TCG Pocket Angers Players

Pokémon TCG Pocket's highly anticipated trading update has arrived, but instead of celebration, it's met with widespread player outrage. The feature, already criticized last week for its restrictive nature, has launched to an even more negative reception due to unexpectedly high resource requirements.

Players are flooding social media with complaints about the excessive demands and limitations. While the restrictions were disclosed previously, the sheer number of resources needed for each trade was downplayed. Trading requires two distinct consumable items: Trade Stamina and Trade Tokens.

Trade Stamina, similar to other in-game mechanics, replenishes over time or can be purchased with Poké Gold (real money).

The controversial aspect is the Trade Token system. Trading cards with a rarity of 3 Diamonds or higher demands a significant number of these tokens: 120 for a 3 Diamond card, 400 for a 1 Star card, and 500 for a 4 Diamond (ex Pokémon) card.

Trade Tokens are acquired solely by discarding cards from one's collection. The exchange rates are heavily unfavorable: a 3 Diamond card yields 25 tokens, a 1 Star card 100, a 4 Diamond card 125, a 2 Star card 300, a 3 Star immersive card 300, and a Crown gold card 1500. Lower rarity cards are worthless for this purpose.

This system necessitates selling multiple high-rarity cards to trade even a single card of comparable rarity. For instance, five ex Pokémon must be sold to trade one, and selling a Crown card (the rarest) only provides enough tokens for three ex Pokémon trades. Even selling a 3-Star immersive art card—a key selling point of the game—doesn't provide enough tokens to trade a 1 Star or 4 Diamond card.

Found a picture of the devs after the trade update!
byu/marcola42 inPTCGP

what a joke of a trading system
byu/ZenGraphics_ inPTCGP

Finally Trade is here.... wait What?
byu/Tidus1117 inPTCGP

Overwhelming Negative Feedback

Reddit posts expressing outrage have garnered thousands of upvotes. Players are calling the update a "monumental failure," "hilariously toxic," and a "predatory" system driven by "excessive greed." Many players are vowing to cease spending money on the game. The 15-second exchange time for tokens further exacerbates the tediousness of the trading process. Some even suggest renaming the game, given the impracticality of the trading system.

The inability to trade 2-Star rarity cards or higher is also seen as a deliberate tactic to encourage continued in-app purchases. One player reported spending $1500 to complete the first set, highlighting the financial barrier to entry.

The trading update is an insult," wrote hurtbowler on Reddit. "The greed is just so excessive...They should probably remove 'Trading Card Game' from the title screen. It's just insulting to look at."

Creatures Inc.'s Silence

Creatures Inc. remains silent on the intense backlash, despite previously acknowledging player concerns. IGN has reached out for comment, but a response is pending. While adding Trade Tokens as mission rewards could potentially alleviate some issues, it's more likely that Trade Stamina will be rewarded instead, mirroring the existing reward system for similar mechanics.

The launch of this poorly-received trading system casts a shadow over the upcoming Diamond and Pearl update, introducing Pokémon like Dialga and Palkia. The negative response raises serious questions about the game's long-term sustainability and player retention.