Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield—Brilliant Stars

International OP Programs

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Welcome Mr. Nack:

Before I begin, I would like to say that I wish you all the best in your new position.

I am hopeful that you'll be able to bring a sense of "equality" to this game for people on a GLOBAL scale.

Take Care,

Skywolf1
 
unlike some I think delivery speaks louder than words and we have been waiting for delivery now for 5 months.

Now let's just look at what is being said in detail because as we have already seen PUI are not adverse to weasle words and spinning their statements what is interpreted from them and what they eventually turn into are often different.

So Jarrod's statement piece by piece :

I'd like to take this time to introduce myself - my name is Jarrod Nack and I'm the new International Pokémon Organized Play (POP) Representative for PUI. I just returned from Barcelona and the roll-out of the new International POP Program. A majority of the distributors listed on our site where there for the roll-out, and the ones that were not, will have their roll-out in the coming days.

From that we can deduced that not all distributors attended the Barcelona meeting and we are going to tell them what our plans are later. Also note the use of roll-out of the new International POP Program this would lead you to think that something is happening when certainly for the UK roll out actually means nothing is agreed yet and there is still no support! I am sure we are not alone in Europe on that.

In the coming weeks, you'll be happy to discover a program being put in place that is very similar to what is currently being run in North America.

Now read it again and realise it says in the coming weeks we are putting a program in place.. not that there is a program ready do not expect instant support and do not be fooled into thinking all is alright now because it is not!

I'm currently working with your local distributors to get the systems in place for leagues, tournaments and EX Dragon Prereleases to be set-up as soon as possible.

Okay again read .. why do we need a seperate system to the US? Why can we not register our leagues and then the details be sent to the distributors? What we seem to have here is the possibility that our leagues will never be listed on the Pokemon TCG site.

Now the pre-releases are a good thing and that will help stem grey importing and at least give world wide parity on something.. a good move certainly.. Now deliver it!

Our website is going to be refreshed shortly to reflect this updated information. Please bear with us while this is being accomplished.

Okay but what is shortly? A day, weeks, month?

It is great to see such a passionate and dedicated group of players and I encourage you to contact your local distributor listed on our site. While I will be coordinating all of the international POP efforts, your local distributor will be your contact for sanctioning, reporting and materials.

Except they can't do any of that yet and are telling us please moan at PUI and Nintendo they are failing us too!

Through them you'll be able to apply to become a TO and League Coordinator and get the materials you need to support your events.

Once again a seperate channel for TO's and Leagues why not use the existing one and send the info to the Distributors?

I encourage you to share your thoughts and ideas with them, especially on how to make the most out of your local POP experience.

Already done but when they tell us that they are telling you about local conditions and you are ignoring them as much as you are ignoring us it doesn't bode well.

You'll also be happy to know that the Professor program is up and running and will continue to be run through PUI, so please forward your questions/comments to [email protected].

Where they like so many emails will go unanswered? What does professorship offer anyone outside the US? To me at the moment it is a worthless title that offers no respect from PUI and no recompense for the effort expended!

While the programs you are so enthusiastically asking for are being ramped-up, I will not have time to monitor this site as much as everyone would like, myself included.

So from ramped-up we can deduce again that they are not happening yet and from the usual we will not monitor this board response we take that to mean I will make a comment spout an official line and then leave.

If you'd like regular feedback, please direct all inquires to [email protected], thus allowing the entire international POP team to help you out.

Cough, Cough... regular feedback? 11 days and counting and still no response to emails!

Current and future inquires to my personal email will be forwarded on to your local distributor. It's not that we don't care, but as you can imagine, we're very busy getting these programs in place.

Busy where? There is no program yet in place, the distributors have nothing to distribute, professors are not consulted and don't contribute, the floor rules and some card rulings take no account of International issues and still we have no support!

We look forward to supporting and improving your international POP experience, and know that only happens with your help and support.

You can only Improve our International POP experience it is so bad at the moment that most of us here in the UK are totally fed-up...

If all this work is going on where is the success? Where is the delivery?

We have spoken with our distributors about why we have nothing to support our leagues we have told them that PUI told us they would be angered if we got something to promote the brand and sales in the UK as an interim whilst these plans were ramped-up... they laughed at the suggestion they would be angry because we were encouraging sales?

PUI, Jarrod you need to get us support now before we implode through your lack of care... and believe us when we tell you no UK retailer will expend the effort we do on OP and Leagues.
 
International OP Programs continued

Here are some more details regarding your International OP Program:

We are working out the details with your local distributors to get league materials shipped out to them right now.
These league materials are the same kit samples that were sent to Barcelona for the Distributors to review.

