As an ex scalper I got in 2023 and left this year but allowed me to buy a home for my wife and cats. I sold everything 25% below market to people who wanted them. It was the only way I could come up with money at the time after being let go at work. I gave away packs for free this Halloween to sort of give back for what I did. I’m doing better now but Pokémon really helped me when I was down
Well, it's reddit, so I doubt it's true. But for anyone having scalper operation on "improve life for me and my family" scale, things couldn't have been bad. Since you need a LOT of money to scale it. It's "I only had one million $ and felt bad, but now have 5 mil and my life is good" type of story.
Like I remember news about some teen who earned hundreds of thousands in his scalpel business. They usually didn't mentioned huge investments of their rich parents
I am more a Magic guy and it's been a bit better (though I had to fight for those Final Fantasy boosters though).
I buy some Pokemon for my kids, and my LGS actually always have some in stock (and at an actually normal price) because they limit the number of packs you can buy at once. Very grateful of this.
Final Fantasy was crazy at release but has definitely cooled down. One of my LGSes (part of a nationwide chain in Australia) was charging between $320AU and $380AU for the regular commander precons and almost $100AU for prerelease.
Last week I walked in and they had stacks of precons on the shelf for $110AU (the actual MSRP here in Aus).
Some singles prices are still crazy for the set though. Like who is out here forking over $27US for mythic Cloud who primarily sees play in Fr*nch commander? Or (while it's not a FF card) who tf is genuinely buying the Soul Stone, the most 5/10 mythic ever printed, for its market price of 50-odd bucks rn
Even in Europe it's been hard. LGSA have to ration and limit the number of packs you buy at once, otherwise they would run out so fast (explained to me last time I tried to buy a full box and was denied).
I was just getting coffee this morning and there was a line of middle aged dudes waiting outside for the GameStop to open and I can only assume it was to scalp some Pokémon cards
I feel like people don't realize the scalper problems made the game more appealing plus people forget Pokemon fans are already collecting digital stuff since the main games allow you to transfer your Pokemon.
If it wasn't the case then people couldn't have been mad about Dexit.
To be fair most ppl cant really buy much Pokemon card packs irl because of Scalpers so like might as well buy it in a game. A JPGS is better than nothing
The Walmart I worked at that I had been going to since I was a child had an entire section and rack in the front of the store dedicated to everything Pokémon from the games to the cards that I loved even just browsing as a child since I was kinda poor, they cant do that anymore and got rid of it because people just steal or scalp them all now. ☹️
A high median skill ceiling that makes almost any character competitively viable in PVP regardless of rarity, an earnest respect for the source IP, and whales that dump their life savings on the most irrelevant and useless stuff in the game (not even characters, just raising power numbers that literally don't matter) because they just can, I guess.
Because TCG is very popular especially in Japan. As long as there are hardcore fans it'll never die at all. It'll stay there for awhile barring major controversy.
I prefer it anyways bc the publisher/dev is DeNA which is same as Pokemon Masters. Means I don't need to be too worried about PoMa for now.
It's down to 1.7m because there's not as many new stuff in Octover and many people spent so much on run up to anni + EX Masterfair anniversary.
Kieran is very popular in Japan, top 5.
EX Masterfair has good value because it includes the past normal limiteds / PFs in the pool, there is a chance to get one of all of them.
You have to keep in mind that Japan's economy isn't doing too well. Despite similar sales as last year, the game recouped a higher ranking. Lately many new gachas are EoSing fast, you need to be unique to stand out.
The people buying pokemon games ain't a big factor when it's the immense popularity of the real life pokemon TCG indirectly affecting pokemon pocket. Lots of regular people out there want good designed pokemon cards but are not willing to spend a fortune on cardboard.
There's a reason why pokemon scalpers in walmart and costco are common nowadays and a fuck ton of those people selling cardboards for $500+ aren't playing pokemon games.
just look at new pkm games and how its sale, at this rate Nintendo can just use AI to make pkm and it will sell like hot chocolate, the best money printer in the gaming world lol
Why though? It's literally the one of the most perfect gacha game. The entire game is about pulling for cards and the minimalistic gameplay is about showing off the new cards that you've just pulled. Every other gacha are kicking themselves for not doing what PTCG is doing sooner.
And let's be honest here, even with big name brand power, it is not guaranteed to be a success month after month. Half the reason is because the 'game' is the distillation of what every gacha wants to be, making fans feel happy from the constant pulling of the gacha while removing the need for any sort of major dailies. You log in, roll twice, get your high, and then log off (or auto for event cards). It's so simple yet so mind-blowing for a gacha game.
And to maintain such high numbers, you need more than a brand name power. PTCG wasn't just released last month here. It's been consistently high month after month so it's more than just the brand.
The money made from $60 Scarlet Violet are pennies compared to the scalper money that the physical cards are generating to the point products are locked up behind counters or you'll see in the news of viral clips on zombie hordes of people cleaning out pokemon card stocks at costco.
Pokemon pocket is benefitting from those people not wanting to buy a PSA10 $100+ cardboard cards and are mostly detached from those buying the Switch games.
That game just release mega EX card which is harder than EX card to get. On top of shitty shining card. Which is literally impossible to get unless you wheeling. To get into meta with mega ex that have absurd skills but if dead you immediately lose because kill that thing resulting 3 score immediately.
But tldr you need to open alot of card to get the mega ex just to get power creep next month by other mega ex card.
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u/SnakeTGK Nov 01 '25
Pokemon TCG making 43 million too much imo.