It probably won’t come as a surprise to anyone that the new Pokémon card game ‘Pokémon TGC Pocket’ is doing something bad. After all, the world’s best-selling card game is part of one of the most popular franchises in history and can be played on a device we all carry in our pockets: our mobile phones. ‘Pokémon TGC Pocket’ looks like it’s going great and in some ways it makes a lot of sense.

figures. To give us an idea of ​​the game’s size, ‘Pokémon TGC Pocket’ was released just 15 days before this article was published and has since generated $24.5 million in revenue and 30 million downloads on iOS alone. And it achieved this by simply getting an update that didn’t add new content and making its core functionality (opening envelopes) free twice a day.

Do you remember ‘Pokémon GO’? The Pokémon augmented reality game generated a million dollars a day in revenue in its first four days. ‘Pokémon TGC Pocket’ generated three million revenue per day. The game generated $12.1 million in revenue in its first four days. That’s how important the launch is.

perfectly measured. The game worked because 1) it’s well made and 2) it measures to the millimeter. It has all the evils of mobile games (wait times, microtransactions, battle pass…), but it is so well made and expresses the social component so well that these evils go unnoticed and even become part of the playable experience.

Opening an envelope in ‘Pokémon TGC Pocket’ | Image: Xataka

Just two envelopes. If we don’t want to go to the cash register, we can only open two free envelopes a day. We can choose between envelope types and then specifically select which envelope from the carousel. This is really an illusion, because although it seems that we can choose the envelope, in reality the cards are determined from the moment we choose between Charizard, Pikachu or Mewtwo, as confirmed by analysis of the application’s code. We will return to this topic later.

Unlike regular, physical card packs we can buy in specialty stores, here there is no way to quickly know which card is last (usually the most anticipated because that’s where the most exclusive cards are located). Unless you turn the envelope upside down and open it from the back. Now the game allows us to slightly rotate the deck of cards to see the edges and check if there is anything special. We don’t know what’s going to happen, but when you see a bright side, there’s a dopamine rush.

On the other hand, we have magical choices that allow us to choose to receive a card that someone else has received in their envelope. To do this, we need to use a gradually replenishing energy or go to the cash register and buy timers. This element expresses the illusion that if it’s someone’s turn, maybe it will be my turn, and if I’m lucky, I’ll get their Charizard.

‘Pokémon TGC Pocket’ screenshots | Image: Xataka

show off. This brings us to another part and it is that the game interface is designed in such a way that we can take a nice screenshot of our best cards without any distracting elements. Like this? Of course, to share on social networks and show off what we have achieved. Because there’s no name for the hurricane of dopamine and endorphins you feel when you drop Mewtwo’s immersive card, and what else could there be other than sharing it with the world, right?

Again, we turn to that food for the illusion that if someone is dealt card X, I too can be dealt. There are YouTube channels, TikTok profiles, and streamers who devote body and soul to opening packs, and this activity encourages the spirit of wanting to open more because of the dopamine rush we get when we open a pack and get a good card (or fail). i.e. see how someone else did it before us).

‘Pokémon TGC Pocket’ envelope options | Image: Xataka

legends. I don’t know how things are now, but a few years ago physical letter envelopes could be weighed to see if there was a holographic letter inside. A difference of just one tenth indicated whether an envelope was more or less valuable. In ‘Pokémon TGC Pocket’ this doesn’t happen of course, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t legends about packs and how to get the best ones.

As we said before, there is an illusion of choice. Once we select the type of envelope we want to open, an envelope carousel appears that we can move around to select one or the other. In the physical world, this would be like having a box of envelopes and being able to choose between the first, second, or twenty-fifth. The difference is that in the mobile game the cards are decided from the moment we choose the envelope type. Then choosing one or the other has zero unit effect.

We can see this by analyzing the code, as some users do. The urban legend is that envelopes with bent corners contain better cards, but in reality there is no causal connection. Before choosing the envelope, the cards that will appear are decided. The rest is part of the game, illusion and feeding the bettor’s delusion.

Pokémon TGC Pocket | Image: Xataka

Another urban legend is the option in magic choices that allows you to pick up a card someone else has in their envelope. The game shuffles the cards, puts them face down and we have to choose one of the five. The animation shows that they are actually mixing, and there are users who believe that by recording the screen and slowing down the recording, they can see where the card they want is. Obviously this is not the case.

In fact, if we track the cards by recording the screen, we will see that each card returns to its original position. The shuffling takes place behind the scenes, out of sight of anyone who repeatedly presses B or looks away because it increases the chance of being caught throwing a Pokéball at the Game Boy.

It’s part of the grace. This series of myths, urban legends, and rumors feeds the game and is part of the entertainment and show. It’s things like this that make the game have an air of mysticism and make the figures move by collecting Pokémon cards. To give some background, 64.9 billion cards have been sold since its launch. Not bad, especially considering that the collection consists of about 18,000 cards.

Changes. It didn’t take long for ‘Pokémon TGC Pocket’ to turn peachy, and there are already new developments on the horizon. First of all, the team plans to release a new expansion before the end of the year. Secondly, it has been confirmed that it will be possible to exchange cards with other players in January 2025. But this function will be limited to certain cards, the selection of which is gradually expanding.

Even so, The Pokémon Company and DeNa have done a sensational job with their game. It’s simple, it’s addictive, it fosters community, it generates discussion, it seems to be constantly updated, it has a competitive part, it’s free and allows you to play well, it’s generally Pokémon that’s a guarantee in itself. .

Pictures | Xataka

in Xataka | This cabinet full of Wii consoles has one purpose: to catch the rarest Pokémon while playing on them at the same time.