The Pokémon Company surprised this week by revealing a fantastic collaboration with the Van Gogh Museum, which will include beautiful art inspired by the Dutch artist’s famous paintings. But the pleasure was short-lived for fans who were hoping to get products from the collaboration, as the company just informed them that they will be left wanting.
You read that right, just 3 hours after the collaboration was enabled on the Pokémon Center online stores, all the accompanying merchandise was sold out: bags, mugs, folders, cards, figurines, posters, playmats, pins… it’s all gone.
In case you didn’t know, The Pokémon Company will be giving Pokémon Center shoppers the chance to get a Pikachu x Van Gogh card. All you had to do was buy the products from the collaboration to get them for free as part of your order and thus avoid having to go to a museum in the Netherlands and deal with a chaotic horde of touts.
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The Pokémon Company is also guilty of bootleggers and hoarders
Although the store has measures in place to prevent buying bots, the truth is that it often blocks legitimate users and prevents them from accessing it for a long time, which is what happened this time, and some were disappointed.
In any case, many are disappointed with the disastrous way in which the Pokémon Company has handled the collaboration, starting with the uncertainty of the release date of the products on their online store.
This is especially egregious when you consider that this is not an indie company, but is responsible for a major franchise in not only video games, but entertainment in general. Why produce such a limited number of units when you know they will sell out? Why don’t you worry about meeting demand instead of forcing fans to go to middlemen? The Pokémon Company apparently hasn’t learned yet… or is it on purpose?
Many fans believe it’s the latter, as the company has recently taken measures to increase the price of its products, but not good measures, but related to artificial scarcity, which is a shame.
“We apologize to fans who have been eagerly awaiting the release of our Pokémon Center and Van Gogh collaboration today,” the company said in a statement. “Due to overwhelming demand, all of our products in this collection have sold out. We know this is disappointing to many who have been following our official email and social media to find out how and when to buy.”
Will there still be a chance to get the elusive Pikachu x Van Gogh card?
The good thing about all of this is that the Pokémon Company apparently still has the Pikachu x Van Gogh cards and plans to find another way to offer them to Pokémon Center shoppers in the future.
However, the only way to get your hands on a Pikachu x Van Gogh card is to visit a museum in the Netherlands or buy it at the exorbitant prices being asked by traders on sites like eBay.
“We are actively working to offer more Pikachu with Gray Fedora promo cards in the future for fans who purchase from the Pokémon Center. Details will be revealed later,” The Pokémon Company said. “Thank you for your understanding and continued support.”
Unfortunately, nothing has been said about the other collaboration items, so it’s safe to assume that there won’t be a chance to get any of these products again, at least not at the Pokémon Center. Again, sorry.
If you missed it: Fans have criticized the very high cost of the new collectible Pokémon TCG, believing The Pokémon Company is overestimating it.
What do you think about The Pokémon Company’s artificial scarcity and the furor over the new Pikachu card? Tell us in the comments.
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