A mob of crazed Pokemon fans forced open the shutters of the flagship Sports Direct store in central London as they stormed inside for new valuable trading cards.
Circulating footage shows a crowd of youths surrounding the Oxford Street shop and pushing their way in as the shop was opening, allowing the fans to filter through at around 9.30am today – a mere half an hour before the shop was set to open.
The crowd proceeds to rampage through the store while dodging racks of clothing and kicking shoes on to the floor, until they reach the gaming store GAME, which sits at the back.
One super fan is seen to be so enthralled that he is able to bypass his crutches and sprint to the back of the shop.
The force of the crowd damaged the store, causing the the ‘A’ of the branding for GAME to fall off on the inside of the entrance, along with other signs of disruption.
Police were seen standing outside the store as fans ducked into the store under the shutters, which was stuck around a metre from the ground.
It is understood that no calls were made to police over the disturbance.
The mob-like behaviour has been sparked by the restock of a line of Pokemon trading cards, named Mega Evolution – Ascended Heroes, that can be sold for around £4,500 for a complete set.
A mob of crazed Pokemon fans forced open the shutters of the flagship Sports Direct store in central London as they stormed inside for new valuable trading cards
Circulating footage shows a crowd of differing ages surrounding the Oxford Street shop and pushing their way in as the shop was opening, allowing the fans to filter through at around 9.30am today
Yet despite the gaming craze, the chaos also brought non-Pokemon fans, with one person commenting in a video posted on X: ‘This is wild. I ain’t trying to get no Pokemon.’
The new gaming collectibles were launched today in a select few Sports Direct stores, including Oxford Street – which houses the GAME stores after acquiring the gaming franchise GAME Digital for £51.9million in 2019.
The stores were supplied with a limited supply of cards, causing significant hype around its launch.
The Pokemon Trading Card Game, named Pokemon TCG, celebrated its 30th anniversary this year – and is a driving force behind the success of the Pokemon franchise.
Reportedly the world’s highest-grossing media franchise, trading cards continue to soar in popularity through being collected by both children and adults.
The industry was valued to be worth $7.8billion (£5.8billion) last year, according to a report by Research and Markets.
Pokemon is a globally recognised name, including games, TV and cards, and has grown in its global influence since it was created and launched in 1996.
The Daily Mail have contacted Sports Direct for comment.