Topps promotes digital Star Wars trading cards with new ios app

For those folks who would enjoy the fun of collecting Star Wars themed trading cards without the hassle of having them pile up around the house, Topps recently introduced STAR WARS: CARD TRADER on the Apple App Store for iPhones, iPads, and Ipod touch which it bills as the "official Star Wars trading card app."  Star Wars: Card Trader provides the opportunity to collect digital reproductions of the physical Topps card board collectibles that have been produced for the upcoming The Force Awakens movie as well as those previously distributed from the original and prequel Star Wars films.  There will also be cards featuring characters, scenes and vehicles from the animated television shows Star Wars: Rebels and Clone Wars. This Star Wars effort ties into fan enthusiasm for the December film premiere of Episode VII and follows the company's success with a similar app for baseball cards for iOS devices BUNT: The MLB Digital Baseball Card Trading Game.

Star Wars: Card Trader can be downloaded for free.  One free pack of trading cards can also be opened every day once the app is downloaded.  For those who want to build larger collections credits can be purchased ranging from .99 cents for 3,000 credits to $100 for 900,000 credits.  What you can purchase with credits in the "Cantina" will vary from a basic pack of trading cards to unique exclusives.  Plus collections can be built by trading cards with other app users from across the country and around the world with a feature called "Trading Like a Jawa."

 “In the same way that digital media is transforming reading books, listening to music and watching television, Card Trader is revolutionizing Star Wars collecting,” said Michael Bramlage, VicePresident of Digital at Topps in a press release to A Geek Daddy blog. “Your favorite characters, vehicles and locations from the Star Wars universe can be collected and traded on your iOS device, from anywhere at any time.”

Here are a few of the features of the app #Topps promoted in its press release launching Star Wars: Card Trader:

 The First Cards From Star Wars: The Force Awakens: BB-8, Poe Dameron, Kylo Ren, Rey and other recently announced new characters from Star Wars:The Force Awakens are here! Go to the Cantina and blast open packs to try to find these exciting new cards, all released in vintage-inspired “Star Wars‘ 77” blue and red border designs.

Trading Like A Jawa: The Star Wars: Card Trader app is like a 24/7 Star Wars card convention that you can take with you anywhere you go. Meet real people, make friends, complete trades and build your collection with confidence using features like 9-for-9 trading and Trader Ratings to highlight your trading partner’s trustworthiness.

Classic Re-Releases: Only Topps brings you over 30 years of official-licensed Star Wars trading cards in new, high-definition digital format, from the vintage era to today.Haven’t collected cards in a while? Check out Topps’ state-of-the-art Parallax and Motion cards, innovations that could never have existed in cardboard!

The App Store description notes that there will be more than 1,000 officially-licensed Star Wars digital cards featured with some including futuristic special effects and enhancements.  CLICK HERE to download Star Wars: Card Trader.

This seems like a nice app to have some fun and goof around with, especially for casual collectors. I'd recommend if you are having your kids play with it that you make sure your parental control features are turned on and in-app purchases turned off though.  You'll probably want to stick with physical trading cards though if you are looking to pick up movie mementos, a long term collectible, or want some items you can use as potential financial investments. 

So while this app obviously isn't for the serious collector it does bring back trading cards to the attention of today's kids who are more interested in flipping through their tablets and smart phones than grabbing a piece of gum and some trading cards from a grocery or toy store checkout lane.  From a nostalgic perspective, as a kid myself that had shoe boxes full of Topps' Star Wars and baseball trading cards, it is nice to see the tradition of children and teens collecting trading cards for fun continue into future generations through the products changing with the times.  Most young people aren't collecting these things to try and make a profit off them someday and this digital app caters to those fans.

