Pokémon Japan Fights Scalpers With Facial Recognition Tech

Shopping for Pokémon cards in Japan is about to get a lot more high tech. The Pokémon Company recently announced that it will use facial recognition technology at official Pokémon Center stores. This move is specifically designed to stop scalpers from visiting stores multiple times to purchase products that should be available for everyone.

By keeping track of customer identities, the company aims to ensure that limited stock reaches actual collectors rather than resellers. Many fans have struggled to find new releases on store shelves due to people buying up all the inventory to flip it for a profit online. This new system creates a stricter barrier against those repeat buyers.

While this update currently focuses on physical locations in Japan, it shows how seriously the company is taking the ongoing issue of card scarcity. Fans hope this will make trips to the local Pokémon Center a lot less stressful and much fairer for the community. We will keep an eye out to see if these measures effectively put an end to the scalping problem.