Pokemon Co. printed 10.2B TCG cards, buys printer

The Pokemon Company reported it printed about 10.2 billion Pokemon Trading Card Game cards in 2024, a total the company says represents 11.7% of all Pokemon cards produced to date. The figure covers global production over the 12-month period and was slightly lower than the company’s 2023 print total. The company did not provide a breakdown by set, region or retail channel.

The Pokemon Company has purchased Millennium Print Group, the manufacturer and packager that handled Pokemon TCG products for the North American market. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Manufacturing and packaging operations previously managed by Millennium in North America will now be owned by The Pokemon Company.

The company’s disclosure addressed resale activity around TCG products, noting widespread scalping and high secondary-market prices. The Pokemon Company is considering measures in Japan to limit purchases driven by resellers, including potential government ID checks at points of sale, but has not set a timeline or identified specific locations for any such measures.

The company did not provide projections for future print volumes or say whether the acquisition will change packaging or distribution strategies. The Pokemon Trading Card Game launched in the late 1990s; recent demand for certain sets and rare cards has increased secondary-market trading and led to occasional retail shortages, prompting the company to explore policies aimed at improving consumer access to new releases.