(3) 15th Anniversary Set, Oshawott/Tepig Boxes, Autumn Friendly Tourney [10/8]

DMYSYS said:
First of all, I've heard serious collectors justify taking out loans to buy cards when they were short on cash, so $52 dollars will be less than a drop in the bucket for those sorts of people.

The problem here is that reissuing two newer cards is an incredibly underwhelming way to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the franchise. I know Zekrom and Reshiram are the new hotness but, realistically, they're going to lose their luster in a few years and even in the context of the card game itself I doubt anyone's going to still care about these cards the way people might still remember Base Set Charizard, Hitmonchan, Neo Genesis Slowking, Flying Pikachu -- now, they're is a bit of a problem in mining nostalgia because recent sets already have gone through the motions of reprinting iconic classic cards and it actually is somewhat refreshing to have a major TCG print NOT be Pikachu. But if they could've found a way to represent a variety of iconic cards in a number of sets that represent the entire span of 15 years instead of just one and made it available at a reasonable price point (correct me if I'm wrong but I doubt even the international Pikachu set cost this much) that could've been much more interesting than what they've done here..


But this form of commemoration (two cards and some stuff most people will put away hoping it increases in value rather than ever use) is incredibly underwhelming and at an inaccessible price for some. I hope the international markets do something a bit 'catchier' for their 15th anniversary commemorations, and I hope that something more interesting, like an entire set celebrating all previous sets instead of two cards representing a single one, gets planned for the 20th anniversary.



(PS Long-time lurker, but not first time poster. Didn't mean to register a new account just to post this comment, but my old account is associated with an e-mail I lost the password for a long time ago.)
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I second this. Especially the two that's bold.

If the international market released a special set with iconic cards from all the different eras of the TCG, it would be a lot better than this. They should have at least put some booster packs in it or have a few more cards featuring iconic Pokemon from Gen 1-4.
 
I think they could've done a better job as well. I would buy this set just because it's really cool-looking, but not because it commemorates the 15th Anniversary of Pokemon. This doesn't do a very good job at all. If we're going by a sort of timeline, then sure, Zekrom/Reshiram are definitely the big daddies of the 15th year. On the other hand, TPCi could definitely have created a sort of album that had epic cards of each year that had led up to this one, with Black/White.

What would be awesome: a special card from the beginning of each new set, stamped. Charizard Base set, stamped. Pichu Neo Genesis, stamped. Cards that really take us back to when Pokemon just started, got its hype, etc. Stuff like this that bring the nostalgia from the good ol' days of Pokemon. Sure, the sleeves and the damage counters may have some swag, but some of us prefer our own sleeves, and dice work better anyways.

Aiyaaa.
 
Ehh I thought something like the Yu-Gi-Oh Legendary collection would have been nice. 6 packs of some classic boosters and some nice promo cards. I'll definitely be passing on this.
 
ForeignDude said:
Ehh I thought something like the Yu-Gi-Oh Legendary collection would have been nice. 6 packs of some classic boosters and some nice promo cards. I'll definitely be passing on this.
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Except that Pokemon doesn't sell their cards at the outrageous price that YGO does. No, they decide to attach a huge price tags to special collection of TCG related equipment where only collectors or parents of spoiled kids would want to pay for. If it was $30, it could be considerable, but $52 sounds like Japan is just going for massive profit from its fans.

Somehow, that doesn't sound new at all.
 
I'll second/third/Nth the idea that there are much better ways that they could be celebrating/marketing the 15th anniversary. First thing that came to my mind was special stamped card editions of the starter lines from the first series they were released in. Even just choosing an iconic card from each set would be neat and unique.

The anniversary set is cool and all, but it's rather expensive, and it doesn't really seem to represent the 15th anniversary at all.
 
The Miku Hatsune CD soundtrack for the performance at Anime Expo sells for 8500 yen, which I believe is about US$82. Japanese everything is expensive. Heck, a bag of Carl potato chips (their signature brand) costs twice as much as a bag of Lay's, and there's no noticeable difference except Carl being a bit staler.

And yeah, I'd like to point out the early lack of enthusiasm making something valuable. An example I'd say that's better than Earthbound or Shantae is a bottle of 1972 Clos du Val wine. This was Clos du Val's first year they sold wine, so it was their smallest batch. On top of that, 1972 was a period when people mainly bought wine from France--Clos du Val is American, and they believed not a lot of people cared for American wine. However, in 2006, it ranked above the top French wine in the Judgment of Paris wine competiton, and now Clos du Val is hot stuff.

