When Wizards Made the Pokemon TCG (and how they lost it) 

I was in the Professor program, a sort of hybrid judge/certification older players could get. When WotC lost the license, they shipped me a box filled with material that they probably had just sitting around and needed to get rid of. As such, I got stacks of promos and rare cards as a cash out when it went to hell

The “age divisions being phased out” requires clarification-towards the end of the WotC era, they effectively turned the 15+ division into a pool of volunteers to run events and shifted their playtimes to small events late in the day. This was widely accused of being an attempt to steer older players towards their internally owned games.

This totally needs a follow-up. The ex era that followed the transition from WOTC to TPCi saw a revival of the game. Looking forward to more videos!

great video great production and research

Great dude! My brother I went to a game store called The Encounter. They hosted MtG and Pokemon. It was such a great time. My dad would drop both of us off and we would be there for hours playing and trading. All the kids would conspire to get more battles in that time to get more stamps in our books. The more stamps, the more promos we got. It was so cool. My brother and I won tournaments, I won 3 place and he won 1st during the gym Heros release. He got a booster box and I got 16 packs. These were the times you could almost complete a mater set with one booster box. Great times!

My uncle used to work for wizards of the coast in production line he used to bring me cards and many error and missedcut cards and not properly sealed packs I didn’t know that they would explode in prices I used to draw on them and lost many of them…I only have a few of them today

9:04 The Clefairy + Blaine's Charizard interaction would actually work exactly like intended under Magic's rules. Whenever a card mentions its own name, it is only referring to itself. When a card copies another card's ability, the self-reference is adjusted accordingly. They probably messed this up because whoever worked on PTCG at the time took the terminology from Magic but didn't fully understand its implications.

From the research, music, visuals, and narration, fantastic video. I had no idea the japanese circuit had such success with taming how broken the early meta was. Thank you for all the time and effort you put in, you've made this fan's day!

It's criminal that this video has only 150k views, it deserves 10x that amount, really good video though, can't wait to see more from you

My historic nerdy brain is enjoying this video like all of your other videos 😁 It would also be interesting if we could see a history on 3d card renders because I've always been interested on their designs because of how they always stuck out like a sore thumb compared to other pokemon cards

Man Jamboree would've been such a cool set. The combination of Japanese exclusive cards and new western exclusive cards would've made something really special. It's a shame Wizards wasn't able to have their final Pokémon set be that, and instead they had to end on e-Card. I'm really nostalgic for the WoTC era, despite it's faults, though considering what's going on with them these days, I'm glad they were dropped. Fantastic video as usual.

Great work. This is the first source of any kind I’ve seen that explains the business issues behind the loss of license rather than just chalking it up to money or control or change in pop culture preferences. I also didn’t know about the Japanese ban/restriction system, but it makes total sense why their tournaments continued to be vibrant and strategic while in the US it was just about who had the most money for booster packs to pull 4 copies of all the broken cards.

That Gym Leader commercial with the clowns... I used to watch ABC cartoons (mostly the Buzz Lightyear and Tarzan shows) while I ate breakfast before school, and that clown commercial played SO frequently. Like every commercial break, sometimes twice. I can remember it so vividly and hear it in my dreams. It seems like it would have only aired for a few months, but for some reason it seems like it ran for years. It's crazy how it was so ordinary and banal at the time, and now it's a potent idol of nostalgia, a window into a world that will never exist again.

This video was so well researched and full of stuff I had never heard about. You make such great content, love to see it

This is one of the best videos on Pokemon I have ever seen. Omg brings back SUCH nostalgia. I competed in a tournament in 1999 at age 11 and am just now picking up the game again 25 years later!

I learned to read with the help of Pokémon cards back when Jungle and Fossil had just released. I've been casually collecting ever since, and I remember being so perplexed at how differently the new EX Ruby & Sapphire cards were framed. I had no idea about how different the two regions were in tournaments, release, etc. Amazing video!

