The Big 2026 Pokemon Bubble..... Relative to other trading card games Magic/Yu-Gi-Oh etc etc and Stock Market....

[The~Kid]

I don't know but does the Pokemon Market seem like a bubble.....


Especially as there are lower prints of Magic and when it comes to Yu-Gi-Oh those prices seem pretty reasonable and rational too given their higher prints.... But pretty much anything post WOTC from Pokemon doesn't make sense and even when you compare say vintage Magic to vintage WOTC Pokemon there are about 40 Gem Charizards for every Gem Black Lotus.....


More and more I see people "investing" in Pokemon...... And a lot invest heavily in post WOTC Pokemon..... But NVM that..... Its not smart IMO to "invest" in Pokemon short of WOTC era and Magic the Gathering is where it's at.


But possibly a bigger return may be in Yugioh as the prices are based on a competitive market and competitive play along with rarity vs arbitrary demand like Pokemon. And if you do have "investment" in Pokemon maybe it's safer to shift that to Magic/Yu-Gi-Oh as the Pokemon thing just seems like a major fraud and irrational IMO.



Better yet...... Maybe shift from Pokemon or card games to actual investment but short of that Magic ain't bad and probably better than the stock market over time as their prices are also based on competitive play and the rarity and prints of Magic the Gathering are lower and more rare than either Pokemon/Yu-Gi-Oh

Also I mean could this thing have a real effect on the economy in a negative way when it burst

 

[Mr. Chainsaw]

Pokemon's not going anywhere, it's the biggest franchise in the world at the moment. Passed Hello Kitty, Mickey Mouse, Star Wars, you name it in media it's blown by all of them. I prefer the WOTC stuff myself but I've liked some other select sets that have come out. I think the most recent gens of sets with the full artwork cards have been great from an asthetic sense. And some sets like the recent Team Rocket set will get the nostalgia FOMO. I think for newer sets people are going for short term investments,. not long term, unless they're popular Pokemon. At the end of the day, its Nintendo's money machine and it would take one hell of a PR meltdown or economic shift to even put a dent in all of it. That's going to keep the old stuff up too.

Yugioh's done a number of reprints over the years, and it's really just the sets related to the first few manga/anime arcs that are really worth big money, First Edition mostly at that too. This is all including grading, of course. I think the main difference there is I feel like Yugioh is meant more to be played than collected, as you mentioned for MTG, and for those that collect as I mentioned there are tons of reprints. I'm unfamiliar with where MTG is at as a whole but I'll take your word for whatever is happening there.

I know there were some other RT members on here in on buying TCG. I grabbed some older cards before the boom because I grew up with those older sets and I liked the artwork for what they were, not as investment. I read somewhere that people used to (and probably still do) invest in paintings, and that's what card investment has turned into on a cheaper but wider scale. People have a lot of money, and are drawn to novelty, and cards are a much more affordable for the most part than paintings. But it's attracted big name players into investment too, and scalpers...it's just a wreck for anyone else at this point. There was talk of opening more printing factories for US production next year, and that'll hopefully help with newer sets as far as availability goes. I've seen some stores also try to deter scalpers. Older sets I fear might be untouchable for a while for those who just like the cards and aren't looking to really invest.

Until people find something else to drop their money in, whether that be in another media franchise or other tangible investments, I don't see Pokemon popping if it has a bubble. I just hate that's it's turned into investment at all. That goes for scalping too.

 

[The~Kid]

And no to those who don't know WOTC is not the Word Trade Organization




It stands for Wizards of the Coast and the guys who made Magic the Gathering and printed those cards and still do and the original vintage Pokemon cards.

 

[The~Kid]

Pokemon's not going anywhere, it's the biggest franchise in the world at the moment. Passed Hello Kitty, Mickey Mouse, Star Wars, you name it in media it's blown by all of them. I prefer the WOTC stuff myself but I've liked some other select sets that have come out. I think the most recent gens of sets with the full artwork cards have been great from an asthetic sense. And some sets like the recent Team Rocket set will get the nostalgia FOMO. I think for newer sets people are going for short term investments,. not long term, unless they're popular Pokemon. At the end of the day, its Nintendo's money machine and it would take one hell of a PR meltdown or economic shift to even put a dent in all of it. That's going to keep the old stuff up too.