If there is low consumer confidence in Pokémon cards of Reshiram and Zekrom, then it'll similarly go up tremendously in value many years from now, assuming Pokémon remains as big as it is now. That being said, I see no reason NOT to release cards from across the history of the TCG. Even if it's something that isn't particularly strong, it'd be neat to see Keiji Kinebuchi's work again (the first 3-D CGI illustrator for the card game; he made the now-iconic Potion and Switch cards) and that dumb Shuckle that'd turn all damage done to it to 10 but has only 40 HP.

Sonic the Hedgehog is doing it right for its 20th anniversary. They're releasing a game that's comprised of famous stages from across Sonic's history. (Even Sonic 2006.) I'm kind of surprised Nintendo would pick something so recent to celebrate its history.
 
The Wi-Fi Autumn Friendly Tournament sounds cool. It would be nice if we got some exclusive C-Gear Skin for entering the Tournament.
 
The collector's base set thing is a cool idea. But not $50 cool. I'd buy it at $25 or under...
The box sets for the starters are neat. :) But my friend said you couldn't really tell the "3D" affect of the card that great. :\
 
Water Pokémon Master said:
^ You should post more often.
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Statement Seconded.

That was a wonderful way to put it~

Also that explains why I can't find Tepig. No target in Canada.
This is Yu-gi-oh Allover again for me in terms of exclusives.... D:
 
DMYSYS said:
First of all, I've heard serious collectors justify taking out loans to buy cards when they were short on cash, so $52 dollars will be less than a drop in the bucket for those sorts of people.

The problem here is that reissuing two newer cards is an incredibly underwhelming way to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the franchise. I know Zekrom and Reshiram are the new hotness but, realistically, they're going to lose their luster in a few years and even in the context of the card game itself I doubt anyone's going to still care about these cards the way people might still remember Base Set Charizard, Hitmonchan, Neo Genesis Slowking, Flying Pikachu -- now, they're is a bit of a problem in mining nostalgia because recent sets already have gone through the motions of reprinting iconic classic cards and it actually is somewhat refreshing to have a major TCG print NOT be Pikachu. But if they could've found a way to represent a variety of iconic cards in a number of sets that represent the entire span of 15 years instead of just one and made it available at a reasonable price point (correct me if I'm wrong but I doubt even the international Pikachu set cost this much) that could've been much more interesting than what they've done here..


But this form of commemoration (two cards and some stuff most people will put away hoping it increases in value rather than ever use) is incredibly underwhelming and at an inaccessible price for some. I hope the international markets do something a bit 'catchier' for their 15th anniversary commemorations, and I hope that something more interesting, like an entire set celebrating all previous sets instead of two cards representing a single one, gets planned for the 20th anniversary.



(PS Long-time lurker, but not first time poster. Didn't mean to register a new account just to post this comment, but my old account is associated with an e-mail I lost the password for a long time ago.)
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The thing is, though, that this is only 1 article of many things they've been doing for the 15th anniversary over the whole franchise over in Japan. The TCG has had two 15th anniversary special releases; this one caters to the adult TCG market, whereas the Pokemon Kids Special set of promo cards were for the general and/or younger collectors. Those were the ones with the PVC finger puppets that came with the cards, both with poses matching one another.

There are other things being released at Pokemon Centre for the 15th in a manner of speaking (in that they're bringing back some lines they haven't had since BW started) but those aren't card related.

The play mat is made of rubber, going by the description (though the image implies it's fabric, which is nicer IMO), with solid acrylic markers and counters. The coin is more than likely metal, like the old US deck coins. The box is solid, the cards specially printed just for the box. It is for a niche market, and specifically targeted at the still-collecting salary man, or the mother who grew up playing and now takes her own kids to the Pokemon Centre. This is not the first time they've run a promotional item(s) of high cost and 'little' gain before for the same market.

Considering the cost is the same as other gift box sets they've done in the past (which usually had 2-4 decks, depending, and then some really lacklustre/cheap damage counters made from cardboard) it's not that farfetched.

*/Another Major Collector's Thoughts*
 
Personally, I would pay the $52 for that. Lots of hiqh-quality items in there, the 130 sleeves alone would be worth $12 or so easily. FA Reshiram and FA Zekrom and also $20 easy, moreso for the special gold writing on them. Plus the metal coin, playmat, it's almost $50 anyway.
 
