Pokémon TCG Pocket Mess: When Official Art Goes Rogue (and It's Not the Artist's Fault!)
AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer ·
The Pokémon Company accidentally used fan art as reference for Pokémon TCG Pocket cards, leading to online backlash. They've now admitted their mistake and asked players to lay off the artist, which is a nice change of pace.
Right, so the Pokémon Company, bless their cotton socks, have landed themselves in a bit of a pickle. Seems someone on the production team for Pokémon TCG Pocket handed an artist...fan art. Actual, honest-to-Arceus fan art as 'official reference material'. You couldn't make it up, could you?
According to Eurogamer, the whole kerfuffle kicked off with the Wisdom of Sea and Sky expansion. Someone noticed the Ho-Oh EX and Lugia EX cards looked suspiciously...familiar. Turns out, that's because they were a tad too inspired by fan-made creations. Cue online outrage, naturally. And, because the internet, much of that outrage was directed at the poor sod who actually drew the cards.
Now, The Pokémon Company and Creatures Inc. have stepped in, saying "Hold on a minute, mate! Back off!" (Okay, maybe not in those exact words, this *is* a family brand.) Their official statement, translated by Automaton, basically admits that the buck stops with them. They messed up, not the artist. Apparently, sometimes artists are given free rein on card designs, which is grand. But other times, the production team creates a detailed 'blueprint' for the artist to follow. And this time, that blueprint was drawn on a napkin, by a fan, apparently. (I'm paraphrasing, obviously. Slightly.)
They've even pulled the offending cards, replacing them with placeholders that read "New Artwork Coming Soon." A bit like when your favourite potion explodes in your face and you just slap a 'Under Construction' sign on the smoking crater. Fair enough, I reckon.
So, what's the takeaway here? Well, it's a good reminder that even massive corporations can make monumental blunders. It’s also a reminder to maybe, just maybe, double-check where your “official” reference material is coming from. And perhaps most importantly, it's a lesson in not immediately piling onto the artist when things go south. Give 'em a chance to explain, eh?
The big wigs have promised to tighten things up to avoid future art-based appropriations. But, fair dinkum, you’ve got to wonder how something like this even happens in the first place. I imagine there’s a team member somewhere currently updating their resume…
Kudos to Eurogamer for spotting this and reporting it, and kudos to the Pokémon Company for (eventually) taking responsibility. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to copyright my doodles. Just in case.
Tags: Pokemon, TCG, Pokemon TCG Pocket, Art, Gaming News
Original article: Eurogamer