POP Policy Change Regarding Foreign-Language Cards

[Dregon]

Stop whinning and blablabla ...
Hey, you want to have some twists of fate ?
Do you know why players like the Marcant or Vanessa Duflot buy Japanese cards.

- Cheaper and better displays (more level X)
- More beautiful cards
- and they come sooner, so it gives more time to prepare new decks for the US and Europe metagame.

Yes it is annoying to have a cardex, so the better is having 1 card of the us displays in order to show.

Michel Delhausse sent a message to the PUI.
Because in Europe it is bad for italian, spanish or german players who wants to play in France for example.
Because it came too late in order to do some changes.

 

[NoPoke]

4. The argument that the store owners that sponsored leagues were losing money is not as true as some would believe. Did I purchase cards from the local store? Yes. However, the majority of my son's cards were purchased at Wal-Mart, Toys R Us, and other such stores. Why? Because the local hobby shop could not beat the prices of the mega stores.

Sorry if this seems like I'm having a go but as you have posted this viewpoint I thought I'd respond with a question: Does McDonalds let you bring in a burger bought at Burger King and use their facilities for free?

Yes I know it is more complicated and not so cut and dried, but the fact remains that the shop venues only exist whilst it makes sense financially. A rise in the use of JP cards is not good for the local shops and not good for the expansion/future of OP. Cards bought from other stores are tollerated because at least there is hope that you will buy from them as well. This just isn't the case if a lot of JP cards are being played. The message to the store owner is clear: we do not want to buy your cards. I repeat it is not as simple as this and this is not a personal attack.

A small number of JP cards and foreign cards IS COOL. Even a rare all JP deck can be cool. BUT, a large and growing number of Japanese cards being used is not.


===============

The Europe issue is seperate to the ban on JP cards in the USA. In all honestly the Europe language change is much more significant and much harder to understand.

 

[Kiss_n_Fire]

This has got to be one of the worst decisions POP has made.....

Everyone can use English but we are limited to ONLY English?? How is that??

What about those people who have spent so much money on buying Japanese cards (because they look better, are more durable, come out sooner, and are cheaper)?? Are they just s.o.l. and have to purchase all new cards?
----I am saying "Japanese" throughout this, but you can replace it with any language-----

As a Judge, I don't see the game play being slowed down like they are saying it does. First of all, in Masters, 95% of the players KNOW the cards that are being played and may only need clarification on the Bodies and Powers, which people read the ENGLISH cards for clarification as well!!!! You really don't see many players in Juniors at all that play Japanese cards so really....come up with a better excuse or tell the truth as to why you are pulling the Japanese cards from us.

POP, don't expect this to up your sales by much at all.....you are going to end up LOOSING PLAYERS!!!!!

***Truly Aggravated***
******Venessa******

 

[DarthPika]

Sorry if this seems like I'm having a go but as you have posted this viewpoint I thought I'd respond with a question: Does McDonalds let you bring in a burger bought at Burger King and use their facilities for free?

Yes I know it is more complicated and not so cut and dried, but the fact remains that the shop venues only exist whilst it makes sense financially. A rise in the use of JP cards is not good for the local shops and not good for the expansion/future of OP. Cards bought from other stores are tollerated because at least there is hope that you will buy from them as well. This just isn't the case if a lot of JP cards are being played. The message to the store owner is clear: we do not want to buy your cards. I repeat it is not as simple as this and this is not a personal attack.

A small number of JP cards and foreign cards IS COOL. Even a rare all JP deck can be cool. BUT, a large and growing number of Japanese cards being used is not.

But even with the ban on jpn cards I will STILL buy all my stuff off of ebay, now even more than ever due to rising costs. The fact is, if I need a few certain cards for my deck, I'm not going to go down to the local shop and spend $50+ in the hopes that I MIGHT get one of the cards I need. I'll just go on ebay and get them, and save time and money.

Is there ANY way that there could be some exception for cards like Uxies? I only have 1 English Uxie, and there is no way for me to replace my 5 jpn ones.

 

[Kiss_n_Fire]

AND.....to those of you out there who keep saying that POP should do this because they are going broke...BULL!!! The Poke-fanatics purchase TONS of Pokemon items other than cards!!! If I went into my childrens rooms (all 3 of them) and found every NON CARD Pokemon Item.....in my household alone it would probably be about $500...and that is from just one year of the kids playing. I know my $500 may sound measly, but let's face it.....I know just from the league that I am in we have about 7 of the same caliber (if not more) in the fanatic/other than card purchases. So...don't tell me they aren't making money, cause that is crap!!!

