's "Electronic Trading Card" patent.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.priorsmart.com/wildcat-intellectual-property-holdings-v-4kids-entertainment-l4zv/#Complaintl|title=Wildcat Intellectual Property Holdings Lawsuit|access-date=14 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170216160019/http://news.priorsmart.com/wildcat-intellectual-property-holdings-v-4kids-entertainment-l4zv/#Complaintl|archive-date=2017-02-16|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2012, Topps also launched their first phone application: Topps Bunt was an app that allowed users to connect with other fans in a fantasy league type game environment wherein they could collect players, earn points from playing, and trade and compete with other fans. Three years later, the same company launched a digital experiment in Europe (geotargeted to exclude the USA) with its [[Marvel Comics|Marvel]] Hero Attax, using digital as an overlay to its physical product.<ref>{{cite web|title=Marvel Avengers Hero Attax Series 4|url=http://swapstick.com/swaps.nsf/Albums+By+Title/Marvel%20Avengers%20Hero%20Attax%20Series%204%202015|publisher=Swapstick|date=2014}}</ref>