Pokémon card collecting has been untied for a long time. Envelopes sold out in minutes, queues that start days before a launch and resale prices that multiply by ten or twenty the original value of a product. The Pokémon Company has decided that the only way to stop speculators is through something that until now seemed reserved for airports or border control: using facial recognition systems.
What the company has announced. The Pokémon Company will implement a facial recognition system in its Pokémon Card Stores in Japan, the smaller establishments focused exclusively on the trading card game, which are distinct from Pokémon Centers.
According to collect According to the company’s own official website, the goal is to “provide a safe shopping environment for all customers, prevent crime and ensure compliance with entry and purchasing regulations.” The measure will debut with the Japanese launch of the Storm Emeralda set, dedicated to the Pokémon Rayquaza.
How it works in practice. Any customer ages elementary school and older must agree to have their face scanned in order to enter the store and receive a shift number. The system saves this facial record along with the number of visits of each person, so that if it detects that someone has entered more than once on the same day, or has tried to get several tickets, it denies access.
Preschool children are exempt from scanning, but cannot enter alone as they always have to be accompanied by an adult. As the company explained, if staff detect repeated attempts to enter, “our staff can speak to you individually” to warn you that you are breaking the rules.
Why do they go to this extreme? The problem is not new, but it has exploded in recent years. Scalpers buy boxes and envelopes in large quantities only to resell them later at much higher prices, leaving stores empty for the average fan in a matter of minutes.
Some Japanese stores had already tried other formulas before reaching the facial scanner, such as removing the protective plastic from sealed boxes at the time of purchase so that they cannot be resold as a new product, or even ask customers to respond to a questionnaire about Pokémon to show that they buy to collect and not to speculate, according to collect VGC. None of these measures have been sufficient.
It is not the only barrier they have put up. This is not the company’s first drastic measure. Earlier this year, The Pokémon Company in Japan began requiring identification with an official government document to purchase certain card products in its stores, according to they count from Polygon. And starting in August, according to collect PokéBeach, some purchases at Pokémon Center Online will also require official ID photo verification. Facial recognition therefore adds to an increasingly tight fence against resale.
There is something else behind it: security. Beyond business, the company also talks about “security management.” In March, an employee of the Pokémon Center Mega Tokyo store died on the premises at the hands of an alleged stalker, forcing the establishment to close, which will officially reopen in August, as confirmed by the company itself.
Outside its waters, in the United States, the increase in the value of cards has gone hand in hand with an increase in violent robberies. In the last year alone, there have been multiple store robberies, including an armed robbery in New York in which employees and customers were detained, or the case of a man in Florida arrested for stealing letters valued at $12,000 using a chainsaw, according to they shared from IGN.
What happens with that data. The Pokémon Company’s privacy policy contemplates the collection of a much wider range of data than merely facial data, whether photographs, audio recordings, email addresses, name of the educational center, occupation, place of work or numbers of official documents such as driver’s license or passport, according to they count from Polygon. The company ensures that the information collected in stores will be kept only as long as necessary and will be deleted afterwards, although it has not specified an exact period.
And if you don’t want your face scanned. There is no middle ground, since anyone who does not give their consent to facial recognition will not be able to enter the store or receive their shift ticket. Of course, if a customer needs to leave the premises during their visit, for example to go to the bathroom, they can re-enter as long as they notify the staff first.
And now what. At the moment, facial scanners are limited to Japan and there is no indication that it will spread to other countries in the short term. It is also not clear if it will reach the Pokémon Center, or will remain only in the Pokémon Card Store. Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa had already announced this month that the company would take “measures” in the face of shortages and resale, without giving many details. Now we know what he meant.
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