McDonald’s Cracks Down on Pokémon Scalpers Before Upcoming Giveaway Weekend

Last weekend, ya won’t believe what happened at McDonald’s in Japan. They tried this thing, throwing Pokémon cards into Happy Meals. Sounds fun, right? But it turned into a total mess—kids crying, food everywhere. Anyway, it fizzled out in just two days. This weekend, they’re having another go but switched to toys and slapped on some tougher rules.

Initially, from August 9 to 11, they had this grand plan, chucking Pokémon TCG cards into the annual Happy Meal deal. Usually, it’s all fun and games. This time? Not so much. Total mayhem with folks going bonkers over these cards. People (you know who I mean) swooped in, grabbed tons of meals, snagged the cards, and just chucked the food wherever. Within hours, the cards were gone, restaurants were chaos zones, and McD’s had to pull the plug and apologize.

Fast forward to this weekend. McD’s is back at it, swapping cards for toys. But guess what? Still seems like it’ll attract those pesky scalpers. Running from today, August 15 to 17, they’ve got these mega-strict rules: only three meals per group, like, come on! Can you imagine a family with four kids? Last time, it was five meals per person… that got ignored. Now, if you try ordering four sets, they’ll just cancel your order. Ouch.

McD’s knows it’s a bit of a bummer. They issued this statement apologizing to anyone planning on family outings. They promise to keep reviewing and tweaking their sales methods. Sure, they’re listening to customers, but ya gotta feel for ‘em.

Well, here’s a kicker—the toys aren’t even that great! Seriously, they’re like cheap plastic junk. Probably won’t make a huge splash, but still. And they’re being all hush-hush about one mystery toy—bet it’s Charizard. This kind of stuff usually pulls people in, thinking they might snag the rare one. But right now? Might just be asking for trouble.

So, shoutout to all the McDonald’s workers in Japan dealing with this whirlwind. They probably deserve medals, or at least a raise, for managing this circus.