New Pokemon McDonald’s Happy Meal Promotion Will Limit Sales to Stop Scalpers

Earlier this year, The Pokemon Company celebrated the franchise’s 25th anniversary through a Happy Meal promotion at McDonald’s. Things quickly got out of hand, as resellers gobbled up the cards in droves. Fortunately, it seems the UK branch of McDonald’s has learned a lesson, and will be placing purchase limits for their version of the promotion. According to an internal memo obtained by Nintendo Life, customers will be limited to one additional Pokemon purchase beyond the Happy Meal. This won’t stop people from buying as many of the meals as they can, but it might make things a bit more difficult.

At this time, it’s unknown what toys fans can expect to see in the Happy Meals, but it’s expected to be the same promotion North America received. It should be noted that Pokemon Happy Meal promotions have differed by region in the past, so it’s possible that might not be the case. In this year’s North American promotion, each Happy Meal contained a pack of four cards alongside an extra, such as stickers, a cardboard frame, or a card box. The cards included all of the starter Pokemon from the various generations, plus Pikachu, making 25 cards in the set. However, each card also had a hologram variant, bringing the grand total to 50 for those wanting every possible variation.

Pokemon merchandise has seen a massive resurgence on the secondary market, and cards have driven a lot of that interest. With money to be made, it wasn’t too surprising to see resellers grabbing the cards from McDonald’s, but cases of the toys ended up on sites like eBay the day the promotion went live. McDonald’s was quick to respond, enforcing stricter policies to make sure fans were better able to get the cards.

For now, Pokemon fans in the UK will just have to hope the rollout goes a bit smoother than it did in North America! McDonald’s seems well aware of the issues that happened in the region, and that certainly bodes well for the success of the promotion in other territories. Fans in the UK will just have to wait and see when the promotion begins in May.

Did you grab any Pokemon cards from McDonald’s this year? Are you happy things will be easier in the UK? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!