Please contact your local league store to make sure their distributor knows to order materials for them because materials will not be sent out to individuals.

Thanks.

-Jarrod
 
Jarrod,

if we wanted anymore proof that you guys were not listening here it is..

Here are some more details regarding your International OP Program:

We are working out the details with your local distributors to get league materials shipped out to them right now.
These league materials are the same kit samples that were sent to Barcelona for the Distributors to review.

So Dave was wrong to tell us that the distributors would give us access to the 30 kits they were in fact samples

Please contact your local league store to make sure their distributor knows to order materials for them because materials will not be sent out to individuals.

As we have said there are no LEAGUE STORES in the UK!

OP and Leagues are run from various venues outside stores due to :

a) lack of space and
b) they don't want them ... why bother with pokemon when yu-gi-oh walks off the shelf and has a very well supported program?

If you do not listen and you insist on stores only as a program in the UK you will almost certainly kill off OP and Leagues.

We are ready to help grow them but PUI is constantly ignoring us.. and that will destroy OP in the UK ...
 
Count to 10 - breathe deeply

ukpokemonpro said:
What can we say yeah we know too much to be hoodwinked but not enough to be satisfied :(
Trust no-one, walk softly and carry a BIG STICK...
Quoting Yanks now? :p
I'm like Juan - I have great sympathy for you guys, I wish you the best and sincerely hope that in the future with true international play we can once again see you guys at the truly premier events.
But I have to jump in here because I think your frustration is starting to show a few cracks at the seams. Please give the man a chance. Maybe you know how long he's been at the job, I don't and I would assume that he's relatively new. You cannot possibly with a straight face expect an overnight miracle. For gosh sakes! You're are even holding PUI accountable for WotC's sins! The other thing is you seem to feel like you're on the board of directors and they owe you an explanation for all they do or will do. I see nothing wrong with them being vague when they probably *don't* have a good idea of the exact time things will happen. They too are at the mercy of outside influences that may affect the timings. They've told you it's happening - just not when. Be Happy. If they gave you a shakey date just to shut you up and then something happened to delay it there would be a great hue and cry about the lying so-and-so's that promised us OP on <date here>. They may be reluctant because of your previous and current hard stances on the OP matter. When you take such a hard line on what they DON'T say, God only knows what you'd do with a broken promise.
Correct me if I'm off-base here but it seems a lot of your issues are with the fact that it happens first here in the states. A friend of mine once said there are two rules in life: 1) Life isn't fair and (2) Life is especially hard on those not accepting rule(1). Harsh but reality. You cannot expect PUI to be allover everything at once. I know in my job I can't do it so I have to prioritize. And the priority is the biggest item on the list. Like it or not the US is probably the largest market and gets initial attention. I feel dumb lecturing you on this as I *know* that you realize these things. So why on earth do you antagonize everyone including the guy that is responsible for the European OP? The only thing I can figure is you make all the noise so they won't forget you're around. You've succeeded.
The other thing you won't let anyone forget is how you have single-handedly kept OP alive in the UK under extreme privation. Join the club. There are unsung "heroes" the world over that have kept this game going through worse conditions than you've had. I'll point out Juggie in Australia as a prime example. They NEVER had official Leagues there and yet he had tremendous numbers of players and manged to scrounge by. Plenty of us here in the US have similar problems. I have moved to three stores in the last year and still manage to scrounge one that will give us room to play and order product so we can have a League - we never did get the Battlezone stuff until I got my Professor care package. So wise up - don't be a surly hero - let folks know you for the good you've done - not the complaining and grousing. We all know you've done a tremendous job.
I'd also like to point out a small fact that you yourself brought up - but tend to ignore in context of PUI as a business. You have stated repeatedly that there are no distributors because there are no stores that carry the product. Guess what - we're under the same constraints. If there are no stores there are no leagues. period. We have the same rules. So you guys need to do something about the infrastructure there to get Leagues going under the rules. I'm sure that plenty of solutions are available if you put your mind to it. A casual place to play that does not carry the product isn't acceptable under the rules - live with it - we do.
 
ScythKing: I respectfully suggest you let the Int'l people discuss it with Nack. This is the perfect thread for UK to say what he's said.
 
IvesRountree said:
Hello again, long time no see, anyway, what should we do if there is not a distributor on our country? Who should we contact?
Hi neighbor! I guess you should try the email address that Mr. Jarrod Nack provided [email protected]. Hope it works better for you than apparently it has for our UK friends.
 
Jarrod, just so it is clear both myself and Ben have accounts with several UK distributors. We may not be stores in the conventional sense but we are offering league, large tournaments and product to the players.

