If you’ve followed our past posts on McDonald’s Japan’s August specials, you’ll know that this past weekend saw the start of a promotion with The Pokémon Company. In addition to some toys included with Happy Meals, there was a limited-edition set of Pokémon cards that included an extra-limited variant of Pikachu eating a Happy Meal. Meant to be a weekend only deal, McDonald’s Japan ran out of its supply in less than 24 hours and, as you would expect, this caused issues.
Apart from the cards running out and customers becoming irate, countless numbers of Happy Meals were found dumped on the side of roads. The cards would then find their way to online auction sites for exorbitant prices, as is typical with most limited-time items. According to IGN, police even responded to a restaurant after a customer learned the location ran out of stock of the cards. Citizens in Japan took to social media to highlight their dismay at the situation, stunned that people were willingly wasting food just to grab toys.
何の対策もせずに
とりあえず売れれば良いという
腐り切った商魂で
多くの子ども達を泣かせて
外国人転売ヤーを笑顔にする
マクドナルドのハッピーセット pic.twitter.com/VtOmtTFFAB— ベリ (@092ne) August 9, 2025
マクドナルドで中国人(と思われる)がハッピーセット1人5セットまでなのに40個買ってる事に対し、店員ではなく日本人の「お客さん」が注意したと話題に
#ハッピーセット
#ポケモンカード
#転売
#転売ヤー pic.twitter.com/f4AhWpyE54— まっつんtype3.0 (@san_san_san333) August 9, 2025
In a statement on McDonald’s Japan’s website, the company writes, “We sincerely apologize for not being able to meet the expectations of our customers who were looking forward to the product due to the early end of distribution. Please refrain from contacting stores regarding stock availability.” Reportedly, the promotion ended early due to higher-than-expected sales.
Related
Kirby Happy Meal Toys coming to McDonald’s Japan later this month
Leave a Comment
Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
