Hi, u\bosshax here,
Buckle up…!
Back in October, 2021 there was a leak showing a new Pokemon Trading Card Game launching on IMX.
This was before anyone made the IMX + GameStop connection.
You can see the early rumor here:
This below image is a screenshot of the Immutable X Test Net – you can see the Pokemon Trading Card Game NFTs here (just placeholders).
Naturally people on Twitter got pretty excited:
Then this happened:
In Robbies first AMA with Superstonk he reveals he’s been in conversations with GameStop about this ‘gaming‘ project since day one and actively working for the better part of half of last year.
Transcript from AMA Video:
Byron, Community Manager at Loopring, was very involved with the GameStop / Loopring integration and had this to share on March 23rd, 2022.
So if by March 23rd IMX hadn’t even begun ANY integration work with GameStop… But they had long since announced the IMX x GameStop Partnership… then what have they been working on?!?
Well, Robbie actually tells us:
And IMX’s whole role is to bring CONTENT to GameStop:
So IMX have been working behind the scenes with secondary partners building content for… quite… some time.
Pokemon (Nintendo) is probably one of the most famous game brand names- and already a big partner with GameStop.
GameStop already sells their physical trading cards:
Pokemon NFTs are kind of the holy grail use case for gaming– a very easy to understand collectible AND useful (game with it) asset. Pokemon Go is a massive game that has brought in over $5B in revenue. Imagine Pokemon Go with NFTs… Incredible potential But there are two big missing pieces… A marketplace… and a wallet.
The Pokemon Trading Card game is in Beta Now, here’s a sneak peak:
They just opened the beta to Mexico…
Pokemon Trading Card game already has a relationship with GameStop
Pokemon was licensed and brought to America by this guy, Alfred Kahn:
In 2018 Kahns business partner, David Yu (who managed the New Zealand business), started an NFT company VeVe:
In April 2021 guess who launched a partnership with VeVe and all these license assets? Immutable x.
Veve brings premium licensed NFT digital collectibles to mass market– they have all the leading licenses like: Pokemon, Yugioh, DC Comics, Star Wars, NFL, Marvel, etc.
So GameStop, via IMX, gets access to all this GREAT license content via VeVe.
On February 3rd Pokémon Trading Card Game announced they will be a Pokémon Go expansion THIS SUMMER.
Immutable really trying to spoon feed us with this one:
TLDR
Pokemon is one of the most famous gaming franchises in history.
Pokemon Go had $5B in revenue from digital items as of 2021.
VeVe is the digital license media company that owns the licenses for Pokemon, Yugioh, Marvel, DC, NFL and others.
Immutable X has a partnership with VeVe established in April 2021.
Immutable X announced a partnership with GameStop as of February 2022, but Robbie cited they had been closely working since the beginnings of the project, however it wasn’t on the marketplace integration side- they have been working with Game Studios to broker deals on game content (just like Pokemon).
Pokemon Trading Card Live is the new game that is going to replace ALL the existing Pokemon trading card games. It is currently in beta. It should launch this summer.
Pokemon Trading Card Live has an expansion pack launching this summer on Pokemon Go. This was announced on February 3rd, 2022. (Oddly the same day as GameStop x Immutable X) Pokemon Go requires Location Services. GameStop wallet requires Location Services.
NFTs require a marketplace and a user wallet.
Veve have the license content.
IMX have the NFT minting/trading/oder book and collect the trading fees.
GameStop has the wallet and coming NFT Marketplace.
Get hyped… you’re going to be able to catch Pokemon with you GameStop wallet.
If you like my DD you can follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/EndOfTheWake. Nothing is monetized.