WOTC was also responsible for the international release in every other language I believe, including the Dutch, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese, Korean, Chinese. Would be nice to see a follow up video about the other regions, if they got tournaments, promo cards, etc in those early days.

By covering one specific and interesting topic, and using history to draw attention to Wizard's dumb management.. this has been so much better to watch than the several videos covering the TCG history by other creators in even less time. Congrats on a good piece of content!

This was a really good video. The rise of the TCG history videos and them being more educational in format is super cool. I hope you do more like these and I think a combo of content creators like Ruby Retro and yourself would be great for TCG videos. There's like, 25+ years and it feels like it's only just now getting proper documentation in video format.

Amazing video with top quality production value! I really liked how you had the background of each error card as a blurred large version of the card art

Oooh this was a gripping watch; I love these sort of histories on like, the "why" stuff happened as it did. And woah I did not realize there were that many errors in early Pokémon TCG...! Makes sense that it would result from having to rush and then also having Magic's wordings and rulings on the employees' minds on top of that. (Though less so for sticking to the whole thing with Slowking's Mind Games)

Banger video As an MTG fan watching Pokémon TCG videos is like peering into an alternate dimension

This channel deserves way more views and subs. Love the content, and how you're exploring stuff about the card game very few ppl do! Would love an 2004-2006 era video

This channel is such a hidden gem. The research and presentation of information is seriously top notch. You're finding info and promo materials that take a serious deep dive to find. I hope you continue releasing more videos with this kind of passion and energy. Cheers.

Happy you’re still active on your channel! I subscribed a few hours ago, and I was surprised to already find a new video! ❤ Thank you!

Interesting video, thank you. :) As a Finnish person who collected WotC era Pokémon cards it was nice to learn where several old Promo cards are originally from. Those were not available here. Here we used the English language version so the smaller kids did't play much with the cards because of the language barrier. They just traded and collected them. The eSeries cards were also not available here because eReader was not released in Europe. For long time I thought that Neo series were the last WotC card series so it felt really weird to find videos couple of years ago where RU-vidrs opened eReader card sets. :D

I was 7 when I entered my first Pokemon League and to this day, I still dont know how to play it but your videos have been awesome and nostalgic. Thank you

Really well done video. I was surprised by how much I learned and was reminded about considering I lived through a lot of it as an Admin on WotC's Pokemon message board and judge. Great job!

Great video! It offers a lot of insight I wasn't familiar with and explains a lot from my perspective. I collected the cards from the beginning all the way through Skyridge but the only place I knew where to get Pokemon cards was the Wizards of the Coast store in my local mall. One day, they just didn't have Pokemon cards anymore. I figured they had finally discontinued making them because by then the craze had died down and I didn't know anyone else who did. It would be another 10+ years before I picked up collecting again and by then the cards were vastly different and I felt like a time traveler.

This was super interesting, might be the best video you've made yet! :D Great work.

Love this. Seeing the errors in video format was very helpful. Keep up the great work!

Your videos are great to watch, listen to and provide a ton of insight on the topics discussed. Honestly, I can't wait for you to pop off because homie you're doing seriously good work and I appreciate each piece you make.

This is the best video I’ve seen that breaks down this subject and explains it so well. Thank you and I hope you make more

Literally never knew this had been posted, let alone that it got resurrected

Awesome video. Really detailed info and I learned a lot! Subbed, keen to see more of your work mate!

I love your video! It was very intriguing and informational. It defintely cleared up some of the questions I had about the relationship between Pokémon TCG and Wizards. I will say, though, that I thought that the ending was a little abrupt. I expected a summary of what you had already discussed, maybe a brief explanation about how the two companies are fairing today. Something. Anyway, regardless, I loved your video and I hit the like button so that hopefully it gets more views and more likes. Oh yeah, don’t forget to remind people to like and subscribe. I’ve heard it works, Lol. Keep up the great work!

