A mob of crazed Pokemon fans forced open the shutters of the flagship Sports Direct store in central London as they stormed inside for new valuable trading cards.
Circulating footage shows a crowd of youths surrounding the Oxford Street shop and pushing their way in as the shop was opening, allowing the fans to filter through at around 9.30am today – a mere half an hour before the shop was set to open.
The crowd proceeds to rampage through the store while dodging racks of clothing and kicking shoes on to the floor, until they reach the gaming store GAME, which sits at the back.
One super fan is seen to be so enthralled that he is able to bypass his crutches and sprint to the back of the shop.
The force of the crowd damaged the store, causing the the ‘A’ of the branding for GAME to fall off on the inside of the entrance, along with other signs of disruption.
Police were seen standing outside the store as fans ducked into the store under the shutters, which was stuck around a metre from the ground.
It is understood that no calls were made to police over the disturbance.
The mob-like behaviour has been sparked by the restock of a line of Pokemon trading cards, named Mega Evolution – Ascended Heroes, that can be sold for around £4,500 for a complete set.
Yet despite the gaming craze, the chaos also brought non-Pokemon fans, with one person commenting in a video posted on X: ‘This is wild. I ain’t even trying to get no Pokemon.’
The video shows shoes scattered across the floor among clothes that have been pulled off their hangers during the race, while what appears to be a member of staff shouts at the crowd.
The new gaming collectibles were launched today in a select few Sports Direct stores, including Oxford Street – which houses the GAME stores after acquiring the gaming franchise GAME Digital for £51.9million in 2019.
The stores were supplied with a limited supply of cards, causing significant hype around its launch. It is common that customers are limited to one set per person.
The Pokemon Trading Card Game, named Pokemon TCG, celebrated its 30th anniversary this year – and is a driving force behind the success of the Pokemon franchise.
Reportedly the world’s highest-grossing media franchise, trading cards continue to soar in popularity and are collected by both children and adults.
The game is played by two people where participants battle each other with a 60-card deck. Each card features a Pokemon character which has different abilities and personalities.
Cards are collected and traded with more than 18,000 unique cards in English and more than 20,000 in Japanese.
The industry was valued to be worth $7.8billion (£5.8billion) last year, according to a report by Research and Markets.
Famously American influencer Logan Paul bought a Pokemon card, known as PSA 10 Pikachu Illustrator, for $5.3million (£4million) in 2021.
This set a Guinness World Record for the most expensive private sale of a Pokemon card at the time.
The YouTuber and wrestler sold the card, which is regarded as the best preserved example of one of the rarest cards, for $16.5million (£12.1million) this year, according to auction firm Goldin.
Pokemon is a globally recognised name, including games, TV and cards, and has grown in its global influence since it was created and launched in 1996.
The Daily Mail have contacted Sports Direct for comment.
