We are so far away from the world where you had to convince your mom how rare Charizards are. The frenzy surrounding trading card games, Pokémon above all, has become a circus of obsession, scamming, violence and Pikachu. While the Pokémon Company and Nintendo have sparsely addressed this surreal state of affairs directly, President Shuntaro Furukawa recently assured shareholders that it’s on Nintendo’s radar, and that they will be taking greater measures to address the crisis.
In a recent AGM, Furukawa was asked by one shareholder about Pokémon Card bulk-buying, scalping and how players could enjoy the game with “peace of mind.” Furukawa responded by saying that Nintendo is aware of the reselling issue and will be taking appropriate actions. This would include tighter cooperation with marketplace platforms and increased made-to-order sales. Furukawa also mentioned that in Japan, online drawings require buyers to provide government-issued ID, suggesting there may be stronger verification policies in the pipeline.
“Nintendo also communicates with The Pokémon Company as needed to discuss appropriate ways to deliver products to consumers,” said Furukawa during the AGM. “We believe that The Pokémon Company will continue to take measures to respond to this issue.”
Collection markets around toys, cards and Lego have hit a fever pitch since the COVID pandemic, but nowhere is this heat hotter than Pokémon Cards. The secondary resale market has attracted seemingly endless amounts of scalpers who will do anything to pinch a Pidgey. There are incidents of scalper rings, robberies, shootings and even chainsaw attacks over the now lucrative cards. Despite printing 10 billion cards in 2025, an eighth of the lifetime production of these things, stocks are reportedly not meeting demands of the players. This is likely due to and directly benefiting the resale market. Nintendo is obviously making a mint in any event, but the company often likes to keep tighter control of their properties.