A recent Twitch trend has seen streamers opening up packs of trading cards during their stream in the hopes of pulling out a rare card they can add to their collection. The relative thrill of the unknown as they open the pack live in front of potentially thousands of people, all equally curious to know if a rare card will be discovered, has seen a spike in popularity online as streamers involve fans in a moment loaded with potential.
Chance "sodapoppin" Morris did precisely this recently, live streaming a Pokémon Trading Card Game pack opening session. However, rather than just reveling in the reveal, the user decided to destroy the cards within, immediately diminishing, if not flat out negating, their value to the shock and entertainment of those watching at home.
At one point, Sodapoppin and his friends revealed one of the packs continued a Dark Raichu card, which they estimated at being worth as much as $5k. All viewers watching the stream could do was watch as, despite the protestations of one of his friends, Sodapoppin proceeded to dunk the rare card in a glass of lube. Other cards met similar sad fates as they were blended, covered in dirt and even set on fire. Sodapoppin's stream was popular enough to accrue approximately 100,000 concurrent viewers, with the archived stream sitting at more than 1.2 million views.
Some have compared the unpacking of Pokémon cards on a stream to gambling, with the sensation of disappointment and instant gratification being captured by the luck of any given pack akin to Loot Boxes in video games. The collectible card game has maintained its popularity throughout the years, with certain sets only increasing in value, as attested by a first edition booster pack recently selling for a record-breaking $198k.
The Pokémon Trading Card Game was created in 1999 to coincide with the American release of the video game Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue. The game was created by Wizards of the Coast, who also created the popular Magic: The Gathering collectible card game.
Source: Polygon