Our estimate of what shoppers worldwide spent on new Pokémon cards in a year, at list price

What this is

Our estimate of what shoppers worldwide spent on new Pokémon cards in a year, at list price: about ¥513–618bn in the year to March 2026, or roughly $3.4–4.1bn at ¥149.57 to the dollar. The ex-Japan part alone is $2.34–3.05bn.

How it’s built

1. Japan: the Japanese market for Pokémon cards at list, ¥162.4bn at our central reading.
2. Outside Japan: about 5.22 billion cards (a 10.0 billion print, of which Japan takes 48%), priced at the US booster list price of ¥67.16 a card, times 1.0–1.3 to allow for products that cost more per card than boosters.
3. The two are added: ¥162.4bn plus ¥350.6–455.7bn.

What we assumed

• About 10.0 billion cards were printed in the year, and Japan took 48% of them.These are our central readings of the print and Japan's share; a 9.0 or 10.9 billion print moves the ex-Japan figure by a tenth or more either way.
• Cards outside Japan sell at 1.0–1.3 times the US booster price per card.Boosters are the cheapest way to buy a card; boxes, tins and collections cost more per card, so the multiplier only goes up from 1.0.
• Every card is sold at list price.This measures spending at list; shops that discount or mark up shift the true figure, and resale is not included.

Sanity check

Divided by TPC's own card revenue on the same print (¥276–329bn at a 50% publisher share), the total is about 1.9 times, which means shops and distributors keep a little under half of what shoppers pay. That is in the usual range for a product sold through retail.

Where it comes from

Our calculation from other figures in the trainer’s notes:

• ReportedWhat a single card costs at US list price in each common product
• EstimateAn estimate of The Pokémon Company’s worldwide card revenue, year to February 2026
• EstimateJapan primary Pokémon cards list basis, JTA 年度2022-2025e

Where it’s used

• ProfileThe Pokémon Company
• ProfilePokémon Trading Card Game
• ProfileCard distribution channel (distributors, hobby stores, mass retail)

Related figures

Built from this one

• EstimateCards at list coupled print band, TPC year to February 2026 ≈ JTA 年度2025e; print year to March 2026
• EstimateCard concentration on ledger basis against backlog 60%, TPC year to February 2026 (Nintendo year to March 2026); list = year to March 2026 (年度2025e)