If you're familiar with Pokémon, you'll no doubt also know that, as well as being a cultural phenomenon for the past 30 years, it's also the most lucrative entertainment franchise in history, and a large proportion of its current revenue comes from Pokémon TCG cards. Although most of them are worth little more than the cardboard they're printed on, some have fetched hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of the game's history, and it's now more of a business venture for 'users' than a genuine card game.
The issue of speculation in Pokémon trading cards has become such a major problem that even the Japanese government is looking for ways to limit the bulk buying of cards by speculators, who are thereby manipulating market prices at will. The Pokémon Company has sought to pre-empt legislation and has already launched an 'anti-hoarding' system. According to reports from Nintendosoup, a facial recognition system linked to identity documents has been rolled out this week at five official Pokémon TCG shops.
Customers of primary school age or older must enter their access number into the system when collecting a numbered entry ticket for the shop, and staff will contact customers who attempt to enter the same shop multiple times. According to the statement on the official Pokémon TCG website, this measure is being taken to "provide a safe shopping environment for all customers, prevent crime and ensure compliance with the relevant entry and purchasing rules".
What do you think of this measure? Do you agree with limiting purchases at Pokémon card shops, or should they remain unrestricted as they have been until now?