(1) Third Pokemon TFG Set Preview and Groundbreakers Release

Water Pokémon Master

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http://pokebeach.com/news/0408/third-pokemon-trading-figure-game-set-preview-groundbreakers-release
 
Glad to see they are still keeping it going. I haven't heard anything about it lately, and I don't see the figures very often in Wal-Mart, but when I do, I still see Grounbreakers starter sets. :) Hopefully the figures won't be so easy to break, but in the photo they look like they're made of the same materials.

~DogMaster40
 
The figures look awesome. I've got to see if one of those stores that have sold them early have that Gyarados. :eek: I hate it when they don't support some of their merchandise. Maybe that will change in the future. I also hate delays. >;[

dmaster out.
 
Gyarados is in the 3rd TFG set that will be released in 2009. It's not in stores yet.
 
Finally a official release... -_-

Aw well im glad there still doing this! Hope to see more news! Cant wait to get some new set BP soon!
 
...that game isn't even worth getting into yet.... (I'll probably play it when it finally gains some popularity :))
 
The Trading Figure game itself is somewhat mundane compared to the card game, but the figures are so beautiful! The sculptors who made the originals are indeed skilled. Kaiyodo is the company that makes them, I think, and they never fail to please with their various figurines.

I don't play the Figure Game myself, but I'm definitely all about collecting my favorites. I love collecting things like this.
 
i was going to get into this in the fourth set but the third set looks pretty cool so i can start early :)

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happy American dp anniversary!
 
It always annoyed me that the figures are released so far apart form each other.

However, combined with how the TFG now counts toward Pokémon League points, I get the feeling that Nintendo and Pokémon USA wants this to become popular but that it isn't quite catching on or has unstable sales. They want to test the waters first, to see if people outside of Japan will buy the figures enough for them to be profitable.

After all, sometimes, I had to go to out-of-the-way, almost hidden stores to find them, and sometimes, they're annoyingly abundant.
 
They are only do 1 set a year? I did not know that. I thought they released the sets at about the same time as the TCG. I hope they start the TFG at tournaments. It will bring a lager crowd and it will give players a great reason to come.:)
 
Hey, I saw this thread and thought I'd pop in since I have first hand information to help you out.

I've been talking with the Pokemon USA guys on and off about TFG since Next Quest was released in Europe, Austalia, and Japan long before it hit the US.

My main contact over at with the TFG side of things is Maki Ichikawa who seems to be the person spearheading the TFG aspects here in the US.

Way back on March 2nd, 2007 I asked Maki if there is anything I could do to help get the tourney scene with the TFG launched stateside, as I'd been involved with the Eurasia-Oceanic launch. The response Maki said way back that they were unsure if they were going to do an organized play program for the TFG, and if they do it will be laid out exactly like the OP for the card game.

Originally the game was supposed to be quarterly but there are a number of reasons for delays ranging from poor marketing strategies to getting places to carry the game. Mini games like heroclix and D&D minis tend to sell poorly outside of the RPG store market, but Pokemon TFG has been aimed at places like Target and Wal-Mart. Which explains the slow nature of the game being adapted by Minis fans. It's also very different from the usual mini play which makes it a bit of a paradigm shift for long time mini gamers.

Hopefully that answers some of your questions.
 
Hmm, it is a weird game... more like a collectable board game as opposed to the usual stratagy minis games. It is fun though and there is skill to it, but the luck aspect is there just like the TCG, instead of drawing random cards, you spin the figure.
Anyway, nice to here it will continue... I spent rather alot on it, then had no one to play with. Also, isn't weird how there's no 4th generation Pokemon out in the sets so far, except the starter promos, but they never even came out over here.
Last thing, I want them to release that Japanese Banette model... they have a different TFG there, and some figures were redone for the TFG we know... but the Banette is sooooo cool (Please be in TFG3!!!)
 
Well glad to see there are more coming out, i was never a big fan but hopefully they will jumpstart and become more popular. The tournament scene would certianly be interesting
 
Why waste money on something thats doing terribly? I mean, one set a year! At least they made Salamence.:) Still, nobody plays it! Why bother buying an expensive game that nobody plays.
 
Water Pokémon Master said:
Gyarados is in the 3rd TFG set that will be released in 2009. It's not in stores yet.

Oh yeah. I forgot that screenshot was for the 3rd set, not the 2nd.

*facepalm*

Curse you TFG!! :[

dmaster out.
 
Lance and Salamence said:
Why waste money on something thats doing terribly? I mean, one set a year! At least they made Salamence.:) Still, nobody plays it! Why bother buying an expensive game that nobody plays.

The artwork. That's why I originally bought it. I wanted to get some neat little figurines of Pokémon that's commonly available (and thus wouldn't be too expensive). I never had any intentions of playing it at all until my sister got curious and became so interested she bought her own figures. But anyway, I like how the models are dynamic and detailed, a far cry from the toys and action figures made for it. I mean...I compared Pikachu in the TFG to Pikachu as an aciton figure, and the difference in the amount of care is staggering, despite the figures being many times smaller.

If you don't support it, it will definitely fail, and I'd have to import them from elsewhere. Looks like I was right in the Americans being slow to accept this though. Stuff like HeroClix and TimeScape are sold at department stores like Target and toy stores like Toys R Us, however, so they seem to work well enough to get mainstream presence, but they've have eroded away the possible base of players for the Pokémon TFG.

Around Christmas, when I decided to buy some figures to use as decoration, I had an incredibly hard time finding them. They were sold out almost everywhere. The only places I could consistently find them was this one Target that was in the middle of a neighborhood; you couldn't know that Target was there unless you live near there or stumbled across it by accident. Now, the figures are everywhere. I could go into any Target, Toys R Us, or Kay•Bee Toys and find the figures. (But NOT every Wal•Mart; I have a hard time even finding the TCG at Wal•Mart.)
 
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