One of the other problems I feel is that it doesn't hold up at all against other collectible minis games on the market such as Heroclix ( currently in limbo, potential sale of property up for grabs since Wizkids went under ) Star Wars Minis, and than World of Warcraft and Monsterpocalypse as well. All of these games are simple to play, but also have a great deal of depth, collectibility, and support. Well, not Heroclix anymore, but at the time it did. The TFG therefore had minimal chance to succeed outside of dedicated Pokemon fans, and the older, more competitive players would likely gravitate back to the TCG.
Having got into Mage Knight back in....2000ish? I remember always thinking how awesome a Pokemon minis game would be...I even went so far to toy with the idea of making dials for alot of the Pokemon using the Clix system, and it was alot of fun. Needless to say when I heard we'd be getting a Pokemon figure game I was extremely pumped. I saw the system for the game and was borderline crushed because the concept was so appealing and I feel that it had such potential and that the opportunity was truly blown. I'm just glad I didn't invest any money into the figures when they came out.
Also, in relation to the "high cost" of playing the TCG...compared to other TCGs, Pokemon is EXTREMELY, EXTREMELY cost friendly. My current "standard" ( equivalent of Modified, aka new cards only ) Magic deck runs roughly 500 dollars worth of cards. And many of those are not "universal" like Claydol, where if you invest in your decks engine you simply swap them from deck to deck. It isn't as friendly. Yu-Gi-Oh's prices are really high as well, as are World of Warcraft's.
Yes, you only need 6 figures if you want "a team" but that lacks variety, and is like claiming you only need to buy 60 cards. While technically true, that is barely playing the full experience of the game. Also, lets look at re-sale value. If I invest the roughly 100 dollars needed for a good Pokemon deck, most of the cards will be very easy to re-sell ( Claydol, Uxie, the supporters, any playable lvl x, etc ) where as the figures will eBay for 50 cents. If I'm out to have fun, I'd rather invest 100 dollars and get back 90 of it than invest 20-30 and get back 2. Plus have the potential to play in organized play and win cards/scholarships/trips. Just my opinions.