Was it just not successful?
I can’t think of a single kid that wasn’t disappointed when their parents got them Pokemon cards, and it was topps
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It for sure wasn’t the same but I personally had good memories with them.
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I have good memories I love topps, could be a legal thing instead of lack of interest, who knows. I really like topps, as well as the carddass, bandai or meiji cards.
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I think it just came down to popularity. People just preferred the official TCG over Topps. They were cool and a cheap alternative, but the backgrounds and poses seemed kind of plain in comparison to the artwork found on the official TCG. I remember as a kid thinking that it was pretty cool and still have a few to this day from my original collection - but they don’t hit the same for me.
With Topps you often experienced the following:
- Multiples of the same Pokemon of cards you already had.
- Same reprinted art.
- Similar backgrounds used across the board.
Topps kind of has a cheap and cookie-cutter kind of feel for Pokemon cards. The TCG packs were more worth it to save that extra buck or two. At least with the TCG, you got a better variety, more dynamic art work, could be used in a game, etc.
I did like the Topps movie cards, though. Probably because they showed a lot more variety and had different textures for holo prints.
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Cause TOPPS cards were a mistake.
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Licensing
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100000%
Topps Chrome, the niche within a niche within a niche.
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Even before any licensing issue had Topps attained the same quality they showed in gen 1 with their full pokédex, beautiful background design, and occasionally really interesting scene screenshots for the other 2 generations they occupied it would have helped. They got lazy with the amount of effort they decided to emphasize when they had the license for it up until I guess, FRLG?
Any time they come up I always like to emphasize that they and Bandai are the trve original full arts. 
Topps became mine and several others introduction to the franchise at a glance on top with the anime as being the most easily attainable at the time. They really hit it off from Seasons 2-Chrome.
Some o my overlooked faves, anime exclusive art. And a must for collectors of lines in every official art out there. The embossing and holofoil styles from Chrome were spectacular overall than tcg FA’s.
[EDIT] Phuket, these cards get so underrepresented imma show an example of each type made based on the above archetype.
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It was the only thing my parents bought me as a kid because TCG was twice as much per pack… So I wasn’t disappointed when I finally got something.
#slavelife
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According to a Topps financial report I found, their licence only expired in 2008. They also said (unsurprisingly) that by that stage their Pokemon sales were considerably down on the pre-2003 numbers. Quite an interesting read for the few Pokemon references if that’s your sort of thing…
*‘The Company’s Pokémon license for its entertainment products expires at the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2008 and the Company does not anticipate that this license will be renewed.’
Topps 2007 annual financial report - www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/812076/000081207607000024/form10-k.pdf*
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