 

[Prof Clay]

Having dealt with some of the folks higher up on the PUI food chain than Dave and the gang, I can almost guarantee that this decision did was not one that they would have made and was pushed on them from those in charge. They do not look or really care about organized play.

The sales bosses I am sure want their market to be protected and "pure". I am sure that the purchase of japanese cards from the primary and secondary market are a small part of the overall sales of cards, but to the sales folks....small is enough to threaten their jobs.

Do I like the decisio..not at all. Is it going to change...not at all

But if they had honestly wanted our opinions about the change, they would have asked for it.

Those of you who are significantly impacted by the decision and want to quit and take your marbles home...the only ones who will notice you are gone will be you and your closest friends.

Adapt or die

 

[Panther-Z]

@NoPoke
Sorry if this seems like I'm having a go but as you have posted this viewpoint I thought I'd respond with a question: Does McDonalds let you bring in a burger bought at Burger King and use their facilities for free?

@NoPoke: I do not think you were "having a go". You do bring up a good point.

As for your fast food analogy. No they would not let me eat another restaurant's food in theirs. However, if I need to use their restrooms I do make it a point to purchase a drink or other item in return. I said that I did buy things from the local store. I also bought other items that could not be purchased anywhere else. As far as Pokemon was concerned, they were never my primary supplier. Wal-Mart, Target, TrU, ebay, etc. were my major sources. I now will be unable to find the cards at prices I can afford, I will still buy merchandise from the local store. The change only effects the pricing of Pokemon out of reach for my son.

 

[Gatsu]

Pokemon-Community got owned!

 

[SD PokeMom]

But even with the ban on jpn cards I will STILL buy all my stuff off of ebay, now even more than ever due to rising costs. The fact is, if I need a few certain cards for my deck, I'm not going to go down to the local shop and spend $50+ in the hopes that I MIGHT get one of the cards I need. I'll just go on ebay and get them, and save time and money.

so where do you play your local events and/or league? a local card shop, which you don't support financially at ALL?

ever consider what happens to your local OP when enough players do this and the store closes?

'mom

 

[DarthPika]

so where do you play your local events and/or league? a local card shop, which you don't support financially at ALL?

ever consider what happens to your local OP when enough players do this and the store closes?

'mom

I don't even have a local card shop. If I want to buy cards, I have to go to Target or other similar store. I still buy packs from time to time for fun, but most of what I buy is from online. Give me a place that sells singles for about the same as I can get them off of ebay and I'll be glad to buy them.

 

[SD PokeMom]

the question is: where do you play your events? and do you support that venue with your custom?

if not: how long do you expect that retail outlet to be around?

'mom

 

[Jaeger]

Let me pose a question, is it really fair that you play in POPs OP but not purchase their cards?

Isn't that kind of like purchasing Subways food and than eating it in McDonalds so your kids can you use the play area?

 

[DarthPika]

the question is: where do you play your events? and do you support that venue with your custom?

if not: how long do you expect that retail outlet to be around?

'mom

I have to drive about an hour to get to any events. And yes, I do buy stuff there and attend the prereleases. You do realize that pokemon is only a very small %age of their income?

 

[ApachePrime]

As a Judge, I don't see the game play being slowed down like they are saying it does. First of all, in Masters, 95% of the players KNOW the cards that are being played and may only need clarification on the Bodies and Powers, which people read the ENGLISH cards for clarification as well!!!!

I can vouch as a rogue player this is not true whatsoever. A truly creative deck often has my opponent's asking to read my cards.

On a different note though, a good comparison is: About 95% of people can manage a set of 3 stairs to enter a building, but what about those other 5%? The law protects them and requires public places to have wheelchair access. POP is trying to make the game more fair across the board. Do I think this is the right answer? I don't know, but I think it would've been better to make the announcement for 2 seasons away, and restrict next season to 10% or something.

We all know this decision was not made over night, and we all know that POP did not intend to create a problem for anyone. It's unfortunate that this issue is working out this way, but I believe OP is doing the best they can to resolve some issues that Judges and Organizers have seen over the past few seasons.

 

[Jaeger]

Stupid Panther beat me to my analogy:nonono:

 

[ApachePrime]

I have to drive about an hour to get to any events. And yes, I do buy stuff there and attend the prereleases. You do realize that pokemon is only a very small %age of their income?

