Pokémon Trading Card Game’s awful scalping problem finally caught Nintendo’s attention

“With respect to the Pokémon Trading Card Game offered by The Pokémon Company, which is an equity-method subsidiary of Nintendo, we are aware of instances where limited-quantity cards are purchased in large volume, leading to high-priced reselling in the market,” Furukawa explained. “In response, The Pokémon Company is taking various measures, including made-to-order sales and agreements with marketplace operators. For online priority drawings for certain products, I understand that The Pokémon Company also plans to use an account verification method that utilizes My Number Cards [Japan’s official government-issued ID cards].”

We’ve already heard about some of these initiatives, like the ID requirement in Japan, but it’s good to hear Nintendo knows this is a problem it needs to address. That said, it’s a bit disappointing that Furukawa ultimately put the onus of fixing it on The Pokémon Company.

“Nintendo also communicates with The Pokémon Company as needed to discuss appropriate ways to deliver products to consumers,” Furukawa went on to explain. “We believe that The Pokémon Company will continue to take measures to respond to this issue.”

I’d like to see Nintendo be a little more proactive in finding clever ways to address these scalping issues, as they make collecting and engaging with the Pokémon Trading Card Game much more costly and stressful than they need to be. At least Nintendo now knows that scalping is even a concern to investors and might be more encouraged to fight it as a result.