News 'Snorlax GX Box' in December!

Yeah! Of course we'll get those Promos in a $20 box with 4 packs! Why wouldn't we get these Promos that way? Why on earth would we get these promotional cards through other means in order to promote the TCG?

Although it's neat to hear about one of our first Sun and Moon TCG products, as a collector, I'm just tired of seeing Promo after Promo being thrown into $20+ boxes. And more often than not, in those 4 packs, I don't pull anything good; not an EX, not a holo, sometimes not even a useful Trainer. So I just paid $20 for the Promo. Wonderful. TPCi's marketing for products really comes off of as "Hey! You want these Promos that were given away for free or for very little money in Japan, right? That'll be $20. More money, please."

We surely couldn't receive promos like Japan! Giving the Snorlax GX as a preorder bonus for Sun and Moon is a great idea! Maybe if that was done outside of Japan, just maybe it could pique some peoples' interest in the TCG. Though I'm sure seeing cards given in other products, like food, could be a licensing issue or something, but how neat is it that the Snorlax Promo was included with some bread? Awesome! For only 120 yen ($1.18), I have a Promo card AND delicious bread!

Why aren't Black Star Promos given out at leagues? You would think that would be the perfect place to give those to players. The last time I recall that happening was N at the end of the BW era; and before that, I honestly don't know. And the only time in recent memory that a Black Star Promo was given out as a promotional item was the shiny Magikarp at Target. It was a silly card, but it was awesome that it happened, and I even bought a bunch of TCG products because they were having a sale on them for Pokemon Day!

I have no problem with buying TCG products, but as it is, this constant barrage of $20 products has left a sour taste in my mouth, and I've stopped buying them as frequently as I have in the past. (In fact, I only bought a Volcanion tin recently, as opposed to all three tins that just came out.) I know I can buy the Promo online for far less than $20, and I won't deal with the disappointment of not pulling something decent from the packs.

Rant over, I guess... I just wish we could receive Promos in ways other than what has become the standard, obligatory $20 "collection".
 
I still don't like the GX mechanic, but it seems like I'm gonna have to deal with it. By not collecting any TCG cards anymore.

Anyways, the product seems okay. It's got at least a normal sized Snorlax GX and it won't just tease you with the jumbo. I might pick this up to see how much I really like the GXs. Final judgement won't come until I see if they're textured.
 
(Financial Analysis of Boxes/Tins)

I know its off topic but good to know for people looking at these posts.

100% true to some, but its the way Pokemon does marketing. When it comes to marketing to the kid audience, (12 and under), its a good idea. Kids think that Prom0+Figure/other thing + 4 packs = 20$ Packs at 4 dollars a piece (what they cost me) is $16. And when you count the rest of the box for 4$, it seems like a good deal. I mean, for a tin it might as well be you getting 5 packs. My tins are 20$ and have one EX and 4 packs. Its a better deal than packs, because it could mean getting the card you spent weeks looking for by emptying your pockets on booster packs. You think that tins are such a good deal, but online you can get the EX for less than 5 and the singles only in packs for less. In tins you pull on average 1 Holo and a EX in half of them.

It literally costs Pokemon cents to make a pack, but they know they can charge them $4 a piece, since no other company makes can make Pokemon things. Its all about supply in demand. Since they own the rights to the products, no company can make them, so if you want Pokemon things, your money always goes to Pokemon one way or the other.

Pokémon can charge $20 for a box/tin. With a expensive of a few cents their profit in 19$+.
If you want Snolax GX, buy it online for a few dollars once the initial hype goes down and the Sun and Moon set hits shelves. With the remaining $15 you would of spent, you could buy the card(s) you needed since the packs have a very low chance of having them.
 
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Dalton said:
(Financial Analysis of Boxes/Tins)

I know its off topic but good to know for people looking at these posts.

