The Pokémon TCG has been very popular since its release in 1996, when the company released its first Starter and expansion Pack/Base Set. However, it was a few years later, on January 9, 1999, that the original set of cards made it to the United States. In 2022, the franchise had a Japanese firm that generated a total of $11.6 billion dollars in that year alone.
It is no lie that the Pokémon Trading Card Game has definitely grown since its first launch, to a point where the company releases a new set of cards about every three months. With the TCG's popularity increasing more and more, it makes since why there are now many Pokémon TCG vending machines across the United States.
New Pokemon Card Vending Machines In Select States
A recent tweet shared by PokémonRestocks reveals a series of new Pokémon TCG vending machines will be coming to locations across the U.S.
Sadly, these vending machines are located in only certain high traffic states, such as California, Texas, and others. However, with the number now having grown to 200 different locations, we hope it will only be a matter of time before they come to every state.
In the photo, the machine has a big PokeBall on the top of it, allowing customers to identify it some quite a distance. On the screen, we see the Scarlet and Violet starter Pokemon alongside Pikachu. The vending machine appears to host a touch screen.
The screen on the machine shows not only just booster packs, but also tins and trainer boxes, which raises the question of how much exactly is inside these machines and what all can be purchased through them.
While the number of Pokemon TCG vending machines initially started growing slowly, 2023 was an incredibly good year for this TCG commodity. According to a Pokebeach article referenced by PokemonRestocks, the number of machines across the U.S. has grown from 45 to 200 between June 2023 and March 2024. For now, the only existing machines can be found in Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Arizona, Texas, and California.
Some Pokémon TCG fans who have been able to visit one of the vending machines went to the comments of the tweet to discuss what their experience was like. One user discusses how the machines were a couple weeks behind the release of new sets.
For now, there is no official news about when new locations might come if they do, but let's hope that one day it will happen so everyone across America can experience what these Pokémon TCG vending machines are like.
If you're interested in discovering whether a Pokémon TCG vending machine is near you, this Pokebeach article lists many, if not all of the current locations in the U.S. where you can expect to find them.
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