A Pokemon card store in Tokyo’s Akihabara district has restricted the sale of the latestPokemon TCGrelease, limiting kids to ten packs per day and barring adults from purchasing most of their stock altogether. The release of Pokemon’s latest expansion, Clay Burst and Snow Hazard, has plunged the Japanese market into absolute turmoil. People were lining up around the block when the sets went on sale a few weeks ago, and many of them were waiting in line just so they could purchase boxes to resell online. Clay Burst and Snow Hazard boxes were beingscalped for thousands of dollars, putting them well out of reach for most children.Related:I’m Ready For A Pokemon TCG Secret LairIn order to bring these packs back to their intended audience, Hareruya 2, the world’s largest Pokemon TCG store (at least, according to them) created a section of its store that banned adults from purchasing new packs. “This is a limited edition for junior high school students and younger,“the sign read, with the accompanying tweet explaining staff will ask to confirm a buyer’s age. The store also limits everyone to ten packs per day, and once the available supply is gone, that’s it for everyone.
Hareruya 2 explained its reasoning for barring adults from purchasing Clay Burst and Snow Hazard packs in an interview withLivedoor(translation courtesy ofKotaku).
“Many shops exhaust their entire stock [of Pokemon cards] as soon as they go on sale, and people active late at night or early in the morning always seem to buy [the cards],” said the store’s manager. “By allocating half our stock for general customers, shops can continue to sell [the cards] to students and young children. Selling to children not only pleases them, but their parents as well. [We] feel this method of sales enables us to satisfy the greatest number of customers when the items are in such limited supply.”
The Pokemon TCG has taken some strange turns in recent weeks. Not only has the game’s popularity caused fans to line up hours before release, but it’s also createda criminal enterprise where thieves steal cards right from the factoryand sell them to card stores.
One report from a few weeks ago detailed how thieves with access to the Pokemon TCG production facilities made off with valuable Fusion Strike cards and offered to sell them to a card store at a discount. Sensing something amiss, the store contacted The Pokemon Company, who were able to track down and recover the stolen property.
Related:The Worst Part Of The Pokemon Card Heist Is That We’ll Never Know How Bad It Really Was
