ru-ron asked: I think one of the reasons the community argues with you is that you defend points that are contrary to our experiences. I agree that you have no reason to lie to us, but as an example, the company line is 42% of players are female and 58% are male. This doesn't line up with most first hand experience, GPs, Top 8s, etc. I've never seen a top 8 that wasn't at least 7/8 male. Yet you dismiss arguments with market research. Thoughts?

We had market research a few years ago that showed that of all Magic players playing on every platform, including digital, 38% of them were female. Recent market research (which didn’t factor in digital as highly) has the number more in the mid-twenties.

That number drops off significantly as you get to organized play. Far less women choose to play in person in organized events. (As always, I want more people to focus on why that is.)

It’s important to remember that any one player’s experience is only seeing a sliver of players. Organized play is very important to us, but we’re aware it’s a small minority of all the Magic played.

It’s very easy to assume your experience is a universal experience, but it’s not. That’s why we spend so much time on so many different types of market research so that we can get a better sense of the larger picture, something I try to share with all of you.

So when I say something that contradicts with your experience, instead of assuming I’m wrong, try imaging what if I’m actually telling you the truth. What if the larger picture of Magic is different than you assume? It can be eye opening.