Pikachu Otaku
2002/August: Nintendo e-Reader Pre-Launch Party
Name: Pikachu
AKA: Sample Pikachu
Release Date: 2002/August
Expansion / Set: Sample
Released Through: Nintendo e-Reader Pre-Launch Party
Card #: 016/093
e-Reader ID: M-16-#
Approx. Value: $200.00 - $300.00
Notes:
Back in August 2002, Nintendo was getting ready to launch the e-Reader and organized a pre-launch party for the media to come and try the e-Reader and see what all of the hype was, please remember the technology itself was quite mind blowing at the time. The event was held at the New York City Pokémon Center, but was not open to the public.
e-Cards feature a “dot code” barcode. The barcode can be swiped through the Nintendo e-Reader, which would activate mini-games or prompt a Pokédex data entry for the Pokémon on the card. The barcode was omitted on any e-Cards featuring a holofoil treatment, that way holographic cards would not be swiped through the e-Reader and be damaged.
The timelines show us that the English Expedition Base set had not been released yet and this created a small issue of "how can we demonstrate the e-Reader without showing the next set of cards"... the answer was pretty easy. Nintendo asked Media Factory in Japan to print some English cards for demonstration reasons only.
This card has an English front and a Japanese back, making it the 1st Pikachu card to do so. In order to ensure that the cards were valueless and undesirable, the word “Sample” was printed in the bottom right corner. Printing the word 'Sample' had the opposite effect, from 2002 till 2006 cards sold at over $500 a piece.
The cards were not handed out at the event, they were printed for staff to use and demonstrate the e-Reader, but some of these cards found their way out of the shop and onto the market, others remained hidden away. Supposedly 50 sets of these cards were printed, but many sets are considered destroyed. As little as 16 sets remain.
The Sample cards have a unique numbering system that do not match the Japanese nor the English e-Card 1 set.
List of cards in the Sample set:
002/093 Hoppip
004/093 Koffing
016/093 Pikachu
019/093 Gastly
021/093 Machop
042/093 Machoke
048/093 Chansey
074/093 Rapidash
083/093 Pichu
088/093 Machamp
2002/August: Nintendo e-Reader Pre-Launch Party
Name: Pikachu
AKA: Sample Pikachu
Release Date: 2002/August
Expansion / Set: Sample
Released Through: Nintendo e-Reader Pre-Launch Party
Card #: 016/093
e-Reader ID: M-16-#
Approx. Value: $200.00 - $300.00
Notes:
Back in August 2002, Nintendo was getting ready to launch the e-Reader and organized a pre-launch party for the media to come and try the e-Reader and see what all of the hype was, please remember the technology itself was quite mind blowing at the time. The event was held at the New York City Pokémon Center, but was not open to the public.
e-Cards feature a “dot code” barcode. The barcode can be swiped through the Nintendo e-Reader, which would activate mini-games or prompt a Pokédex data entry for the Pokémon on the card. The barcode was omitted on any e-Cards featuring a holofoil treatment, that way holographic cards would not be swiped through the e-Reader and be damaged.
The timelines show us that the English Expedition Base set had not been released yet and this created a small issue of "how can we demonstrate the e-Reader without showing the next set of cards"... the answer was pretty easy. Nintendo asked Media Factory in Japan to print some English cards for demonstration reasons only.
This card has an English front and a Japanese back, making it the 1st Pikachu card to do so. In order to ensure that the cards were valueless and undesirable, the word “Sample” was printed in the bottom right corner. Printing the word 'Sample' had the opposite effect, from 2002 till 2006 cards sold at over $500 a piece.
The cards were not handed out at the event, they were printed for staff to use and demonstrate the e-Reader, but some of these cards found their way out of the shop and onto the market, others remained hidden away. Supposedly 50 sets of these cards were printed, but many sets are considered destroyed. As little as 16 sets remain.
The Sample cards have a unique numbering system that do not match the Japanese nor the English e-Card 1 set.
List of cards in the Sample set:
002/093 Hoppip
004/093 Koffing
016/093 Pikachu
019/093 Gastly
021/093 Machop
042/093 Machoke
048/093 Chansey
074/093 Rapidash
083/093 Pichu
088/093 Machamp