100% true to some, but its the way Pokemon does marketing. When it comes to marketing to the kid audience, (12 and under), its a good idea. Kids think that Prom0+Figure/other thing + 4 packs = 20$ Packs at 4 dollars a piece (what they cost me) is $16. And when you count the rest of the box for 4$, it seems like a good deal. I mean, for a tin it might as well be you getting 5 packs. My tins are 20$ and have one EX and 4 packs. Its a better deal than packs, because it could mean getting the card you spent weeks looking for by emptying your pockets on booster packs. You think that tins are such a good deal, but online you can get the EX for less than 5 and the singles only in packs for less. In tins you pull on average 1 Holo and a EX in half of them.

It literally costs Pokemon cents to make a pack, but they know they can charge them $4 a piece, since no other company makes can make Pokemon things. Its all about supply in demand. Since they own the rights to the products, no company can make them, so if you want Pokemon things, your money always goes to Pokemon one way or the other.

Pokémon can charge $20 for a box/tin. With a expensive of a few cents their profit in 19$+.
If the want Snolax GX, buy it online for a few dollars once the initial hype goes down and the Sun and Moon set hits shelves. With the remaining $15 you would of spent, you could buy the card(s) you needed since the packs have a very low chance of having them.
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I get it that if it's included with a figure, then the $20 would make somewhat sense, but I find the pricing on the cards to be BS.
 
@Skeleton Liar: Your post is too long to do a quote reply too :).

I agree that we shouldn't always have to get promos through collections that cost 20 dollars or more. I mean consider the 50+ on some of these boutique products with the same results. But there is no perfect way to do it.

1) Pre order bonus with game is a good idea, except for the people who might not care for the cards but love the games, or people who play the cards but not the game. Yeah I know those kinds of people are few and far between but they do exist. A good example would be the Yugioh Dark Duelist Stories game released quite a few years back. It came with three promos which I would have liked but I didn't care for the game. How was that fair to make me spend the money for a game I didn't want or not get the promos? These days to pick up those cards can be fairly expensive.

2) You stated the likely problem yourself; licensing issues. No matter how you look at it Pokémon is nothing here compared to Japan, and aside from some cereals and Macaroni and Cheese I can't think of many more products that have featured Pokémon, especially recently and they're not going to just throw a random Pokémon card into our loaves of Wonder bread internationally.

3) Giving promos at leagues or other places, now here I have an objection. Simply put not everyone can make it to a league or an event, assuming there are even any close to them. Until we moved earlier in the year, I hadn't been able to make a Pokémon league in well over a decade and sometimes still can't because I have to work on those days. Should I miss out on those promos because I can't make it to a league or should I shell out money for that same promo even if it's the best thing I get in the product?

The best solution then really is to buy them separately if wanting nothing more than the promo card(s). That's what I'll eventually be doing with the tin Volcanion and Magearna (I caved on the Pikachu tin, why? Just look at my name and picture) and that's what I tend to do with a lot of cards after special things like blister packs and ETB's, what I still need after that I buy separately.

I'm just saying that none of the solutions, including TCPi's 20 dollar + boxes are perfect. But something that can be sent out and placed at almost any store is the closest thing around to a universal solution. And yes I know my response was about as lengthy, that's why I didn't quote it :)
 
Dalton said:
(Financial Analysis of Boxes/Tins)
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I feel that tins are different from collections, in a sense. With tins, they're typically reprints of EX's that are already in a set with alternate art and they're Black Star Promos specifically made for these tins. Also typically, they tend to be pretty decent EX reprints. (Take Volcanion EX for instance. That's a pretty good card to get on top of 4 packs.) So there can be some value in tins. These collections, on the other hand, are a mixed bag. More often than not, the Promos have been of cards that aren't exactly playable, so there's not much value to the Promo competitively. So since players might not want to buy the product just for the Promo, who does that leave? Kids, those who might like the Pokemon on the Promo, and collectors.

As a collector, personally, it's become an annoyance seeing so many Promos come out in "collections" that are $20 or more, especially when my luck with pulling anything decent from the packs has been abysmal. $20 here and there is fine, but if you're collecting the Promos and these "collections" come out frequently, that becomes hard to keep up with, and buying the singles online becomes a better solution. (And those Mega EX Promos? I really wanted Diancie EX & M Diancie EX and Absol EX & M Absol EX, but wow--$40? And they're not too playable? I don't care how many packs were included; I'm not paying that.)

