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Van Gogh Museum discontinues Pokemon card giveaway

An overabundance of rowdy collectors and after-market sellers forced the museum to cut the card giveaway event short.

TJ Denzer

October 16, 2023 7:43 AM

Image via The Pokemon Company

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The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam has discontinued a special giveaway of a unique Pokemon TCG card following an outpouring of collectors and after-market sellers that were over-aggressive in trying to get the card. The event was done in conjunction with The Pokemon Company to bring young audiences to the museum and reward them with something fun. The card will now only be available in an upcoming online sale.

The Van Gogh Museum posted on the discontinuation of the Pokemon Card event in an update to the event’s FAQ page, as spotted by Video Games Chronicle. The event kicked off recently and brought Pokemon merchandise to the museum, featuring a multitude of t-shirts, cards, bags, and more fun stuff featuring fusions of popular Pokemon and the famous art pieces of Van Gogh. Among the offerings was a Pokemon TCG promo card, Pikachu with Gray Felt Hat, which was designed by longtime Pokemon artist Naoyo Kimura and is a homage to Van Gogh’s famous ‘Self-Portrait with Grey Felt Hat’ done in 1887.

Unfortunately, that card brought a number of collectors to the museum trying to get their hands on one or multiple versions of the promo card. Online accounts of the event by attendees such as Twitch streamer DachshundWizard described it as a “disaster” with attendees crowding, pushing, and shoving to get the card. Ultimately it ended up with the Van Gogh Museum ending the event and adding to its FAQ page regarding the cancellation:

The updated FAQ goes on to say that the Pikachu with Gray Felt Hat card will be offered in upcoming sales on the Pokemon Center website for purchase from United Kingdom, United States, and Canada regions.

Regardless, it looks like overzealous collectors have ruined another good time. As we continue to cover Pokemon and collectibles such as Pokemon TCG, stay tuned for more news and updates here at Shacknews.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.