One of the things I loved back when Wizard of the Coast were in charge of the game's publication internationally, they were allowing players to use cards of any languages as long as they were released in their respective region, including Japanese cards. It was quite common back then to order Japanese boxes online due to their holo and rare distribution in comparison to the WotC products like it was mentioned in this video. The Japanese booster boxes were a bit more pricier, but they had more packs. So getting a guaranteed holo and rare in Base Set, Gym 1 and 2, and Neo 1, and a holo in all other sets was way more interesting and easier to complete playsets of cards for deck construction.

It’s great to have all of this Informantion presented concisely in a single video. Previously you would have to jump around to many other sources.

Love that this one's popping off. It's an awesome video! I'm gonna steal the idea of using drop shadows, looks great.

Really interesting topic! I only collected the cards during that period, so didn't understand the transition of distributors until many years later. I would've loved to see the planned artwork for the Jamboree set

Fantastic video. I wish more people would dive into the production side of pokemon tcg history. Can't see wait to see what you make next!

wow. this was the most insightful PTCG related video ive watched as of late! Great stuff mate!

keep up the great work! you're videos are beyond fantastic and extremely insightful.

Being pedantic here but 1st edition lasted in Japan for 15 years not 25, ending with XY CP6 aka the 20th anniversary set. Great video and great concise history of WOTC's Pokemon.

Great video, I had always been more curious about the wotc era of cards that I grew up with. Keep up the great content man!

AMAZING video, well put together, presentation was great, information was delivered in a fluid manner. I have not watched many half hour RU-vid Videos that have left me wanting more. Thanks for sharing!!

Incredible video! Well researched! Loved the history lesson man thank you!

New peak Pokémon RU-vid video just dropped thank god

Awesome video! Filled with plenty of info and facts I didn't know

"Imagine pulling Brock's Zubat as a kid" My brother. Been there.

Pretty good video! A couple of small errors (Mysterious Treasures Pikachu listed as a WotC card and Organized Play was originall called 'POP', Pokémon Organized Play, not Play! Pokémon.) But, overall, excellent research!

what a great video! We need a in deep documentary with 4 episodes on this matter. Loved it! great work

Absolutely incredible video! as a long time Pokemon fan and collector, this video was such a pleasure to watch.

Love the video! Very informative and a great watch!

With how poorly wizards has been doing with magic and dnd recently this video feels well timed.

This video was really enjoayble! Thank you for making it I'm waiting always for your next video, they are all so good :)

Great video! Appreciate all the effort you spent into researching this topic. I know much of this info is difficult to come by!

Nice to see this video is back up

This the type of video to blow a channel up. Good work

you're honestly one of the best pokemon youtubers i've watched.

Very cool and well done video...i had the misty gym badge from back in the toys r us days. I remember wanting the rest so bad.

For what it’s worth, even in Magic, the clefairy would have to discard the energy. That’s just a baffling wrong ruling from both sides. In Magic, it’s understood that a card’s name in the text box refers to that instance of it. While this has been a rule for as long as I have played (just over 10 years), it got more attention recently with mutate. Maybe things were different in Magic back in the day, but I doubt it. Probably just a poor ruling. As for muk and the stack, did Magic have the stack then? Maybe by then it did, but I know Magic used batches or something before the stack was finally introduced in the Urza’s block. I don’t know the timelines of the 2 games. Also, my interpretation of it (via modern Magic rulings) is that muk would stop those “when played” powers. Magic has cards that shut off those style of effects too, so the rules allow it. (Cards like the new Elesh Norn just prevent those abilities from entering the stack at all.) Magic had an early period where cards interacted weirdly before they cleared things up, and it sounds like they let that mess spill into Pokémon.

hey thanks alot for making this video cause its hard to find very many that would. it definitely took me back in time. though in my opinion that 1 holo per every 3 packs helped the game because it compromises the fun of pack opening when everyone gets a holo in each pack. the reason we open packs is for the thrill and rush so were given a reason to chase holos and when you finally get it its the best thing ever. Even though as a kid I wasnt a fan of the trainer cards continuously popping up in every pack. I would care nowadays. But anyway, where did you find the pokemon card commercials because I cant find any for the life of me. Never knew the Neo Destiny commercial existed.

