Nintendo’s president has been asked to address the current state of Pokémon trading card shortages and scalping — a situation that many fans feel is now worse than ever, despite an astonishing 10 billion cards being printed last year alone.
New card launches are continually left sold out due to scalpers looking to make a profit on eBay, while boxes of cards are now commonly the subject of store thefts — including dozens of instances where trading card stores have been broken into overnight. One card shop in New York was recently targeted by armed thieves in broad daylight, leaving terrified staff and shoppers held at gunpoint. In May, reports emerged of a Florida man who was arrested on suspicion of stealing $12,000 of Pokémon cards while wielding a battery-powered chainsaw. And in April, another desperate Pokémon fan was arrested in Pasadena, California, after hiding inside a closed Best Buy ahead of a Pokémon card drop.
But with demand sky high, what can Nintendo and The Pokémon Company do solve the issue for fans left unable to buy cards without having to fork out more money themselves (or turn to a life of crime)?
The issue has become so high-profile that Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa was asked for his opinion at a recent shareholder AGM — during which he revealed that Nintendo was aware of the “issue,” and discussed “appropriate ways to deliver products to consumers.”
“With respect to the Pokémon Trading Card Game offered by The Pokémon Company, which is an equity-method subsidiary of Nintendo, we are aware of instances where limited-quantity cards are purchased in large volume, leading to high-priced reselling in the market,” Furukawa said, in remarks now officially made public by Nintendo.
“In response, The Pokémon Company is taking various measures, including made-to-order sales and agreements with marketplace operators. For online priority drawings for certain products, I understand that The Pokémon Company also plans to use an account verification method that utilizes My Number Cards [Japan’s official government-issued ID cards].
“Nintendo also communicates with The Pokémon Company as needed to discuss appropriate ways to deliver products to consumers,” Furukawa concluded. “We believe that The Pokémon Company will continue to take measures to respond to this issue.”
The Pokémon Company recently released a set of astonishing sales figures which showed the enormous popularity of Pokémon cards, of which 85 billion have been produced to date. 10 billion cards were manufactured in 2025 alone — more cards than the number of people on the planet, and still nowhere near enough.
Card manufacturing has been boosted significantly in recent years to try and keep up with demand. 43 billion cards were printed in the 25 years between October 1996 and March 2022, but essentially the same amount again has now been released in just the past four years. And with the brand’s eye-catching 30th anniversary set due in September, the situation is unlikely to calm down anytime soon.
Image credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
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