Can someone explain the recent rise and fall of Pokemon in 2020/2021?

[bikingjahuty]

I've been a life long Pokemon fan, however I don't heavily follow it like I used to 20-years ago. I pretty much pay attention to new releases, own most of the older Pokemon games, and have a respectable Pokemon card collection that I mostly acquired around 10-years ago. However, it came to my attention via various Facebook gaming groups how insane demand for Pokemon merchandise became in spring of 2020, mainly the games and cards. I looked up several prices on certain Pokemon items I both owned and didn't and was genuinely shocked with what I saw.


However, it came to my attention from a local Pokemon card collector that the COVID Pokemon craze has been on the decline steadily since April of this year. Once again I looked up several prices on various Pokemon items and sure enough prices have dropped quite a bit since their peak, but still higher than they were pre-Spring 2020.


Can someone please explain to me the what the hell happened with Pokemon prices both this year and last year? Why did prices suddenly shoot up and almost like clockwork decline in spring of this year? Was is just some fad started by a popular Youtube personality or was there some other force that started the sudden craze? Likewise, what started the descent this spring; was it an event or just the craze dying out naturally? I'm just super curious about this and would be nice to get some perspective on it.

[kamikazekeeg]

From what I understand, online personalities started opening up packs on video/streams, most likely to find some sort of content to utilize with nothing else to do, I don't know who started it, I know folks like Logan Paul were probably some of the top folks, and I think that's what set everything off.  So while everything was shut down, people started buying cards online and in store, creating a massive renewed interest in the cards and subsequent shortage.  I know me and my sister got a renewed interest after not owning cards for basically 20 years and it was heck of a time trying to build up a big collection of them for Christmas for us to open last year, but now it's pretty easy to find them.

[dhaabi]

As you mentioned, the pandemic largely served as the catalyst for rising prices. However, it wasn't just Pokémon. Certain subsets of gaming like GameCube and Wii U, franchises like Guitar Hero and Rock Band, and all types of collecting such as vinyl records and coin collecting saw steady popularity and rising prices too. As the world came to a standstill, and with U.S. citizens receiving stimulus checks alongside growing numbers of workers leaving the workforce for various reasons or just saving time by working remote, people began to look toward a means to occupy their free time. Some simply realized, "Hey, I've got some extra money, so let me just indulge myself in these items that I couldn't afford before." Meanwhile, others thought, "Wow, I really enjoyed this in the past. I have all this time now. Why don't I get back into it?"

I can't pinpoint why Pokémon—specifically the Pokémon TCG—saw sharp spikes in interest. That being said, Pokémon consistently is a popular franchise, although many have outgrown it. At some point, a certain number of people must have re-visited their love for it, as social media channels and celebrities quickly began investing time and money in it too by purchasing cards in bulk to collect and unbox which only made a growing interest that much bigger.

[bikingjahuty]

From what I understand, online personalities started opening up packs on video/streams, most likely to find some sort of content to utilize with nothing else to do, I don't know who started it, I know folks like Logan Paul were probably some of the top folks, and I think that's what set everything off.  So while everything was shut down, people started buying cards online and in store, creating a massive renewed interest in the cards and subsequent shortage.  I know me and my sister got a renewed interest after not owning cards for basically 20 years and it was heck of a time trying to build up a big collection of them for Christmas for us to open last year, but now it's pretty easy to find them.

I thought I remembered hearing about some 10-million+ subscribers youtube with mostly a younger audience starting it, but wasn't sure if there was any legitimacy to this claim. It makes perfect sense since though since Pokemon prices seemed to outpace all other hobbies that also saw a major bump due to being stuck at home and getting free money from the government. As for the sudden decline in prices last spring I suspect this is just due to the world returning somewhat to normal and many of the people that jumped on the 2020 Pokemon hype train losing interest over time.