I find this history of their pokeon license on wizards of the coast really fascinating. For every weird thing that wizards of the coast did, they had amazing ideas and concepts for the USA market, introducing new players, releasing cards that were exclusive in japan, and even the idea to release their own original cards. They definitely made some misteps along the way which eventually led to their license being taken away, but for every good they did, im thankful for their services.

this was a fascinating video. thank you for making it.

Documentary style vid about the rich history of Pokémon TCG and it’s beginnings. Count me in!

A quick note. I went to the mall tours and I was in middle school so I have a good memory of it. There were no pokemon TCG ones at least in St. Louis which had the end of the first tour and the beginning of the second tour. It was video game tourneys only.

just clicked on a third one of your videos and finally connected that all these amazing pokemon tcg videos were made by one guy. love your work

Wonderful video that showed off those sick stamp booklets you got at the pokemon league back in the day.

The most entertaining TCG creator, keep up the good work!

About an hour before this video released, a much older one reminded me Wizards once produced Pokémon cards. My first questions was whether they still do, and here came yours to explain no and why! While a little long for so specific an interest, the whole video is well designed and well researched!

Awesome video! Keep them coming 🙏🏽

It was great to learn about early competitive play, thanks for doing the research

Your quick skimming of the errors in print runs made me look at some of my older cards. There was way more than I had encountered. One of my favorite misprints was my 'base set' Mr. Mime, that was missing the Jungle set logo on it. Based on the timeline, I entered the card game the first few seasons, since the pointing system lined up with what I remembered. Our local Toys R Us hosted the club for those initial years, though around 00 or 01, I distinctly remember the runners just giving out the Promos or several additional copies if asked since the league was winding down and they didn't want to keep the additionals. I traded for so much good stuff with the duplicates back then. Fun times, I'd say it was almost as fun as when Pokémon Go originally dropped and everyone went out to do that.

This video is so amazing. Genuinely learned so much about the card game from here and even Magic the gathering. Love the content!!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

This is the type of content small channels blow up for you are starting something big keep going

I can really appreciate videos like this.

Great video! Full of history that is mostly unknown

Man this really took me back. Great info in this video! I knew Wizards had some issues, but seeing them all listed like this is pretty wild haha.

Found your channel for the first time. Good stuff!

as someone who just recently got into the card game, this is interesting to learn about

Keep on with the great job bro! I really appreciate it, bye from Italy

loving all your videos, this one included!!!

Fantastic trip down memory lane, thanks a lot!

Thanks for letting me reminisce on the days of being ranked #7 in the world and going to east coast super trainer showdowns in the Meadowlands. WotC Era was great!

17:20 I know using crude or adult humor was kinda the name of the game for gaming magazines in the 90s, but seeing "JUNGLE FEVER!" on a Pokémon ad of all things nearly made me do a spit-take, lmao

Great video. Hope it picks up

You just got me subscribed just for this. Well done video.

Crazy nice research especially in the error section!

This is a cool video. I love all those error cards. The errors were the talk of the schools back then, and you were a cool kid if you had some of the rarer ones.

Awesome content man. Keep it up!

Very well researched. I considered myself knowledgeable on the subject and yet I learned so much from your video. Thank you!

I totally played in Pokemon League and went to the Super Trainer Showdowns when I was a kid. My local Pokemon scene dried up as soon as Wizards closed their stores and lost the Pokemon TCG to Nintendo.

Top notch ! Great work on this video

super interesting video!! good work

Amazing content and research. Your vids are seriously the best

This was incredibly entertaining. Thanks for the great video

Still have a sealed Charizard pack from wizards I bought for a $1 at a flea market 4 years ago. It even has the little cardboard with it. Wonder if I should sell it.

Gladly will rewatch, it’s very well done 👏

Amazing job! Thanks for the video!