The thing is, it's irksome seeing the plethora of "collections" for $20+, especially if you see how those same Promos are handled in Japan. In Japan, it definitely seems more like they have their customers and fans in mind when they give you a Promo for buying a certain amount of products or for just showing up somewhere, or even just buying inexpensive products. Whereas with TPCi, it comes off as throwing a random Promo into box with 4 packs, calling it a "collection" and charging $20 or more because they can.

I'm certainly not trying to argue or anything. :p This has just been bugging me for the past year or so, especially after seeing those Charizard, Dragonite, etc. "collections" and now Snorlax GX (which I think giving it as a preorder bonus for Sun and Moon is a great idea) being tossed into yet another $20 "collection".
Pikachu6319 said:
Your post is too long to do a quote reply too :).
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Oops. I guess I ranted a bit too much. Ha ha. :p (As I did again in this entire post...)

Personally, I think having a card as a preorder bonus is a great idea. I definitely see your point, though. My thoughts are that it could open some people up to the TCG. Maybe someone who hasn't seen the cards since Gen 1 gets this and is like, "What is this craziness? This is awesome!" And they look into the TCG. Or maybe a kid gets this card and is introduced to the TCG. But of course, like you said, there will be those who will be like, "What is this craziness? MEH." There could be tons of people like that, and they just sell it on eBay or something; it might become fairly common with the amount of games that are undoubtedly going to sell. (Or maybe not, with your example. Ha ha.) I don't think this should be done with every Pokemon game, but Sun and Moon seemed (to me) like a really good opportunity to promote the TCG.

Yeah, that's why I had to assume there could be licensing issues outside of Japan (possibly other issues). Not a great solution, but I had to mention that little things like that in Japan are neat. And I didn't mean Promos given at league are THE solution. (I hope it didn't sound like that.) I just can't help but notice there aren't ANY Black Star Promos given at leagues. And really, aside from that Magikarp, there aren't any Promos being given out in order to promote the TCG. And that's what I was trying to get at. It would be nice to see the TCG continue to grow, and maybe some free promos here and there could help.

And I agree. None of the solutions are perfect. But $20 box after $20 box has become tiring and expensive, including those $30 to $50+ boxes too. Buying singles has become the best way to keep up with them, and that's kind of a shame. One thing I didn't mention, though, is cheaper products with Promos included. We have those single and three pack blisters; I buy those. Why can't we get more like those? Is it because some Promos are EX's and we need a comically over-sized box to show off how much more special-er it is than other Promos and thus justifying the $20 price tag? :rolleyes:
 
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Between the card frame, the HP creep and the GX attacks, I can't see myself collecting any TCG cards from the upcoming generation :/
Much less play standard
 
Darn it, I was hoping we would also get this as a preorder bonus. Oh well, to eBay I go for singles.
 
Skeleton Liar said:
Oops. I guess I ranted a bit too much. Ha ha. :p (As I did again in this entire post...)

Personally, I think having a card as a preorder bonus is a great idea. I definitely see your point, though. My thoughts are that it could open some people up to the TCG. Maybe someone who hasn't seen the cards since Gen 1 gets this and is like, "What is this craziness? This is awesome!" And they look into the TCG. Or maybe a kid gets this card and is introduced to the TCG. But of course, like you said, there will be those who will be like, "What is this craziness? MEH." There could be tons of people like that, and they just sell it on eBay or something; it might become fairly common with the amount of games that are undoubtedly going to sell. (Or maybe not, with your example. Ha ha.) I don't think this should be done with every Pokemon game, but Sun and Moon seemed (to me) like a really good opportunity to promote the TCG.

Yeah, that's why I had to assume there could be licensing issues outside of Japan (possibly other issues). Not a great solution, but I had to mention that little things like that in Japan are neat. And I didn't mean Promos given at league are THE solution. (I hope it didn't sound like that.) I just can't help but notice there aren't ANY Black Star Promos given at leagues. And really, aside from that Magikarp, there aren't any Promos being given out in order to promote the TCG. And that's what I was trying to get at. It would be nice to see the TCG continue to grow, and maybe some free promos here and there could help.

