02.03.99
That plague known as Pokemon fever continues to spread across this fair country of ours. The latest outbreak has people snatching up as many decks and booster packs for the Pokemon trading card game as they can. In only six weeks, Wizards of the Coast has sold almost 400,000 copies of the game -- ten times the amount it expected.

Demand for the card game is so high, stores have reported selling out within hours of having it on the shelves. At one Electronics Boutique outlet, 50,000 booster packs were pre-sold before the Pokemon card game even shipped.

Part of this mad consumer rush comes from having to have those ultra-rare underpacked cards that allow you to jam your oponent's monster down his or her throat. This is all fine and good marketing, but if we see kids paying $147 for a holographic Wartortle, someone's gettin' a paddlin'.