Hi All, does anyone know any background on these cards. Can’t find any history on them.
Bandai Priname
バンダイ プリネーム
Seems to be used in a vending machine found in arcades to make your own business cards (名刺). These ones are blank and were made without inputting a name.
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Source: メルカリ
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Translation note: Name card means business card.
This source states that these machines were in Pokemon Center Osaka during at least 2000-2001.
Edit: Here is an advertisement from the CoroCoro Magazine 1998 September Issue on Pokemon Priname.
Pictures of Priname Machine Manual
Edit: Here is a picture of a manual featuring pictures of the machine:
Here is a picture of the manual, which shows a sketch of the machine.
This post says that these machines could have been found in arcades:
This site says that it first appeared in November of 1996, and that if you received a card saying “Congratulations”, you could exchange it for an album that could hold these business cards.
Here is a picture of the album:
A blog also discusses these being in operation here:
This source likens it to Purikura (プリクラ) machines, which are a similar type of machine in arcades in Japan, which are essentially photobooths.
Non-Pokemon General Priname Information
It seems likely that this is a kids/gamified version of existing business card vending machines (名刺印刷機専) in Japan.
Here is a blog post detailing one person’s experience with more formal business card vending machines: 30枚1000円！新宿駅西口の名刺自動販売機を使ってみた - こまめブログ別館
Here is an image of a more formal business card vending machine that looks similar in appearance to the sketch of the Priname machine:
Finally, it seems that Pokemon was not the only IP to be used for these vending machines.
Here is an image of a sealed Hello Kitty back of name cards belonging to the Priname brand:
Additionally, Priname Petit (プリネーム プチ) seems to be a smaller line of these cards. Both Priname Petit as well as the normally-sized Priname cards seem to have been popular with the IP Horipro Idol Paradise (HiP), with Horipro being a Japanese talent/idol agency.
Admittedly I got a little curious.
1998 Priname Cards - Sugimori Stock Art/Tall Text
1998 Priname Cards - Pikachu Variations
1998 Priname Cards - Other
1999 Priname Cards
2001 Priname Cards
Unknown
Likely more, but I just found these.
CGC lists the following as ones they have graded: Caterpie (1998), Clefable (1998), Krabby (1998), Nidoqueen (1998), Pikachu (1998), Pikachu (1998), Pikachu (1998)
Pikachu, Togepi & Marill (1999), Scyther (1998), Seadra (1998), Staryu (1998), Togepi, Pikachu & Bug Types (1999), Togepi, Pikachu & Water Types (1999)
Thank you so much, could not have found this myself!