Music & Games
California vending machines offer bootleg Pokemon cartridges
July 27, 2023
Vending machines offering bootleg copies of Pokemon game cartridges have been reported in California malls since early 2022, according to Gamerant, a video game news site.
Nintendo, which owns Pokemon, has not taken action against the unlicensed game cartridges for Nintendo consoles, according to the report.
The machines are selling Pokemon Green cartridges which Nintendo has not officially released outside of Japan.
A Los Angeles Twitter user posted a picture of a machine Wednesday of a Pokemon Game Boy cartridge in a vending machine in a local mall.
Prices for the cartridges range from $10 to $15, according to the report. There is a $1 fee for non-cash purchases.
The Pokemon Company International did not respond to requests for comment from Vending Times at the time of this report.
