It looks like fast food chain McDonald’s is teaming up with the Pokémon TCG once more, as earlier today, McDonald’s Japan’s X account has tweeted out four emojis: a plant stalk, a flame, water droplets, and a lightning bolt. If that’s not a reference to the three starter types plus Pikachu, then we’ve all been thoroughly bamboozled.
The company’s tweet appears to have met with apathy from followers, with many expressing worries about the card pack’s availability, and the likelihood of scalpers descending on the fast food chain. Last year, McDonalds Japan issued an apology and issued a limit of three Happy Meal sets per group after customers and fans complained about large lines, wasted food, and rampant online reselling.
McDonald’s x Pokémon promo sets are nothing new. The two companies have been teaming up for decades, and these sets have become an annual occurrence over the past 10 years. There are now more than enough McDonald’s cards out there to fill an entire binder, and most are still relatively inexpensive.
These promotions usually feature reprints of existing Pokémon cards, sometimes with a McDonald’s logo. Often they’re themed – for instance, last year’s promotional pack was all about dragon types. However, for the 25th anniversary, McDonald’s gave out cards featuring starter Pokémon and sporting the 25th anniversary logo. We wouldn’t be surprised if it followed the same template this year, on the 30th.
However, last year McDonald’s also had a special promo Pikachu. Available only in Japan, this card featured the electric yellow rodent about to snack on a McDonald’s burger. The strangeness and novelty of this card understandably drove a lot of the hype, though it’s not exactly become an expensive rare Pokémon card: its price has remained flat at about $25 since it launched last year.
It’ll be interesting to see if The Pokémon Company has a similar promo up its sleeve this time around, too. And of course, one of the things we’re still waiting to hear is if this Pokémon partnership will be exclusive to McDonalds Japan or if it’ll be coming to the US and other parts of the world too.
Source: Wargamer
