I think a better way to approach this topic is: does there have to be a next?
There wasn’t a “next” collectible for a long time, it was mainly just sports. I know there are older non-sports sets like star wars, garbage pail kids, but they pail in comparison to modern non-sports (Pokemon, MTG).
Also Pokemon is very popular with the current generation of kids. We all started as kids peripherally buying packs. Therefore the cycle of a Pokemon collector is still in motion from top to bottom.
Pokemon has entered uncharted territory. No other modern hobby has bridged as many generations. Something that is unprecedented is very difficult to replicate. There are plenty of examples of other TCG’s with the same lifespan that don’t hold a candle to Pokemon. I can’t see another hobby growing as quickly and successfully as Pokemon, and that is fine. The current kids enjoy the current generation, the older generation prefers the older generation. This is identical to sports, but more importantly, is the sign of a main stage collectible.
No, there may never be another collectible to match the size and or longevity of Pokemon, but there will be items that turn into collectibles. Why? Because people will connect to things in their youth and, after all, we are inheritantly blessed with the collectors gene.
Pokemon truly was and is the “next”, coming from baseball cards. I think there will be an equivalent to Pokemon in the future, though. There are more people born every day who will buy into the “next” Pokemon.
I really think that PSA is Pokemon’s greatest ally right now, and vice versa, so it’s great to hear the CEO speak so welcoming and open about the combo. I appreciate that coming from him.
What’s been stated is on point… the interests of the youngest generation have been highly digital. It’s human nature to collect so there will always be collectibles, but I think we have yet to see what form the next tangible collectibles will emerge. I do think at some point there will be a resurgence of the tangibles collectibles in the coming generations, because there isn’t the same emotional investment in intangibles when compared with tangibles. By extension I think that many kids these days have an increasingly unhealthy fixation with digital products. There may come a time when we see those interests change.
I grew up collecting baseball cards, coins, stamps, tokens, etc. Then came along Pokemon. Tangible (paper) collectibles are here to stay… there just needs to be the right set of circumstances to fall into place for another Pokemon to occur. I just don’t think we’ve seen it yet. But there is still plenty of money to be made in tangibles.
Every release date, at midnight, one of my sons makes me go online and buy buy buy. He has a huge collection and I don’t think he’s ever paid me back for my buys lol.
I really do see incredible potential for pokemon in the future, and it’s kind of crazy.
They’ve done a great job by allowing their shows and movies on Netflix. Especially considering Nintendo likes to keep their product to themselves.
I do think Pokemon needs to think of something else fast though. Tv shows and video games were nice in the 90’s to captivate us, but these are not sustainable with this new gen.
As for new collectables anyone here use Quidd? If you don’t know about it check it out.
The classification used by this app is amazing. For long term it’s a real toss up. The people who run it are extremely inconsistent.
Pokemon is not a collectable on the app but it should be. It would completely change the game on that app. The only problem is the consistency from the devs.
Great topic to discuss and great points on PSA being in a symbiotic relationship with Pokemon.
The problem with the anime is that it was moved to Disney XD last year which is included in way less cable bundles than Cartoon Network is. I believe it gets around 200,000 on average for ratings which is actually a lot better than the other DXD shows like Yokai Watch and Beyblade get, but still. On Cartoon Network it was more likely to break 1 million back in the day. Less exposure on television while the first 19 seasons are all on-demand or through the Disney app, much like Netflix.
The video games are still selling like hotcakes and all 3 main series non-sequel games are in the top 4 best selling 3DS games of all time, only being beaten by Mario Kart. I personally feel like they are getting very stale and desperately need to be switched up when the next main series Switch game releases in the near future. Maybe it is because I’m getting older but I didn’t enjoy the Gen 3 remakes like I was hoping to, Sun & Moon were letdowns with how they were advertised and then Ultra Moon & Ultra Sun added about 30 minutes of new content which really pissed me off, wish I didn’t buy them.
To add to my previous comment, I forgot about amiibos and Pokémon go as well as the aforementioned code cards… Now that I think about it, Nintendo are really doing a good job at attempting to blend physical and digital, both in gaming and collections.
