When you’ve tried to purchase a pack of Pokémon TCG playing cards in latest occasions, you’ll already know what a shitshow it’s all grow to be. As we’ve been reporting, the final six months has seen the buying and selling card sport’s explosion in recognition result in an epidemic of scalping, leaving new playing cards all however unavailable to the common gamers and collectors. Now, however not for the primary time, The Pokémon Firm has promised it is going to be addressing these shortages. It’s simply that their phrases don’t actually match actuality.
In a brand new assertion issued on the eve of the discharge of the subsequent set Journey Collectively, and posted to socials by Serebii’s Joe Merrick, The Pokémon Firm Worldwide (TPCi) explains that it’s conscious of the issue persons are having shopping for the playing cards, however guarantees that it’s “actively working to print extra of the impacted Pokémon TCG merchandise as shortly as attainable.” The factor is, that’s precisely the identical factor they stated after we contacted them again in January about the identical problem.
Right here’s a quote from the brand new assertion:
We’re conscious that some followers are experiencing difficulties buying sure Pokémon Buying and selling Card Recreation (TCG) merchandise attributable to very excessive demand impacting availability. We perceive this inconvenience will be disappointing for followers, and we’re actively working to print extra of the impacted Pokémon TCG merchandise as shortly as attainable and at most capability to acknowledge this.
And right here’s a quote from the assertion in January:
We’re conscious that some followers could expertise difficulties buying sure Pokémon Buying and selling Card Recreation: Scarlet & Violet—Prismatic Evolutions merchandise at launch attributable to excessive demand impacting availability. We perceive this inconvenience will be disappointing for followers, and we’re actively working to print extra of the impacted Pokémon TCG merchandise as shortly as attainable and at most capability to acknowledge this.
Which, given there was no noticeable improve in availability of any affected units within the two months since, makes this repeated promise somewhat tougher to take critically. It’s nearly word-for-word the identical! Those that’ve been in a position to purchase a pack of Prismatic Evolutions with out paying scalped costs are the very fortunate few.
The brand new assertion goes on to say that, “For Pokémon TCG product releases at Pokémon Heart, we’re dedicated to offering a clean buying expertise and make use of know-how that helps get merchandise into the fingers of followers at the beginning.” As anybody who’s tried to make use of the Pokémon Heart on days when new playing cards are made accessible for pre-order will let you know, this merely isn’t true.
The assertion continues, “At present, Pokémon Heart implements a digital queue for sure merchandise to assist present a extra seamless buying course of during times of elevated website visitors.”
However TPCi has to know this isn’t working. When pre-orders for Might’s set, Destined Rivals, went reside this week, the positioning was simply damaged for hours. Typically, if you happen to have been fortunate, you’d see the “queue” display screen, however in my expertise it by no means resolved to the positioning, and extra typically there was merely a message saying the positioning was down for repairs. To explain this as “seamless” is sort of one thing.
By the point I used to be in a position to entry the positioning, every thing was after all offered out. Prior to now, even when the positioning hasn’t gone down, product has been marked as offered out inside moments of being added. And limiting buy numbers does nearly nothing towards a military of bots that may make a number of purchases to a number of accounts.
It simply all sucks. Tomorrow, individuals will line up exterior shops in determined hope of with the ability to discover some Journey Collectively product, and lots of will miss out. Scalpers will do all they’ll to scoop nearly all of the playing cards, and youngsters and collectors might be upset. What we want at this level isn’t a copypasta of an announcement issued two-and-a-half months in the past, re-promising the identical issues that clearly haven’t occurred.
We want The Pokémon Firm to get on prime of this, to truly begin printing and delivering product to retailers (I’ve spoken to specialist store homeowners who say they can’t get solutions, not to mention playing cards to promote), and greater than the rest, to drop the disingenuous statements and provide a bit extra honesty and readability. We’ve reached out to TPCi to ask for that, to get some specifics on how rather more product it intends to print and the way, and what sensible plans it has for its web sites given issues clearly aren’t “seamless.”
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