Cartoonist Attempting to Draw a Star Wars Illustration Every Day Between New Year's Day & Opening of New Movie

To highlight himself as a super fan and promote his twitter feed, cartoonist George Folz kicked off his "Darth Days" campaign on New Years Day with the goal of drawing and tweeting out a new Star Wars illustration from the beginning of the year until Episode VII is released in theaters on December 18, 2015.  You can follow along and look for his drawings at @GeorgeJurard on twitter.  Here's a look at his most recent post that he tweeted out today:

#StarWars #darthdays 11/365 is in the bag. This is my new favorite-- The Emperor is a blast to draw! pic.twitter.com/7NQAqg1JsW
— George Folz (@GeorgeJurard) January 11, 2015

Star Wars fans who want a fun way to count down the days until the next movie debuts should give George Folz a follow and keep an eye out for his original artwork (like the Tatooine Dusk above and Jabba's Slave Girl below) as he tweets his illustrations that pay homage to the artistic vision of another George with the last name of Lucas.

Enjoy FREE sampler of new wave of Star Wars novels

Download FREE preview of Del Ray Books new Star Wars Books

for Kindle, Nook or Ipad

Back in April, it was announced that all of the comic books and novels based on Star Wars (what had become known as the Expanded Universe) were not going to be treated as part of the official timeline for Disney's stewardship of the brand.  The official canon -  "canon" is material considered part of a story in a fictional universe - would be the six existing Star Wars movies, the upcoming REBELS animated television series, future comic books and novels published after September 2014 by Disney Worldwide Publishing or its licensed partners, and of course the upcoming Star Wars Episode VII currently in production.  The official Star Wars website officially posted this policy on April 25, 2014 stating "In order to give maximum creative freedom to the filmmakers and also preserve an element of surprise and discovery for the audience, Star Wars Episodes VII-IX will not tell the same story told in the Expanded Universe."

The first novel to be penned in the new Star Wars universe to be considered canon for the SciFi franchise will be hitting store shelves in a few weeks, one of four upcoming novels licensed to Del Rey Books to publish, kicking off a new arc of stories for fans.  A NEW DAWN by John Jackson Miller is being released in September tied to and cross-promoting the new Star Wars: Rebels television series on the Disney XD cable channel.  Set during the legendary "Dark Times" between Episodes III and IV, A NEW DAWN tells the story of how two of the lead characters from Star Wars: Rebels first came to cross paths.  Following A NEW DAWN, Del Rey Books will also be publishing TARKIN (November 4, 2014), HEIR TO THE JEDI (January 13, 2015) and LORDS OF THE SITH (March 2015).

Click one of the links below to download a FREE e-book sampler of the four upcoming Del Rey Star Wars novels.  With Episodes VII, VIII and IX on the horizon, Del Rey is launching the first wave of novels that are part of the official Star Wars canon, created in collaboration with the newly formed Lucasfilm Story Group.  The exclusive previews of these four books in this sampler are set during and before the original trilogy and will transport readers again to a galaxy that doesn't feel quite so long ago or so far away.

Download for Kindle

Download for iBookStore (iPad, iPhone, iPod)

Download for Nook (Barnes & Noble e-Reader)

In regard to the other 3 books following A NEW DAWN these focus on some characters most Star Wars fans are probably a little more familiar with:

TARKIN due out on November 4, 2014 takes a look at Grand Moff Tarkin.  Who was this man that had Darth Vader by the collar in A New Hope? How was it that he could keep a Dark Lord of the Sith on a short lease?  You'll find out more about this character's fascinating life in this upcoming book by veteran Star Wars writer James Luceno, who also wrote the best selling Star Wars: Darth Plagueis novel.

HEIR TO THE JEDI written by Kevin Hearne has a January 13, 2015 release date.  This novel tells a story that takes place between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back that it told entirely from Luke Skywalker's first-person point of view.

LORDS OF THE SITH by Paul S. Kemp is scheduled to be released in March of Twenty Fifteen and focuses on Darth Vader and the Emperor.  When the Emperor and his notorious apprentice, Darth Vader, find themselves stranded in the middle of insurgent action on an inhospitable planet, they must rely on each other, the Force, and their awesome martial skills to prevail.  Hmmm...this particular book could be either really good or really bad based on this cast of characters and story line.  With that in mind, I really appreciate the opportunity to be able to read some samples from these books before buying them.

If any of these books appear to be appealing to you, downloading this free e-book of previews is a great way to get a sense of whether you like the author's writing styles and the stories interest you enough to want to read the whole novel.  For more information about Del Rey's lineup of current and future Star Wars publications visit:  star-wars.suvudu.com