POKÉMON fever swept through Jersey yesterday as eager collectors queued outside local toy and gaming shops before opening time to get their hands on one of the franchise’s mostly hotly anticipated releases in years.
Lines formed in St Helier ahead of the launch of the new Pokémon First Partner Illustration sets, released as part of celebrations marking the brand’s 30th anniversary.
At The Entertainer, customers were waiting outside before doors opened at 9.30am, while staff at The Gaming Hub reported enthusiasts arriving from as early as 8am and knocking on the closed door to check whether stock had arrived two hours before opening.
There was also hustle-and-bustle reported at Bambola Toymaster too.
The new collection revisits the original “first partner” Pokémon that helped launch the global phenomenon nearly three decades ago.
Paul Pearson, owner of The Gaming Hub, said demand for Pokémon cards had surged in recent years.
Initially, there were 151 Pokémon based in the game’s first ever mythical region, known as ‘Kanto’.
Over time, the franchise has added many more regions, each with their own unique Pokémon. Every three months, nine Pokémon are released in each region and represented in new card issues.
“They’re all really cool, very collectible cards, and because of that they’re highly sought-after by Pokémon collectors,” Mr Pearson explained.
He said there had been “a massive surge in the hobby” in recent years due to the regular expansions making it “more exciting”, and, as such, demand for the products had “got a lot higher”.
“What we’re now seeing is whenever there’s a release, there’s queues – it happens with every set,” he said.
Within hours of the latest release yesterday, single cards were spotted being sold locally on Facebook marketplace for as much as £50 – even though product retails for £14.99.
Meanwhile, Mr Pearson said he was aware of a case in Guernsey where a retailer had accidentally released the cards two days early, leading one buyer to sell cards for several hundred pounds on eBay.
“The phrase is scalping – buying something to literally flip it for a profit,” he said.
“We can’t do anything about it. The only thing we can try and do is encourage our community not to buy those things. The only way to do that is to have more product ourselves, so that there isn’t any appetite to buy them in the second-hand market”, Paul added.
Mr Pearson said he had been pleased to see how the popularity of Pokémon was helping bring together a growing community of players and collectors in Jersey.
“What I’ve been trying to craft over the last three or four years while I’ve been building the business is a place where communities feel very welcome… we know everyone by name.
“It doesn’t matter who you are, what age you are, what you identify as or anything like that – you are welcome here… that’s what brings us all together as a hobby and our community and the love of things like Pokémon and board games.”
