The Pokémon Company will use the My Number Card, Japan’s national identification card, to verify the identity of participants in the Pokémon TCG 30th anniversary merchandise giveaway. The announcement was made on June 8 and marks the first practical application of the measure in the official Pokémon Center Online store. The items are scheduled to be released on September 16th.
The initiative seeks to reduce the action of resellers who buy in large volumes to make a profit later. Those who complete the verification will have priority in distributing the majority of winning tickets. It will still be possible to register without the procedure, but the chances of winning will be lower. The company emphasizes that verification does not guarantee victory.
Among the highlights of the collection is the “FUTURISTIC 30 YEARS CELEBRATION BOX”, sold for 27,500 yen. In total, there are four commemorative items. Pokémon and Pocket Monsters are registered trademarks of Nintendo, Creatures and GAME FREAK.
The company had already signaled its intention on May 21. The TCG 30th anniversary lottery will be the initial test of authentication. Details on the implementation date, exact method and age rules will be released in July or later.
The process uses an external service that reads the My Number Card IC chip via smartphone to authenticate the Players Club account. The electronic user authentication certificate and the data entry assistance function such as name are used. The Pokémon Company guarantees that it does not collect or store participants’ My Number.