It just needs to be taken to the next step and make the perfect blend. Like rare cards that allow you to show off digitally in the same vein as owning the town’s Pokémon gyms on Pokémon go. That’s just off the top of my head, but I guarantee Nintendo have teams of people in think tanks trying to come up with the next one.
As for the current state of collectibles - I think as card shops close down, and the increase in internet purchases, collections are very much more ‘private’ than they were when we were kids. We used to to go to the card shops and open the packs in front of our friends, and make trades. I can guarantee that the vast majority of the strongest memories you guys will have from school are the social interactions. The time you traded this or that card. The exact brand of that football that Johnny brought in and was a legend for it. That special cricket bat (Kookaburra at my school). Those intrinsic memories of social interaction mixed with physical items is the perfect combination for nostalgia and collecting. I can’t imagine kids take their cards into school and trade them on the playground anymore? Kids in the West are pushed to be ‘cool’ from a much earlier age now, and not to act their own age. I might be way off on that comment, just a thought.
Can collections be digital? Apps come and go. Hardware will change and things will no longer be supported. Many people collect physical games from their childhood, Gameboy and N64, but even more emulate them on their computers. That’s for old games.
Modern games are downloaded just as much as they are bought in shops. I don’t know the stats for this, but I imagine downloads far surpass physical copies of games nowadays. It will get to a point where physical copies of games don’t even exist, as they’re increasingly downloaded rather than bought in shops. So there’s one collectible dying right now in front of us.
What’s the next Pokémon? Of all the companies to do it, it would be Nintendo given their drive to combine physical and digital…so the next Pokémon is probably just futuristic Pokémon.
This is exactly how I feel about Pokemon right now. Didn’t bother getting USUM and haven’t watched the show in years. Literally my only interest in Pokemon right now are the cards and not even the newer sets.
I honestly wish I lucked out and didn’t buy them either. I picked up the Amazon exclusive steelbook and thankfully made my money right back from selling it. I’m in a weird situation with the franchise because I kind of dropped out of opening packs for my personal collection and going through eBay for things to sell and collect. I tried watching the first few episodes of the Sun & Moon anime but can’t handle how childish it is, I did absolutely love “I Choose You!” the movie though and bought it on Blu-ray this month.
If the Pokemon games don’t make a big change when the Switch games release I’m gonna be disappointed. Both Mario and Zelda made some massive changes and they paid off by winning countless GOTY awards, GameFreak needs to take the hint here.
Yeah that’s true, but I still think it would be beneficial if they put more effort into the storytelling. Having a show that appeals to a broad audience could help the hobby grow a bit faster. But of course it’s not something they have to do.
@ecruteak I agree, they should be making some big changes, but I won’t set my expectations too high. I don’t want to set myself up for disappointment. Even Masuda is telling us not to have high expectations.
Just to piggy back off your last statement, I also think that Pokemon is missing out by not really growing with its players – changes to Mario and Zelda were tailored to a wide audience because they realize just how expansive their fanbase is now with every passing generation and how important it is to retain those older fanbases. Pokemon, on the other hand, continues to gear itself towards the same age group as it did years ago – which is fine, given that it’s hard to bring something like Pokemon into a more mature setting than Mario or Zelda, but if they can do it, I bet they’ll be able to extend their relevance by a long time and retain a lot of their young and old audience base.
Yeah OK Joe, how about offering a friggin POKEMON DEAL for once in PSA’s life, you dicks. Not a single month is there a deal that is inclusive to pokemon collectors when it comes to buying into their membership tiers. Do your part.
I’m Sorry, but that is just silly and an un-realistic expectation. You have to remember that PSA is a business - and part of being a business means that they like to make money! Why would they decide to offer a modern monthly special when they are already getting flooded with modern product - to the point where they can no longer keep-up with the demand (as evidenced by their delayed turn-around time)? This would be suicide for them; just think about how much longer of a delay they would have if they decided to offer a modern monthly special.