Yugioh's done a number of reprints over the years, and it's really just the sets related to the first few manga/anime arcs that are really worth big money, First Edition mostly at that too. This is all including grading, of course. I think the main difference there is I feel like Yugioh is meant more to be played than collected, as you mentioned for MTG, and for those that collect as I mentioned there are tons of reprints. I'm unfamiliar with where MTG is at as a whole but I'll take your word for whatever is happening there.

I know there were some other RT members on here in on buying TCG. I grabbed some older cards before the boom because I grew up with those older sets and I liked the artwork for what they were, not as investment. I read somewhere that people used to (and probably still do) invest in paintings, and that's what card investment has turned into on a cheaper but wider scale. People have a lot of money, and are drawn to novelty, and cards are a much more affordable for the most part than paintings. But it's attracted big name players into investment too, and scalpers...it's just a wreck for anyone else at this point. There was talk of opening more printing factories for US production next year, and that'll hopefully help with newer sets as far as availability goes. I've seen some stores also try to deter scalpers. Older sets I fear might be untouchable for a while for those who just like the cards and aren't looking to really invest.

Until people find something else to drop their money in, whether that be in another media franchise or other tangible investments, I don't see Pokemon popping if it has a bubble. I just hate that's it's turned into investment at all. That goes for scalping too.

Agree Pokemon ain't going anywhere but it does seem irrationally exuberant in regards to the prices right now.....

I mean Baseball cards seem more of a better "investment" but yeah I mean or Basketball, Hockey or Football and Soccer cards in that sense...... I mean it's cool and all but it's really gotten away from a kids game which it was intended to be to this whatever this is..... I'm not saying it's going anywhere of course like Disney or say Paramount but yeah.....


Its getting a bit crazy to say the least


Its pretty fascinating to see this stuff and kind of fun from a far. The Paul brother seems to have fun with this and it's cool from a collectors perspective. Its just Poke-Mania all over again and well how long could it and will it last.


I still say if you have current Pokemon money..... Magic the Gathering vintage just seems safer in the long run or hell even Baseball cards or other sports cards like Basketball/Football/Hockey etc etc or even Soccer IMO but what the hell do I know.


There are reprints for Magic but there also reprints of Pokemon. I mean short of the Pokemon Illustrator I don't think anything comes close to say something from an Alpha Deck or Beta like a Black Lotus MTG made. Also in just prints themselves there is way way less vintage Magic than Pokemon in general. Also Pokemon makes reprints of vintage and Magic the Gathering doesn't Reprint them all given their "Reserved List" of vintage cards not to be reprinted....... Pokemon has no such thing and any of their cards could be reprinted as they do now.


I really think the value stems from the vintage stuff and a lot of the post vintage or post WOTC in Pokemons case is just irrationally exuberant and a trap for those getting In.

 

[The~Kid]

@Mr. Chainsaw I like Magic tbh and the art there..... Pokemon is interesting and they sort of influence the others but some of the Yu-Gi-Oh stuff is amazing and they influence the card art world too especially the tournament cards.....


They really do a good job at making an amazing looking card.... I know Yu Gi Oh is like the poor man out of the three but it's just a fun game.


But I mean let's be real here if they had these at the Louvre.... Only vintage WOTC and Reserved List cards from Magic the Gathering would be allowed into those halls with the Mona Lisa

 

[Mr. Chainsaw]

@Mr. Chainsaw I like Magic tbh and the art there..... Pokemon is interesting and they sort of influence the others but some of the Yu-Gi-Oh stuff is amazing and they influence the card art world too especially the tournament cards.....


They really do a good job at making an amazing looking card.... I know Yu Gi Oh is like the poor man out of the three but it's just a fun game.


But I mean let's be real here if they had these at the Louvre.... Only MTG would be allowed into those halls with the Mona Lisa

Yea some of the Yugioh tournament stuff I've seen has great artwork for sure.

 

[The~Kid]

Yea some of the Yugioh tournament stuff I've seen has great artwork for sure.

Especially something vintage like a Raigeki or Dark Hole Tournament card.......or a Cyber Stein, Maxx C or Effect Vailor *_*