🤖 Pokémon Cards Get a Biometric Bouncer

Pokémon card scalping has pushed Japan's official stores to an unlikely fix: mandatory facial recognition for all adults and children from elementary school age up. One person, one visit per day — attempt a second entry and staff will "speak to you individually," which is corporate Japanese for a polite but immovable telling-off.

The context: rare cards fetch serious money, US shops have been hit by armed robbers and a man with a battery-powered chainsaw, and ten billion cards were printed last year alone — still not enough. Nintendo's president had promised to "take measures"; IGN reports this is apparently what he meant.

Pre-schoolers, for the record, must be accompanied by a guardian. The loophole is closed.