We are obviously significant enough for the distributors to take our business.

A handfull of promos in an envelope is what I have asked for to keep the excitement and buzz going at league. A handfull of promos untill all the official programmes and legal stuff are in place.

Is a handfull of promos too much to ask?
 
So far, Nintendo has done several things right. They've also done several things wrong. They've given US (us, as in the United States) a prerelease and an RS challenge. What about Europe? Nothing.

I have said it before, and I'll say it again: I truly can sympathize with what Europe is dealing with. Stores will not sponsor league anymore because Pokemon is not POPULAR among others outside this community. I was hoping that Nintendo would do a huge advertising campaign to try to re-popularize the game, and that has not happened.

Wizards always told us to hold on and wait. "You'll be happy with what you hear". That NEVER WORKS on us. As long as there isn't a venue provided that gives us the chance to play, you won't sell cards. And if you abandon Europe, Europe will eventually abandon you.

We need to know if there's going to be a Challenge Series similar to what WotC had.
We need to know whether everything is going to be run through leagues.
We need to know if you plan to revitalize this game in a market OUTSIDE the people involved at the time of the crossover.
We need to know.

We are your core-group, the group that will support this game no matter what. You need to start treating us AS a core-group, and you aren't treating us that way by telling us "coming soon".

~ RaNd0m
 
Uh same ole same ole.
NOTHING has changed.

I think they are in a situation they may have not forseen.
Transition, lawsuit, lack of MORE than 24 hrs a day *which could be a blessing considering MORE work would have to be done.*

If you are still IN THIS game it has been about the wait.
Always has.

IMO, the 15+ is back?
I can wait.

You can't? I KNOW WAY TO MANY that moved on to other games... but mostly to life.

Your choice.

Outside USA? Outside of my jurisdiction... and shall always be.

Hmmm PUI now has Pokemon, and THERE shant be any SYNERGY in Nintendo's mind?

I wonder what this Pokemon Rocks is all about?
*I really wonder WHAT could have been with the R & S PreRelease...

PS IMO THERE WILL BE NONE like the MT's.
I feel WE WERE SO SPOILED by his skill to ask for input and his willingness 'limited' to share information and ideas.

AND it backfired on him.

I can't expect that from PUI.
AND from their posts, THEY SHALL post when they are good and ready to post. *It avoids problems, except for impatience, for which there is NO universal cure*
 
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impatience? another thinly veiled insult?


I have worked hard for the players and will continue to do so. But my loyalty is strained to breaking point and my patience is exhausted. If another game were to come along that was as good as pokemon I think it is highly likely that the international market will colapse completely.

A few promos in an envelope? Its not exactly a massive amount of effort and cost. But it seems to be too much for PUI/Nintendo.

A few promos in an envelope and Europe won't feel totally excluded.


And the kingdom was lost all for the lack of a nail.
 
Okay Ian, I underatsnd the pain and frustration and the need to rage but I actually think Juan is one of the good guys here :)

I know he's showing misunderstanding and maybe a little ire too but all in all he's an okay chappie .. just watch it tho' ;)

However please can we think before we post... on both sides !!

Now why would the lawsuit worry us? I mean your pre-releases have not been pulled have they? All US leagues have not been stopped have they? What about sanctioning and work on the professor tests?

All is going ahead in the US and that's where the suit is filed!

For the rest of us will somebody please send us some support NOW! If you truely care at all stop lecturing us and asking us to wait and support us... send us any promo's you can spare... preferably Nintendo ones but if not we need WotC best promo Mewtwo and Hitmonchan too...

If you have any spare before reaching for eBay PM or email NoPoke or myself we will spread them as wide as possible through the UK community and we will of course pay the postage and costs..

My call to you is this if we are truely a community then help us survive when PUI will not!

Thanks in advance
 
Best Mewtwo??

I don't have many of the best ones, but I have some Ceribii and the "energy" seasons promos.
Are there any other of the WotC promos that never got into wide circulation over there?
 
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Celebi if it's the MP one promo.. looks in promo folder .. promo 50 and Articuni, Snorlax 48 and 49 they didn't really reach us .. :(

Of the remaining Best Promo's we finally got a shed load of Elms ;) and the foil energy it is just the last 2 Best promo's TR Hitmonchan and the TR Mewtwo that we missed :(

But also any other pokegoodies you no longer want Eon Tickets, badges, etc .. I have just bought off eBay 300 odd Pokemon Pencils and around 100 of the Plastic Figures .. Xmas draw on the 6th December.
 