[emporerdragon]

The big reasons would be that there were several high-profile sales of pokemon cards hitting 6 figures coupled with all the internet personalities doing all the unboxing vids showing off their massive gains. This led to many speculators and scalpers trying to buy up everything in attempts to pull something big to flip. And not just with Pokemon; for most of the year, you couldn't find anything sealed for trading cards in stores.

As for what caused the crash back down, there were a few factors. With everyone buying cards just to sell, the market became pretty saturated, causing prices to fall as they all tried to undercut each other. They also had the problem that the main target audience, the people that actually play and collect the game, when they saw the explosion in prices, just walked away from things for a while (or stuck to the trend of buying by the case rather than in stores and singles). The other big thing was that these people buying into the hype were buying the wrong things. They never really grasped the fact that all those rare $1,000+ cards weren't in the packs sitting on the pegs at Target, they were from the sets that came out 15-20 years ago. With the new sets, there would be typically 1 card worth over $100, 2-4 worth $30-50, then everything else sharply plummets sharply after that. So for the most part, the speculators were losing more than they won, and eventually they ran out of money and had to get out.

[sworddude]

The fast rise was not natural and fast it was bound to come down by a bit. Less hype with these high profile youtubers in more recent times. plus allot of people who just entered the market for the money not to collect it. Not to mention that the news mainly hyped it up for the money aspect it just became an investor pit.

There has also been allot of negative news about pokemon cards in the last years in wich stores have to increase security or even stop selling them cards because of quite a bit of theft thanks to the hype. Wich also could contribute to the decline

Brand New sealed pokemon product are still a nice investment for the short term though so still plenty of scalping left. Supply chain still not good enough to outpace the demand for the new stuff that is. Recent news about pokemon theft from stores still happening 

From what I understand, online personalities started opening up packs on video/streams, most likely to find some sort of content to utilize with nothing else to do, I don't know who started it, I know folks like Logan Paul were probably some of the top folks, and I think that's what set everything off.  So while everything was shut down, people started buying cards online and in store, creating a massive renewed interest in the cards and subsequent shortage.  I know me and my sister got a renewed interest after not owning cards for basically 20 years and it was heck of a time trying to build up a big collection of them for Christmas for us to open last year, but now it's pretty easy to find them.

I thought I remembered hearing about some 10-million+ subscribers youtube with mostly a younger audience starting it, but wasn't sure if there was any legitimacy to this claim. It makes perfect sense since though since Pokemon prices seemed to outpace all other hobbies that also saw a major bump due to being stuck at home and getting free money from the government. As for the sudden decline in prices last spring I suspect this is just due to the world returning somewhat to normal and many of the people that jumped on the 2020 Pokemon hype train losing interest over time.

That claim is correct though he's the reason why you could buy an average house with a charizard card lol. Only logan Paul was needed to start the wave I'd say the other youtubers where way less notable or could not have started this wave, someone who could mix with the regular folks and wasn't really into this hobby. Than it just waved in with the world and other youtubers.

Youtubers have always been opening cards some with millions of followers however it was just within the hobby so it never received mass appeal to people who don't care about pokemon, Logan Paul someone who doesn't care about the hobby, who usually just does dumb shit made it cool to people who didn't care about it.

And after Logan Paul the already popular pokemon card openers and the charizard king and other pokemon grading experts became more popular with this brand new crowd that wasn't from this hobby. and ye sure after logan paul made it big other big personalities did more with pokemon cards. but I do have my doubts it would have become that big small waves really. Logan Paul made it a money splurging event. other celebrities didn't do dumb shit with the pokemon cards like Logan paul did, just boring content in comparison with just opening packs.

[Cartagia]

I can't pinpoint why Pokémon—specifically the Pokémon TCG—saw sharp spikes in interest. That being said, Pokémon consistently is a popular franchise, although many have outgrown it. At some point, a certain number of people must have re-visited their love for it, as social media channels and celebrities quickly began investing time and money in it too by purchasing cards in bulk to collect and unbox which only made a growing interest that much bigger.[/font]

As far as I am aware, it wasn't just Pokemon, it was all Collectible/Trading Card games.  Magic: The Gathering saw a similar upswing, as did a couple of defunct games like Decipher's Star Wars and Star Trek.

