POP Policy Change Regarding Foreign-Language Cards

[Makka#1]

only foreign language cards that's released after april 2009 should be banned, then many people may keep their cards too they rotate out and not buy new Japanese boxes from now on

 

[Matt Yuen]

bye bye Super Bon Bon =*(

 

[ryanvergel]

Yes, stuff costs money. I'm not sure this revelation should be something that stops people from wanting to pay less as opposed to more, however. Moreover, the biggest issue that has been raised is not simply the cost of the product, but also the quality and rarity distribution involved. I won't go too much into it, since if you go back a few pages plenty of people have explained it vividly already.

Sure, if good LV Xs went for that cheap it might be a sign that the game is dying. Alas, it hasn't gotten to that point (yet!). The prices of good cards will skyrocket from this decision, forcing many players out, which in turn will cause a drop in buyers, etc... it's basic economics. There's a reason that other TCGs like YuGiOh have lost popularity. (200$ crush card virus anyone?)

The majority of us are well aware of how the real world works, and that is precisely why we are upset with this decision.

Very good post. Nice points.

 

[Clear]

Did I just get leveled?

Stuff costs money. C'est la vie. All those scholarships POP gives away, all those huge tournaments they run, guess what? Those cost money, too.

When a Dialga LV X goes for $2, that means no one is playing the game. It means there is no legitimate organized play system. All of you need to grow up and learn how the real world works. It bothers me how ungrateful and clueless so many of you are.

No one said that they are worth that less. It is much bigger than that.

I'll love to explain more, but unfortunately, I have something to attend to, I shall defend my view tonight.

 

[Scipio]

This stings more in Europe simply because the French and German players are now pretty much restricted to their own country rather then pop up in Holland for a quick change of pace or anything like that. That part hasn't been really thought over yet.
While I understand the decision, I feel PUSA should look at how the Japanese distribute their cards and just copy it rather then coming up with their own scheme. It will attract players to buy more, that's for sure.

 

[i like burdn of a day]

only foreign language cards that's released after april 2009 should be banned, then many people may keep their cards too they rotate out and not buy new Japanese boxes from now on

Thats the best idea i've heard yet

 

[TheDarkTwins]

This thread is getting silly and really stupid VERY fast. Jason is right, and his points are DEAD on. Anyone thinking otherwise is just kidding themselves.

As far as having all foreign cards released after April 2009 it is a great idea in principal but realistically it isn't because it would be a pain for judges to figure it out. A better solution would of been to say on Sept. 1st, 2010 (which gives everyone 17 months) foreign cards aren't legal. That would mean most likely any cards released after today wouldn't be legal anyways because the format would of been changed twice.

Drew

 

[Volt]

If they don't change this ruling, I'm out.

 

[Cookie]

If we are "forced" to buy english cards to be able to play the game in premier tournament level, something has to change. In the rare/lv x ratio of booster boxes or some other way. It hasn't been such of an issue earlier for the active players because we have always had the possibility to buy japanese cards if we're low on money, or fail to get the most valuable cards from english boosters. This isn't going to have an impact on the occasional players but it sure is going to for the active playerbase.

 

[Spellrox]

i really dont see problems about using translations =S

and 4 months to adapt to this new rule is a really short time.
they could wait until 2010 T.T

 

[Rayquaza14]

Everyone that is against that new change should send an eMail to PUI / POP.
On this way, they would see that many people don't Like this abrupt change....

 

[Jason]

This ruling...

Needs a year and half notice.

Not 5 months.

Kthx.

 

[DarthPika]

And you guys wonder why it's so hard to get POP to reverse decisions they make? Because you whine about everything!

You're going to complain because a few of you spent money on Japanese cards? Yeah, t hat seems unfair, and you should be upset. But what are you going to do? Make everyone else suffer because you chose to buy Japanese cards? This decision benefits organized play. It benefits new players. It benefits the judges. It benefits PUI in terms of being a profitable business move.

Be thankful you were given until next season to adapt. Not only that, but many of the cards legal now will rotate out next season. Thank you PUI, for making sure none of us have to spend another season fumbling through pages of a card-dex when someone busts out some rogue foreign card on us.

Just maybe we wouldn't be whining so much if they hand't told us that the jpn cards we JUST bought will be useless as of september...

We needed FAR more time to know about this so we could stop buying jpn.

 

[Scorpion]

Ok first of all. I don't and never have played any decks that have had foriegn cards in them. I have however played against people that have, I have never had a problem wiith it and doubt I ever will. If the reason for this decision is due to potential time wastage and judges having problems running their tournaments then I am left here scratching my head. Generally a player will know what a card does. To sit there and pretend you don't know what an Uxie or Claydol do is just stupid. same goes for Lv.X cards or trainers for that matter. And for judges to sit there and say it makes everything easier. I mean come on, how hard is it to ask the player if they have the relevant translations. There are 2 possible outcomes to this. 1. Player "no". Judge "too bad your disqualified" 2. Player "Yes". judge "great I can check that and if there are issues deal with it then".Some people are saying what about the random card you haven't seen before. That problem is even easier. Chances are if it has never been seen before it probably means it hasn't been released in your country yet so it is illegal.