If another game were to come along that was as good as pokemon I think it is highly likely that the international market will colapse completely

What do you mean with 'good' NoPoke ? Fun to play, well distributed and supported, widely promoted, ... ?

Some find LotR a fantastic game, and many love MtG while these games are not interesting for others.


I've run a YGO tournament in Mechelen (Belgium) last Saturday at the GamesWorld games fair, the most important one in Belgium.
In the exhibition hall, I've seen my friends of WotC with Simpsons and Magic, stands and tournaments of Lord of the Rings, L5R, Magic, board games, ...

Pokemon ? It was possible to play R&S on the GBA. But many people came to me and asked why Pokemon is dead. People who have played Pokemon tournaments with me in the past and who all think that the game is not played anymore.

No tournament, no info, nobody representing Nintendo, only 3 sellers who tried to sell what they called 'old boosters that nobody want' from the R&S set ! That was Pokemon at GamesWorld.
I thought we had new sets with 100 new Pokemon, new game mechanics, new GBA games, I thought it was a fantastic opportunity to promote the TCG, I was wrong.

Someone told me : 'I don't go on the web, and the only thing I see in the shops is YGO, and of course Magic. It seems that Pokemon is not sold anymore'. And believe me, that person lives in a civilized part of the country and frequently goes to the second large city of Belgium.


My UK friends are fighting so hard for such a long time to keep the game and leagues alive in the UK. Now they're asking for 'international assistance' because nobody gives them the material to do what they do.
Ben, Ian, and all the others, who cares about Pokemon ? Except you and the small amount of kids who are still playing thanks to you, who cares about the game in the UK ? And which 'official' cares about helping the only people who try to promote and support it ?

You're right NoPoke, in Belgium, in France and probably in other countries, a new game is on the market, a game supported (even if it's the beginning, we feel in the French part of Belgium that the French distributors is really making efforts for us), distributed, promoted, a game that (sorry to have to say that) many Pokemon players are now playing, a game that will see a third European set in a couple of days, a game that becomes more and more interesting and fun to play. Like it or not, it's YGO.
Where are the Belgian and French Pokemon markets ? Good question, and shop owners I've talked to these last weeks give the answer : we don't buy (many) Pokemon boosters anymore because we don't sell them.

There was Magic and Pokemon, two leaders of the market ... now it is Magic and YGO. Guess which boosters are on sale in the shops ?
And I think I've read somewhere that MtG and YGO were the two leaders on the US market too ;)

We are involved, one way or another, in OP, in all the Pokemon business modifications. But most of the players play a game played by other people, by their friends. If they have fun and can play with their friends, Pokemon or not, they don't care and they play a new game.
In addition to that, many of them love to find new cards, new characters, new game mechanics, ... and new players.

It's hard be climb the hill and arrive at the top, but when you've been there and you're back at the starting point, it's really harder to climb it back.
 
To put it in a nutshell the time of words is past,now must be a time of action.Ben,Ian,Myself etc have struggled for long enough to keep this game alive in the UK.No more words please Nintendo,lets have some deeds!I now get a regular turnout of 14-16 players every week and they are drifting away to play YGO.Why? because it is supported.They are able to win promos and boosters.I have not got a problem with YGO I feel we can live side by side and a lot of the players cross over from one game to the other.But I do cast envious eyes when I see the latest YGO promos and some kid asks me why havn't I got the latest Pokemon stuff as for the umpteenth time I hand out the Best of Electabuzz,Rocket's Sneasel,Hitmonchan etc. Surely it makes economic sense to support it as it is the kids that buy the boosters.I regularly e-mail the supposed UK distributor to no avail.As Ian has said just a handful of the latest promos would help.What would be the cost of this? Hardly anything and just about 5 minutes out of someones day.So come on Nintendo,how about it?
 
ukpokemonpro said:
Celebi if it's the MP one promo.. looks in promo folder .. promo 50 and Articuni, Snorlax 48 and 49 they didn't really reach us .. :(

Of the remaining Best Promo's we finally got a shed load of Elms ;) and the foil energy it is just the last 2 Best promo's TR Hitmonchan and the TR Mewtwo that we missed :(

But also any other pokegoodies you no longer want Eon Tickets, badges, etc .. I have just bought off eBay 300 odd Pokemon Pencils and around 100 of the Plastic Figures .. Xmas draw on the 6th December.

I have extra packs of the Machamp, Articuno, Electabuzz, Snorlax, Reverse foil Pichu (lets play), Magmar and Lilypad mew. We did not get any of the TR Hitmo or Mewtwo. Maybe I can scrounge siome Scythers and Scizors and other stuff from League year two.
Which of these would you like and where do I send them? I'd be happy to share.
 
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