And I agree. None of the solutions are perfect. But $20 box after $20 box has become tiring and expensive, including those $30 to $50+ boxes too. Buying singles has become the best way to keep up with them, and that's kind of a shame. One thing I didn't mention, though, is cheaper products with Promos included. We have those single and three pack blisters; I buy those. Why can't we get more like those? Is it because some Promos are EX's and we need a comically over-sized box to show off how much more special-er it is than other Promos and thus justifying the $20 price tag? :rolleyes:
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At least long rants inspires conversation, which is good as long as it's civil like we're having right now. I would love to see card pre orders for prime games honestly. Maybe not Snorlax, but some card would be nice. It's true that it might open up people to other aspects or maybe not, it's a double edged sword. Truthfully they should test that out at least once to see if there is any sort of impact or not, it might be worth it in the long run.

Way back when Wizards had Pokémon I did attend leagues regularly and it was nice to get the black star promos. If there was a good way to do it where everyone could get their hands on a league promo I'd be all for it. We need Toys R Us to bring back Thursday afternoon leagues :) They should offer some of those at leagues for those who can go and then do the products for those who can't.

Maybe what we need are less promos/products. I mean how many promos are simply alternate arts of cards that we already have? I mean if they reprinted Shaymin EX now it would be in rotation for another year (good or bad is not relevant here) but reprinting Volcanion EX in the last tin wave doesn't do anything except make it maybe a little more accessible. It doesn't extend its use. And those new EX boxes coming up are basically useless except for possibly Gengar EX thanks to the shiny mega being released soon. We already have enough Charizard EX's and Mewtwo EX's while reprinting Kangashkhan EX and Dragonite EX is just kind of pointless.

I can't disagree about the numerous 20+ dollar products. Those really drain after a while, especially if you end up needing more than one copy of the card. I mean the pins, figures and jumbos are nice and I have taken to collecting those where able but they're hardly needed. I think in some ways a return to some simple pack blisters is a good idea.
 
There has been a decade long gap since I checked out the TCG so I could be wrong here, but this is one of the first times we have gotten a "Sleep Talk" like attack in the card game isn't it? If so that is really neat. It makes me wonder if this opens the door to similar options happening to future cards, like a variant of Poison Heal or Facade based on Special conditions.
 
fawfulmark2 said:
There has been a decade long gap since I checked out the TCG so I could be wrong here, but this is one of the first times we have gotten a "Sleep Talk" like attack in the card game isn't it? If so that is really neat. It makes me wonder if this opens the door to similar options happening to future cards, like a variant of Poison Heal or Facade based on Special conditions.
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Nope Snorlax in FCO had, but it could still be used if you're awake just less damage
 
I like the idea of an attack u can only use once per game thats sick, different, cool, fun, whatever (like hippowdon's sand reset, i always thought that was cool ) but i dont like it being called a "GX" attack, like what does GX even mean? GIGA X-PLOSION?!!? Generic exercise?
 
Pikachu6319 said:
At least long rants inspires conversation, which is good as long as it's civil like we're having right now. I would love to see card pre orders for prime games honestly. Maybe not Snorlax, but some card would be nice. It's true that it might open up people to other aspects or maybe not, it's a double edged sword. Truthfully they should test that out at least once to see if there is any sort of impact or not, it might be worth it in the long run.

Way back when Wizards had Pokémon I did attend leagues regularly and it was nice to get the black star promos. If there was a good way to do it where everyone could get their hands on a league promo I'd be all for it. We need Toys R Us to bring back Thursday afternoon leagues :) They should offer some of those at leagues for those who can go and then do the products for those who can't.

Maybe what we need are less promos/products. I mean how many promos are simply alternate arts of cards that we already have? I mean if they reprinted Shaymin EX now it would be in rotation for another year (good or bad is not relevant here) but reprinting Volcanion EX in the last tin wave doesn't do anything except make it maybe a little more accessible. It doesn't extend its use. And those new EX boxes coming up are basically useless except for possibly Gengar EX thanks to the shiny mega being released soon. We already have enough Charizard EX's and Mewtwo EX's while reprinting Kangashkhan EX and Dragonite EX is just kind of pointless.

