As the world’s most profitable media franchise, Pokemon created many successful spinoff projects, including one of the world’s largest trading card games. Millions of fans worldwide build up their decks to challenge other players. At the same time, collecting them has become a hobby in its own right.
Recently, a group of prominent streamers broke the Guinness World Record for the longest unboxing live stream ever. Here is a breakdown of this latest record and how it shows the TCG’s worldwide reach.
A New Pokemon Card Record
According to Video Games Chronicle, a trio of Pokemon Trading Card Game collectors broke another Guinness World Record. They broke the record for the longest unboxing live stream at 24 hours. The day-long livestream was hosted by internet celebrities PokeGirlRach and Mayplaystv, two prominent fanbase members. Joe Merrick from Serebii, one of the largest Pokemon fan sites on the internet, also joined them.
Throughout the video, they opened 1,500 packs, totaling over 20,000 cards. The stream commemorated the release of the latest expansion pack, Scarlet and Violet: Surging Sparks. Furthermore, it was hosted with noble intentions, as the proceeds would be donated to various UK-based charities, including the massive children’s charity Barnardo’s.
The event was impressive enough that Peter Murphy, the marketing director of the Pokemon Company, praised it. For reference, Maker Studios held the previous record for 18 hours of unboxing Star Wars toys in 2015. This livestream was impressive, demonstrating many longtime fans’ sheer dedication to the game.
The Blockbuster TCG
The Pokemon Trading Card Game has existed for as long as the original video games that started the series. It translated the iconic creatures, their abilities, and several other elements into a card game that gave its unique spin to both. By 2024, the TCG earned Nintendo billions and spawned a massive competitive scene.
Beyond the trading card game, the saga has long since been the most profitable media franchise in human history. Apart from the dozens of bestselling games, Nintendo created a 1000+ episode anime, an entire cinematic universe, and thousands of pieces of merchandise. Given that the series created over a thousand iconic mascots, it’s no surprise that it earned the staying power it did, and the TCG is just one branch.
As for this latest expansion pack, Scarlet and Violet: Surging Sparks will focus on the Alola region while adding several new cards for Dragon-types, such as Alolan Exeggutor. Additionally, Surging Sparks was only the eleventh made for Scarlet and Violet alone, and the next expansion, Prismatic Expansions, is scheduled for January of next year.
Card Collecting
Outside of Pokemon, trading card games have become a global industry. Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Magic: The Gathering have become worldwide phenomena. Several have hosted tournaments with thousands of competitors while collectors bought some rare cards for millions of dollars and maintained libraries with tens of thousands of cards.
Furthermore, many other popular IPs have tried to create their own TCG spinoff, from World of Warcraft’s successful Hearthstone to the short-lived Elder Scrolls Legends. Because Nintendo began its game at the same time as the leading franchise and the advent of the TCG genre, it became one of the pillars of the entire genre.
Conclusion
The Pokemon Trading Card Game is one of the most impressive creations from Nintendo’s blockbuster franchise. Furthermore, it has inspired a devoted fanbase that is willing to do impressive feats such as this livestream. This event was a coming together of the influencers, community, and culture that the game created over its run. As stated above, what makes Pokemon such a successful franchise is how it managed to bridge gamers, anime fans, and card game collectors under one banner. Hopefully, more fans will be inspired to break other records.
