Nintendo Says Pokemon Company Will Act on Card Scalping
At a recent shareholder meeting, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa was asked about worsening Pokemon TCG shortages and scalping, and acknowledged that limited-quantity cards are being bought in bulk and resold at high prices. He said The Pokemon Company is responding with made-to-order sales, agreements with marketplace operators, and, for online priority drawings on some products, account verification using Japan's My Number government ID cards.
The pressure comes despite record production: 10 billion cards were printed in 2025 alone, part of 85 billion made to date, yet supply still falls short of demand. Scarcity has fueled not just resale markups but a wave of thefts, including armed store robberies, and the 30th anniversary set arriving in September is unlikely to ease the frenzy. (Note: This primarily focuses on the Japan market.)