I can't disagree about the numerous 20+ dollar products. Those really drain after a while, especially if you end up needing more than one copy of the card. I mean the pins, figures and jumbos are nice and I have taken to collecting those where able but they're hardly needed. I think in some ways a return to some simple pack blisters is a good idea.
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I totally agree! :) (Actually, with pretty much everything you said. Ha ha.) And yeah, I saw this as a missed opportunity to find out if a decent ultra-rare-type Promo as a preorder bonus for the games could pique some interest in the TCG. With Pokemon Go getting people interested in Pokemon again and with how hyped people are making Sun and Moon, Pokemon is probably at the most popular it's been since it first came out, and a lot of people are getting these games. Why not take that opportunity to test the waters and see if there's some sort of impact?

I never played at the Toys R Us leagues. Honestly didn't know they existed for a long time. I was mostly just a collector; I didn't start playing the TCG until the end of Platinum and the beginning of HGSS. But bringing that back could certainly get a lot of kids interested in the TCG, or maybe it could even be an alternative for those who don't have leagues close to them.

Yeah, we definitely need less products, especially at a constant $20+. TPCi could also just include Japanese promos in with sets a little more often. That's one thing that I do often times like about TPCi's sets. (Best examples that I can think of with including Japanese promos in a set are Espeon, Umbreon, and Raichu Prime. My goodness, those were insanely expensive and rare in Japan. Meanwhile, they were fairly common in English.) Sometimes I do like the reprint EX tins; it depends on what it is, though. Volcanion actually being one that I like. :p And yeah, it's just to make them a little more accessible. That seems okay to me. But they can certainly be cut back. I mean, did we really need the Gyarados and Machamp EX tins? (A Shaymin EX tin would certainly be interesting, but part of me feels like it will unfortunately never happen.) And ugh... those EX boxes... I can see the point of Gengar because of the shiny M Gengar. (But then again, why not just include it in the collection with the shiny M Gengar?) And if these reprints are Black Star Promos, making them legal in standard again, I think Dragonite + Ninja Boy is amusing. (Though I hope they aren't Black Star Promos. That way, I can completely ignore them.) The other three are completely pointless, though. Too many products...
 
This wouldn't be as bad of an issue with the box if we didn't already have another FIVE boxes like this coming out in the upcoming two months. It's one thing when they're spaced out like the Starter Trio and Pikachu Generation Boxes or the Trio of Tins every four months or so but there is going to be so much product crammed out these last months it's going to overfill shelves. The quantity of TCG products coming out the last part of this year is pretty nuts.

I'm OK with this products under normal circumstances but they are just throwing everything they can on 20th anniversary hype.

On the topic of promos in other products I'm a little sketchy on it IF it's exclusive to it. There's a chance that if it's a REALLY amazing card and there's a limited run that might be really constraining and get to levels of crazy Bison Dollars to get copies of it. I'm amazed with the talk about the YuGiOh Promos no one's mentioned that HARPIES FEATHER DUSTER was one of those game promos. Another Terrible example is Mana Crypt for Magic being a powerful acceleration card being a limited print for a book. That card demands bonkers amount of cash for it due to that.

The Snorlax Box wouldn't be as bad as at least unlike previous years you actually get a playable copy of it showing a 'new' mechanice but as I said I can count the reasons on my hand it looks worse this year.
 
Spring Sun Warrior said:
I like the idea of an attack u can only use once per game thats sick, different, cool, fun, whatever (like hippowdon's sand reset, i always thought that was cool ) but i dont like it being called a "GX" attack, like what does GX even mean? GIGA X-PLOSION?!!? Generic exercise?
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Gas-X. :p
 
Spring Sun Warrior said:
I like the idea of an attack u can only use once per game thats sick, different, cool, fun, whatever (like hippowdon's sand reset, i always thought that was cool ) but i dont like it being called a "GX" attack, like what does GX even mean? GIGA X-PLOSION?!!? Generic exercise?
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Gandalf Xylophone?
 
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