Pokemonhad a barnstorming year last year, with the games conquering sales charts all over the world even as they drew criticism for their visuals, performance, and bugs. But it’s not just the games that proved exceptionally successful, the TCG (trading card game) also performed phenomenally well. In fact, it seems Europeans couldn’t get enough of it as thePokemon TCGset new sales records in Europe.
Pokemon kept its position as the top performing property in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, while posting its highest-ever sales in the UK, Germany, and Italy. These records were for the Pokemon Trading Card Game and toy products. It was the top toy property in France for the second consecutive year (viaPokeGuardian) and has been increasing its sales year over year by 14 percent. Meanwhile, in Germany it enjoyed 44 percent growth, while in Italy it recorded an impressive 101 percent increase year over year. In the UK, Pokemon TCG and toys was up to three positions from last year (7th to 4th).
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EMEA licensing director Mathieu Galante hailed The Pokemon Company’s achievements: “We built on the success of our 25th anniversary celebrations with another packed programme of exciting activity and innovative product launches, creating huge demand and buoyant sales”, he said. “We are delighted with the superb performance at retail, which demonstrates the brand’s continued iconic cultural relevance, and we continue to work hard to bring more innovation to fans over the coming months”.
One upcoming product that fans are eagerly awaiting is the Pokemon TCG:Scarlet & Violetexpansion, which will introduce Tera Pokemon EX with unique etched artwork, which is due to launch March 31.
Pokemon TCG growth in Europe was recognised by NPD, a market research company, which awarded Pokemon with the titles Global Top Toy Property, Europe’s Top Gaining Property Total Toys, and Europe’s Top Gaining Property Games & Puzzles, at Europe’s largest toy fair, Germany’s Spielwarenmesse.
Vice president, Pokemon TCG sales for Europe, Simon Benton said: “In another record-breaking year, Pokemon is the number one NPD property in three countries and achieved its highest-ever position in other key territories, and we look forward to building on this success further in 2023”.
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