[sworddude]

It wasn't just pokemon but the most crazy spike was most definitely for pokemon.

However the spike for the other TCG might just be covid, pokemon got allot of extra stuff to boost it's popularity

[raggerreadfish]

All trading card games went up but pokemon was the most drastic. I remember you could walk into a walmart or target and still see magic and yugioh on the shelves, but the pokemon section would be completely empty. My friend who was into the game had to figure out the day and time the restock person usually came, just to have the chance to buy regular pokemon tcg products at their normal retail price.

Most people blamed logan paul for this

[bikingjahuty]

The fast rise was not natural and fast it was bound to come down by a bit. Plus less hype with these high profile youtubers in more recent times. plus allot of people who just entered the market for the money not to collect it. Not to mention that the news mainly hyped it up for the money aspect it just became an investor pit.

There has also been allot of negative news about pokemon cards in the last years in wich stores have to increase security or even stop selling them cards because of quite a bit of theft thanks to the hype. Wich also could contribute to the decline

Brand New sealed pokemon product are still a nice investment for the short term though so still plenty of scalping left. Supply chain still not good enough to outpace the demand for the new stuff that is. Recent news about pokemon theft from stores still happening 

From what I understand, online personalities started opening up packs on video/streams, most likely to find some sort of content to utilize with nothing else to do, I don't know who started it, I know folks like Logan Paul were probably some of the top folks, and I think that's what set everything off.  So while everything was shut down, people started buying cards online and in store, creating a massive renewed interest in the cards and subsequent shortage.  I know me and my sister got a renewed interest after not owning cards for basically 20 years and it was heck of a time trying to build up a big collection of them for Christmas for us to open last year, but now it's pretty easy to find them.

I thought I remembered hearing about some 10-million+ subscribers youtube with mostly a younger audience starting it, but wasn't sure if there was any legitimacy to this claim. It makes perfect sense since though since Pokemon prices seemed to outpace all other hobbies that also saw a major bump due to being stuck at home and getting free money from the government. As for the sudden decline in prices last spring I suspect this is just due to the world returning somewhat to normal and many of the people that jumped on the 2020 Pokemon hype train losing interest over time.

That claim is correct though he's the reason why you could buy an average house with a charizard card lol. Only logan Paul was needed to start the wave I'd say the other youtubers where way less notable or could not have started this wave, someone who could mix with the regular folks and wasn't really into this hobby. Than it just waved in with the world and other youtubers.

Youtubers have always been opening cards some with millions of followers however it was just within the hobby so it never received mass appeal to people who don't care about pokemon, Logan Paul someone who doesn't care about the hobby, who usually just does dumb shit made it cool to people who didn't care about it.

And after Logan Paul the already popular pokemon card openers and the charizard king and other pokemon grading experts became more popular with this brand new crowd that wasn't from this hobby. and ye sure after logan paul made it big other big personalities did more with pokemon cards. but I do have my doubts it would have become that big small waves really. Logan Paul made it a money splurging event. other celebrities didn't do dumb shit with the pokemon cards like Logan paul did, just boring content in comparison with just opening packs.

