Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield—Brilliant Stars

Pokémon TCG #1 in sales for Q1 2010!

So is this for the World or just NA? Or even just the US? But either way it's good to hear.
 
That is awesome! I may have to take these number to the local gaming store. We have a Magic league, but no Pokemon league because "Its not very popular anymore, everyone is playing Magic."
 
Let's be clear here. Pokemon is #1 in the Overall and Mass Channel areas of reporting.

It is #6 in Hobby Channel.

What that means is that Pokemon is selling massively in places like WalMart and Target. But it's behind in mom&pop stores. What that tells me is that most Pokemon purchases are impulse buys, the kinds of things that parents will get a nagging kid at the checkout line going for groceries.

However, the sheer VOLUME of Pokemon sales in the Mass market is vastly outweighing the relative lack of sales in the Hobby market to the point where it's outselling both MTG and YGO overall.

What do you think would happen if these impulse buyers actually learned that Organized Play was around and that prizes could be earned for this game? Or, for that matter, that a game EXISTS around these cards? I think the term OMGSPLOSION would be accurate.
 
We've all heard the chant that we should support mon&pop shops because that is where a lot of our leagues are. However, looking at these numbers, are we wrong in that strategy? If more people are buying Pokemon at mass market shops, should we be instead approaching Target and Walmart as places for leagues and tournaments? Then, while attracting players through the mass market store, approach the mon&pop shops with the ability to tell them "hey, I've got this following of X people who play Pokemon at a MassMarketShop. I'd like to ask if you would be willing to host one of these Pokemon leagues here at your store." That way, if a new person isn't able to attend league at the mass market shop, then they have the mom&pop shop as a possible alternative.
 
Skitty said:
So is this for the World or just NA? Or even just the US? But either way it's good to hear.
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The icv2 lists are only ever North America at most. If this was the world sales, far more games would be showing up.

It's interesting that the list is combined with miniatures and other such collectible games this time around. That'd be because there's only around seven active TCGs on the NA market right now, so many have died off recently.
 
bullados said:
Let's be clear here. Pokemon is #1 in the Overall and Mass Channel areas of reporting.

It is #6 in Hobby Channel.

What that means is that Pokemon is selling massively in places like WalMart and Target. But it's behind in mom&pop stores. What that tells me is that most Pokemon purchases are impulse buys, the kinds of things that parents will get a nagging kid at the checkout line going for groceries.

However, the sheer VOLUME of Pokemon sales in the Mass market is vastly outweighing the relative lack of sales in the Hobby market to the point where it's outselling both MTG and YGO overall.

What do you think would happen if these impulse buyers actually learned that Organized Play was around and that prizes could be earned for this game? Or, for that matter, that a game EXISTS around these cards? I think the term OMGSPLOSION would be accurate.
Click to expand...

This reason alone is one of the many that convinces me I need to make a series of "how to play" videos about the TCG. It might make the game more accessible to the young guns who have trouble reading the endless paragraphs of the rulebook.
 
bullados said:
Let's be clear here.
What that means is that Pokemon is selling massively in places like WalMart and Target. But it's behind in mom&pop stores. What that tells me is that most Pokemon purchases are impulse buys, the kinds of things that parents will get a nagging kid at the checkout line going for groceries.
Click to expand...


This may be some what true but you have to realize that the price is cheaper than most mom&pop stores thus a lot is sold there to players also:frown:
 
bullados said:
Let's be clear here. Pokemon is #1 in the Overall and Mass Channel areas of reporting.

It is #6 in Hobby Channel.

What that means is that Pokemon is selling massively in places like WalMart and Target. But it's behind in mom&pop stores. What that tells me is that most Pokemon purchases are impulse buys, the kinds of things that parents will get a nagging kid at the checkout line going for groceries.

However, the sheer VOLUME of Pokemon sales in the Mass market is vastly outweighing the relative lack of sales in the Hobby market to the point where it's outselling both MTG and YGO overall.

What do you think would happen if these impulse buyers actually learned that Organized Play was around and that prizes could be earned for this game? Or, for that matter, that a game EXISTS around these cards? I think the term OMGSPLOSION would be accurate.
Click to expand...
Pretty much this.


I see commercials on TV all the time for new sets. These ads need to be heavily emphasizing POP, not the cards. You can't advertise POP without somewhat advertising the cards themselves. You can however, advertise the cards without even mentioning POP, which is what these ads are doing.




They're wasting money.
 
The other thing to remember with small shops vs. large retailers, is that the retailers tend to sell cheaper. My local Walmart sells packs for $3.33, and my FLGS sells them for $4.49. I normally just go to the internet to buy cheaper anyways, but looking from my local standpoint, it's not even a competition. Walmart/Target can largely undercut the smaller stores. I think that, plus the amount of traffic Walmart/Target receive vs. a FLGS just completely seals the deal.
 
What I think many hobby stores try to do is make the most money per pack, which isn't a bad idea. However, if a store sells packs cheaper, they're likely to sell more product and get more traffic. Lower margin, but higher sales could mean bigger profits especially if players/customers spend their extra money on more sleeves, drinks/food (if the shop sells them) etc.

It is also most probable that the large retailers get the bulk of the sales due to parents and impulse buys. Most parents don't have the time to drive to a hobby shop too often, but WalMart/Target would be convenient for the parent.

Finally, LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION. Location is a very important factor. If the location is generally clean, populated, and looks nice, it will likely receive more traffic. Being near/in a mall or even next to a Walmart would be a plus too. Parent can drop of their kid with some $$ at the store while they go shopping, and pick them up without having to travel too far.
 
JWittz said:
This reason alone is one of the many that convinces me I need to make a series of "how to play" videos about the TCG. It might make the game more accessible to the young guns who have trouble reading the endless paragraphs of the rulebook.
Click to expand...

Deckbuilding seminars would help too and more competitive starter decks.
 
@ Slaking38:
This is exactly what I think too, it seems like hobby stores get caught up in a high profit-margin and don't realize that they can corner the market with lower prices per-pack. Walmarts and Toys R Us in my city sell packs for an exorbitant $5.49 per pack, while hobby shops sell them for $3.99, and they do extremely well in sales even though they aren't as conveniently located as Walmarts are. The Walmarts in my city are even dropping a lot of their Pokemon card stock because they can't compete with hobby shops. I think what helps in my area though is that there are tons of hobby shops around all competing for business, it's probably a lot harder for specialty stores when there are only one or two in an area.
 
It's the #1 TCG (bought) in my house.:smile:

Sports cards are bigger at hobby stores because stores like Wal-mart and Target don't stop the "pack feelers." Most sports card collectors I know wouldn't dare buy packs at the big stores. TCG's like Pokemon and Magic, because of the blister-pack packaging, don't fall prey to pack-feelers.
 
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