I do think that they could have done this better, and the 2 ways would have been, limit the amount of foreign cards in ones deck and they should have made the ruling official at the start of this season. That would have been a better move in a business sense as while people would be as mad as they are here, they would have been using their money to buy the english versions already and not wasted their money on unplayable cards.

On a another point while I am going, I have noticed the boxes especially from platinum to be very repetitive. I bought 2 boxes and in both got Palkia G Lv.X and Shaymin Lv.X and Hitmonchan reprint. From other people i know buying boxes at least 2 others got that in theirs as well. If they didn't get that the other prevelant combo was Skymin Lv.X, Shaymin Lv,X and Electabuzz. So I really hope they fix that going fowards cause it makes it hard especially from a collector or player perspective

Lastly while i am from Australia and not many people I know are affected by this I am sorry to all of you with theoretically useless cards, but I don't think they will change this. Could have been handled better though

 

[Cookie]

There's no sense in prohibiting playing with japanese cards from sets that have already been released, like Stormfront/IFDS. People are quitting pokemon when over a half of their cards are worth less than toilet paper. A full ban is a no-no, the making-judging-easier issue isn't enough of a good reason. We didn't even get a proper explanation for this.

 

[Lucario-Master]

K, to sum this is THE TWO RESONS WHY THIS IS HAPPENING AND PUI INS"T TELLING US IS
1.The judges are full of bull with "oh if they dont have the right trans it scews the game up" Yes that could happen if it dose they cant use it, thats what we have used and it works. and another thing whats this bull with we cant use a card as a trans if I have 2 jpns Uxie lv.X and I have one english one why cant I use the english one as trans! Its never going to be rong!
2.PUI and POP are a bunch of gready %^&# jpns packs have more rares so we dont buy as much and they lose money, maybe i could understand this IF pokemon was having a hard time with the resetion but THEY ARE FINE little kids dont stop spending on cards because the freaking Dow jones is at a all time low! POKEMON IS FINE AND WILL NEVER REALLY HAVE TO DO THINGS LIKE THIS! but they can get away with it so they will do it.

OVER ALL: the players hate you and the judges are YOU

 

[Red Haired Shanks]

^ Yes, Indeed!

Now, I am going to fail with no japanese cards. >:0

What did we do? We brought trans, now you want us to spend even more money? This is a card game, not Money McDonalds like how YuGiOh is.

 

[Volt]

I can't unterstand why they're trying to raise the price of a single card ... the kids won't be able to buy a single good/playable card with this ruling. It's just like YGO.

 

[simba]

Here is a draft resolution that I strongly encourage each of you to send to the officials at PUI either as is or modified to reflect your personal circumstances. The email should be sent to :

[email protected]

Signed letters can also be sent to:

Corporate Offices for Pokémon USA, Inc. (PUI)
Pokémon USA, Inc.
333 108th Ave. NE Suite 1900
Bellevue, WA 98004
__________________________________

Dear PUI,

I am writing concerning the recent news release that was issued informing players world-wide that effective September 1, 2009, there will be no foreign language cards allowed. Clearly a decision of this magnitude took time to settle upon, but the timing of the announcement has caused issues that are wide spread and deep in nature. While many arguments may arise in individual cases to underscore consternation over this decision, the ultimate issue comes down to a trust that was broken. In POP's documents regarding the term of legality of cards, players were informed that they would be allowed to use foreign language cards provided they followed specific guidelines in the following player rules:

14.1.8. Foreign Cards
Players may use non-local language cards in their decks, provided they meet the
following requirements:
• All of the cards in the player’s deck have been released, in English, in the United
States and are legal for use according to the event’s format restrictions
• The player has an English or local-language version of the card, outside of his or
her deck, for reference, OR the player has a copy of the official Pokémon TCG
Card-Dex containing the card’s text, which can be downloaded at from the
Tournament Rules and Resources page. Card scans are not an acceptable method
of translation.
If a judge determines that a player is using non-local language cards and/or misprinted
cards to gain an advantage, that player will be subject to the Cheating section of the POP
Penalty Guidelines.

By publishing these rules for the playing season of 2008-2009 it automatically pre-supposed that any foreign language card released during that time would be allowed. Considerable investments have been made by hundreds of players across a global economy devoted to the franchise you have worked to build. The timing of your phase-out effectively rescinds the legal backing that players relied upon to make informed financial decisions during the 2008-2009 season. Without full knowledge of your purposes I can only suppose that there is adequate reason behind the decision released; however, I desperately urge you to reconsider the timing of when this new rule takes affect to protect the investments that were made by players under a mutual understanding and agreement of guidelines. Thank you for providing a loved game and atmosphere that thousands have become passionate about. With your support and understanding it will no doubt continue to reflect your interest in the community that you have created.

Sincerely,

 

[Jaeger]

Well this is one of the stupidest things ever.

Why not just limit it to 5 foreign cards per event or something? That way people won't have to spend $100 on that one card that just came out for your tournament this weekend.

+1, 1-5 Translation IMO would be fine.