If you still see the collectible card game Pokémon as something new, think again, because they have been with us since October 1996. In fact, there are over 15,000 different cards in total, and just to give you an idea, the rarest one (“Pikachu Illustrator”) has reached the staggering amount of 5,275,000 dollars in auction. It’s not surprising, then, that years after the legendary and memorable card game for Game Boy Advance, Pokémon is launching again to try to make some more money on mobile phones.
Get all the cards!
‘Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket’ was announced yesterday during the Pokémon Direct, and although we have only seen a trailer, we can clearly see that it will emphasize online collecting, presumably partly free and partly with microtransactions. Nothing new. But fans were already suspicious, thinking that this could be an evolution. Not of the Pokémon, precisely, but of the NFTs that can be sold at exorbitant prices, creating the usual bubble that we sadly know from a couple of years ago.
Fortunately, The Pokémon Company has responded to the challenge by saying that they do not approve of NFTs and, in fact, if they see non-fungible tokens of the franchise, they are unofficial. In other words, crystal clear. For now, all we know is that players of the Pokémon trading card game, still without a release date, will be able to open two free packs daily. For everything else (and to get the coveted shiny cards), you’ll have to pay. Will The Pokémon Company’s gamble pay off? I, as a fan of the Game Boy Advance game, have to admit that I’m already looking forward to trying it. Watch out, ‘Marvel Snap’.