Well said DMYSYS! :cool:

Speaking of stamped cards, I think they should introduced a stamped card in each new set. It won't be an additional numbered card, just a VERY rare chance of getting a randomly stamped card! (Think of a Shiny Pokemon in the game). They could make them incredibly rare--say, 1 / 5 or even 10 booster boxes! :eek:
The stamp would be gold with: Set name, Year, and a signature of someone important.

----

On a completely different note: Does anyone remember how sadly lack-luster the Super Mario Bros. 25th Anniversary box set was? :(
 
Meh. This really shouldve been something much greater. Starter lines from the base set with additional cards everyone remembers like Hitmonchan and Aerodactyl? Heck yes. Or maybe playmats with original Sumigori artwork on them and original pictures of base set cards. Or an art book filled with all booster pack images and at the end you find reprints of Charizard Venusaur and Blastoise. And maybe before each set it could have a short description of what happened with that set, notable cards, gameplay changes, history, rotations and overall impact the set had on the metagame. Would buy that in a heartbeat
 
@viper.fox

You've got me in that I wasn't aware of the Kids Special promos -- between that and this set I would still say that what they have on offer is just 'okay.' In my mind I'm comparing this with other video game franchises that celebrate their 10th, 15th, 20th anniversaries and what they do. Obviously the Pokemon TCG itself isn't going to merit that immediate comparison, but 15 years for a collectible card game IS a long time and these two sets seem less more of an afterthought than any pre-planned attempt at genuine 15th anniversary commemorations.

I don't want to keep harping on my idea of a commemorative set because that's too "I have a great idea and because they didn't do this idea exactly what they did is inherently terrible" but the Kids set also only reflects the fifth generation and is more a set for Year Fifteen than a commemoration of fifteen years. I'm actually skipping on collecting any BW cards entirely out of fatigue unless something catches my eye (one of the reasons I'm more of a lurker than active commenter, I guess) and nothing they're doing here says 'this isn't just BW, this is the entire TCG and you'll regret skipping it' -- it's just BW. I guess a big part really would be a lack of a play on nostalgia, but nothing here 'exceeds' itself to feel must-have.


@everyone else

Thanks so much for the warm (technically (but not really) re-)welcome! I'm honestly not that much of a forum guy and my interest in the TCG has always been slightly unusual (I love the cards as a collector but not enough to really get crazy, even competitive players that don't consider themselves collectors are likely to have more cards than me.. I just buy a few packs every now and again and maybe bid crazy amounts of money on a few EBay auctions is all :p) so I'm not sure my thoughts are always warranted on things. I just really felt like weighing in on this one because it felt like it was aimed right at me but it just wasn't clicking.
 
@DMYSYS I disagree with your statement, reshiram and zekrom are the poster boys of black and white, that being said any company would want the current poster boys to be reprinted in the finest gold foil you can buy on a card. As well just like the three legendary birds of the past they will always be a fav to us, or me at least.

It probably cost them 20-30$ to make this, it does have mild to high quality, but you gotta ask yourself, is it worth buying 2 high quality mats, a reshiram and zekrom with awesome foil and damage counter's for? No we're buying the fact that pokemon has been in business giving us the game we keep on playing for 15 years now so you gotta ask yourself, are you willing to buy history? But no I'm cheap so I won't buy em, I spend enough on cards as it is >.>.
 
ramsey1993 said:
There was, it was posted a month earlier like the update said. We already had the scans for snivy promo for awhile now.
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Ah ok. Then why was he not posted in the update with the other 2 promos as it would make sense to post all 3 promos to promote all sets. I might have missed the promo or forgot about the Snivy card XD.:)
 
xxashxx said:
Ah ok. Then why was he not posted in the update with the other 2 promos as it would make sense to post all 3 promos to promote all sets. I might have missed the promo or forgot about the Snivy card XD.:)
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It was posted in the update about the Tepig and Oshawott boxes. It has a link it the snivy box. Read the update and you'll see the link to the snivy boxes. So WPM did have all three boxes together in one post. (-L_-)

"We now have scans of the promos from the "Terrific Tepig" and "Outstanding Oshawott" boxes thanks to forum mod Omahanime (we posted "Super Snivy's" a month ago).It seems that in the United States, the Snivy box is only available at Toys R Us, Tepig's is only available at Target, and Oshawott's is only available at Wal-Mart. Refer to the "Super Snivy" news story for what comes in the boxes. Click the thumbnails below for larger images. "
 
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