These monthy specials aren’t offered because PSA is kind and wants to pass-on savings to collectors. These monthly specials are offered because PSA wants to increase there business in certain categories - recently it has been vintage cards. They’re not going to offer another monthly special on modern product until they’re able to either catch-up on the orders they receive and/or collectors stop / slow-down with submitting modern product - which I doubt will happen anytime soon (if ever)…
Obviously, there are enough people still submitting into PSA for the price-structure to not be an issue that PSA has to be concerned with right now - or anytime soon. Personally, I think the price-structure is fine when you take into consideration the “big picture”. I mean, you can submit 100-Cards under the Bulk Service for $7.00 / Card - for what you are getting in-return (potential value) that’s nothing! Let’s take a run-of-the-mill product; I’ve recently been submitting Unlimited Base Set C. / Un. Cards into PSA - whenever I score a PSA 10, I’m turning a $1.00 / Card into a $25.00 to $30.00 / Card with very little effort - and my only cost is roughly $7.50 / Card (grading and shipping) - that’s a no-brainer right there! Now think about the potential value submitting Rare and/or Holo Cards!
If I remember correctly, the lowest monthly special offered by PSA was around $5.75 / Card (this was years ago). Sure, that seems like a good deal at first; but when you really think about it, you’re only saving $125.00 on a 100-Card Bulk Submission…
Back a few years ago, while I was still in high-school or college, these savings were HUGE! However, now that I’m working full-time, $125.00 really doesn’t get me that excited - and it’s not worth getting bummed-out every month seeing that this monthly special isn’t available still. I’d just bite the bullet and keep submitting into PSA - I highly doubt we’ll see another monthly special for a long, long time (if ever)…
How many sports cards are graded each year by PSA relative to Pokemon?
Would submissions for sports be declining as less and less new blood comes in?
I tried to find sports cards collectors on YouTube and it’s really not something that people create a lot of content for. It’s mostly grown men uploading grading results and popular sports channels don’t touch on the hobby at all.
Fifa and 2K feel like they’re the “replacement” for sports cards in my generation (early 20s and teenagers).
When I was working at a card store 99% of the time whenever kids or teenagers bought sealed product is was because their dads were deep into the hobby, very rarely did anyone who looked under the age of 25 come in to buy NBA product without their dad in tow.
I’ve been thinking something similar while reading through this tread… Where will the sports card market be in the long-term? I’m not super familiar with this market; however, it does seem like the majority of people collecting sports cards and memorabilia are older - part of that “baby-boomer” generation (Looking at you Gary - LOL). We’ve already seen a major decline within the modern sports card market - during the 1980’s and 1990’s when companies absolutely flooded the market with sports cards. Additionally, furthering the decline, was the end of the local card-shops and coming of the internet (eBay). However, modern sports cards have started to make a come-back with the introduction of newer legends to the game - just look at that PSA 10 Tom Brady RC that recently sold through PWCC. With pricing like that - for newer legends of the game, I cannot see a complete decline within the sports card market; however, I can see a possible shift.
Where will the vintage sports card market be in the long-term? The older generation had a real connection with many of the legendary sports figures whereas our generation (90’s Kids) cannot make that same connection. Sure, we’ve all heard about those legendary ball-players (Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle…); however, we really don’t have any “connection” to them at all. Even with the extreme prices attached to these names, will there ever come a time where these cards begin to decline in pricing - or is their legacy enough to withstand time?
Another example - that I can more closely relate to - would be within the coin market. Again, the majority of coin collectors are part of that older generation - you don’t see many young people getting into coin collecting (not to say there are none by any means). However, unlike the sports card market, I do believe the coin market will continue to prosper - and continue growing. This is simply do to the fact that the coin market is very closely tied to the bullion market. Even though there may be a decline within coin collecting itself, there seems to be an increase in bullion investors - people who either just want to invest and/or people who are truly concerned about the worth of the dollar and investing in silver / gold for a time when paper-money doesn’t hold its value. The bullion market is both keeping local coin shops in-business and creating interest within the coin market itself - someone may come-into a coin shop looking to purchase silver / gold and end-up starting a coin collection as a “side-project” as well. It’s hard to say if the sports card market has something similar going-on - trying to get younger people into collecting and continuing the hobby overall.