i appreciate the lengthy explanation. To my understanding his audience is mostly pretty young (10 to 20 year olds) who either were too young to remember the Pokemon craze of the late 90s and early 2000s, or weren't even alive yet. It was the only thing that made sense to me since it was essentially introducing an entirely new market to Pokemon that had minimal interest in it prior. Everyone our age and older already had their Pokemon nostalgia fix over the past decade or so and it was way more staggered so nothing just spiked overnight like it did with millions of zoomers who only had a vague idea of what Pokemon was or had a sibling who played it back in the day. I'm just happy to see that the craze is mostly dead, or more accurately it's dying pretty quick. I doubt stuff will return to their pre-2020 prices, but hopefully those CIB Pokemon games that once were $100, and then were $300 in May of 2020, then now are $200, will at least return to $150 or lower. This is actually the main reason this whole topic ended up on my radar again; I realized I didn't have Gold Version which I could have sworn I did. Of course I remembered the massive price hike from last year and thought, "oh shit, how much is this going to cost me now?" To my surprise it wasn't as bad as it was over a year ago when I last looked at some of the prices. Again, I hope prices come down some more, but I figured I might as well start working on picking up some CIB Pokemon titles I'm still after.

[marvelvscapcom2]

Nintendo killed Pokemon with Pokemon Go and Let's Go Evee and whatever they do from here on out is basically them dancing on Pokemon's grave    The userbase has lost hope and rightfully so. I feel when they anno

I made a thread about let's go evvee, and I was honestly too nice on it and definitely held punches. Nintendo is allergic to difficulty options and I have no gain either fun factor wise or that pulse in the back of your neck energy from beating a boss that was a triumph to beat from beating a Lvl 13 Onix with a Lvl 3 oddish with one leech seed. A 5 yr old wouldn't garner fun from that, the game relied on gimmicks and was really painfully bad and way too easy. I gave the game to my cat and my cat came back begging to play super mario world.


As for pokemon go. I'm sure covid crippled this with half the world being forced or coherced to self quarantine and I am sure this doesn't help pokemon craze as my opinion of Pokemon go doesn't change he fact it was pokemons big break for years now

So between the two factors of covid making one of their biggest draws among parents and their kids go away but also their main platform games have simply been either rehashed noise, failed versions of old games or just gimmicky wrongness in cartridge form.


Of all franchises Nintendo has been messing with, I feel they let pokemon down the most. Theirs so much you can do with it. 

[pzeke]

[...] beating a Lvl 13 Onix with a Lvl 3 oddish with one leech seed [...]

Did you mean to say Bellsprout? Because Oddish isn't available in Let's Go, Eevee!.

[...] Nintendo is allergic to difficulty options [...]

Junichi Masuda has for the longest time been of the mindset that the games shouldn't be too demanding (i.e. difficult) or boring for kids, which has inevitably led to the dumbing down of the games over the years. I'm sure he means well, but that's an awful mentality to have, in all honesty; it's shallow and unfair, and a very condescending outlook on kids and their intelligence.

This franchise will always play it safe, no matter what; this is Nintendo's Call of Duty, their golden goose, and they know no matter what they churn out, the blind loyals will be all over it—just look at the sales of Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, 13+ million units sold for what's essentially a glorified port. I frankly believe the series lost momentum and stagnated for so long that it became devoid of any ambition, even direction, to the point most fans just grew complacent; this slow descent into mediocrity I think began with X and Y and was aggravated sorely with Sword and Shield. The fact Pokémon Battle Revolution, a game from 2006 for the Wii, has more personality and soul than their latest entry in the series prior to Legends: Arceus speaks volumes. Mind you, Legends: Arceus isn't without its faults, it seems like a step in the right direction, as they're trying to take the franchise into new territory, but it really could've benefited from staying in development for a bit longer, which hopefully won't be the same critique Scarlet and Violet get nine months from now. I know this is probably going to be a hot take, but GameFreak is just a couple of levels away from evolving into EA...I mean, look at Square-Enix.

Personally, as a fan, I would love no more than to see a Pokémon game aimed toward its mature audience, the ones that like me have been with it since the very beginning and would like to see a more adult-oriented take on the series...BUT, we all know that is and will always remain a chimera since that's never been Nintendo's primary demographic. I will always hold this series near and dear to my heart, but for a twenty-plus-year-old franchise, it's still rough around the edges.