Pre-releases do not make the store any money, as the cards are purchased from the PTO. So the venue makes no money from these events, but foot traffic is always good.

The percentage of pokemon to income is strictly based on the player base in the area. Our store just started carrying Pokemon cards for Majestic Dawn. We went through 6 boxes of Platinum, which rivals the Magic sales at our store. So the percentage can be very large, and pokemon can be a very good thing for your FLGS.

 

[Yoshi-]

the question is: where do you play your events? and do you support that venue with your custom?

if not: how long do you expect that retail outlet to be around?

'mom

My situation is similar, I mean we have a league here but there are only little kids and I rarely go there. Still I support the shop by getting my sleeves and boxes there through I could get them on ebay for less money, but buying boosters is just ...
I'd gladly pay entry fees for tournaments because I understand that the shops have to make their money somehow and I dont want the venues where I play (there are in other towns anyway so I just go there for tournaments) to close. I also play PRs.
But as much as I want to support the shop, buying boosters is juste a waste of money, you nearly never get something thats worth the booster price (which is higher here in the US). And if you get a LvX you still have a high chance to get somethign absolutly crappy or a tin lvx.
I'd really rather support the shop by just giving them the money for free so I can show I want to help any apprectiate that the hold tournaments. But buying boosters is lying to yourself.
"I want to support the shop, so I have to buy something, although I dont want to and know it'll be a waste of money". If the shop would really need support I'd rather give them the money for free or buy tons of sleeves instead of buying boosters.

 

[baby mario]

I agree that people need to support shops, but it's not realistic to expect them to buy 3-5 boxes of MD just to get 2 Leafeon LV X for a deck. That's too much unless you are rich. No wonder people buy singles off eBay (which doesn't benefit POP at all).

Some kind of middle way needs to be found where you can get the cards you need and support card shops without spending stupid amounts of money.

 

[MonsterOfTheLake]

Here's my 2 Yen. Oh wait, can't use those anymore.. 2 cents, then.

I'm not using any Japanese cards this season. In fact, I recently bought a lot of English Trainers and useful cards. This change leaves me better off than I was before. However, I'm still against this new policy, simply because of how bad it'll affect the secondary market (i.e. eBay), and the effect on European players.

Let's be honest here: This has nothing to do with kids not being able to read translations. It's about store owners telling Pokemon off for letting the player base buy on the Internet instead of their stores while Pokemon uses their rooms for free.

I think this move will possibly bring the end of the game in Europe. PUI really ought to reconsider. I think the stores and competitive players can meet in the middle here, if the PUI would print boxes that would offer anywhere near the same value of a Japanese box.

An even better compromise would be to not only up the quality of the English packs, and stopping putting utterly worthless cards like Dialga Lv.X in tins and handing out stuff like Luxray at Nationals. If they gave out Uxies at States, not only would it cover the "young kid just there to have fun" base, as Uxie is CUTE AS A MOTHA, it would also help mitigate the costs of the game for the competitive players. Just what is the point of giving out a Heatran at Regionals? It's not cute for the little kids, it's nowhere near good enough for the competitive players, and it's not even good at the Gameboy games! Why not give out a scary looking Dialga G Lv.X, or even some new shiny Energies with interesting art? I saw little kids throwing away their States promos, because they were absolutely pointless. A Dragonair? Give me a break.

In case PUI thinks people would buy an English box of LA just because they need some Uxies to finish their deck, that's never going to happen, short of a lot of people winning the lottery. What WILL happen is people like Drew will up the price of Uxies to $30 a piece, and those of us with no $300/deck budget will quit the game.

Back to back posts merged. The following information has been added:

Sorry if this seems like I'm having a go but as you have posted this viewpoint I thought I'd respond with a question: Does McDonalds let you bring in a burger bought at Burger King and use their facilities for free?

That comparison will only apply when hobby stores rely solely on Pokemon cards for their income.

Until then, it's a straw man argument.

 

[Yoshi-]

Oh great.
I just saw the "I'm selling japanese cards, super cheap" threads did start to appear where the ones who did read the announcment suddenly start to sell japanese cards for less then normal without menchoning why, and all the kids (senior players who dont check pokegym) who could never afford these cards are like "yeah finally I can get that luxray I wanted for so long, 'm so happy =D"