There’s no end in sight to the pandemonium surrounding the Pokémon trading card game, where a single boxed product can be resold for hundreds if not thousands of dollars. The hobby has proven so profitable that people line up outside stores days ahead of a new release. Trading card robberies are a weekly occurrence. For a family-friendly corporation like The Pokémon Company, this heightened state of affairs is horrible PR. To combat this dilemma, the makers of the Pokémon TCG are adopting increasingly strict measures meant to curb resale vultures.
Earlier this year, The Pokémon Company began requiring customers in Japan to provide government-issued ID before purchasing trading cards at official outlets. The system has not left Japan’s shores, but it also does not appear to be a temporary experiment.
More recently, The Pokémon Company announced that five pop-up shops in Japan would soon begin using facial recognition technology for customers of elementary-school age or older. The company states that facial recognition is meant to ensure customers cannot revisit stores or make additional purchases. If the system determines the customer is trying to bend the rules, “entry will be denied to that person based on the system’s judgment,” the announcement reads. The new system will be employed for the Japanese release of the Rayquaza-themed Storm Emeralda set that will be simultaneously released on Pokémon TCG Pocket.
Customers who refuse this type of surveillance will not be allowed to enter the stores at all. Trading card fans can leave the store and reenter by necessity — like, for example, to use the bathroom — but store employees must be informed first. Younger children will still be allowed into the store, but only under guardian supervision. The facial data will promptly be deleted “after a certain period of time.”
The Pokémon Company’s wider privacy policy states that the company can collect data that is not limited to facial recognition. That data includes photographs, audio recordings, digital media, email addresses, school names, occupations, workplaces, driver’s license numbers, passport numbers, residence‑registration numbers and more. This data is used for a number of reasons, from processing payments to developing market research. The collected information could theoretically be used in efforts against scalpers, but the policy does not explicitly state such a purpose.
Beyond ensuring a better customer experience, these efforts are being undertaken to maintain what the company calls “safety management.” In March, a Pokémon Center store was closed after an employee was killed onsite by an alleged stalker. That store, the Pokémon Center Mega Tokyo, will officially reopen in August, The Pokémon Company announced Monday.
There’s no indication that facial recognition or government ID requirements will be tested outside of Japan, but some fans may welcome such measures. Cards in the United States have become absurdly expensive, and — more importantly — their high value has sparked a wave of violent incidents.