Nintendo bringt seltene Pokémon-Karte 23 Jahre später zurück, nachdem berühmter Zauberer Klage fallen lässt: „Ich war ein Narr“

Ein Pokémon, das seit über zwei Jahrzehnten nicht mehr im Pokémon-Sammelkartenspiel enthalten ist, kehrt endlich zurück, nachdem der Illusionist Uri Geller (der behauptete, das Pokémon basiere auf seinem Abbild) scheinbar eine neue Perspektive auf das Leben bekommen habe. Geller verklagte Nintendo erstmals im Jahr 2000, nachdem er in Japan ein Bild der Kadabra-Karten gesehen hatte, die den Namen „Yungerer“ oder „Yungeller“ trugen (eine klare Anspielung sagt Geller auf seinen eigenen Namen), und forderte 60 Millionen US-Dollar Schadensersatz. Während die Klage 2003 in Amerika abgewiesen wurde, verfolgte Geller sie in anderen Regionen weiter.

Nintendo remained tight-lipped about the matter, though fans noted that Kadabra began to be used more sparingly outside of the games and, in the case of the cards, eventually not at all. The Pokémon was removed from the trading card game in 2002 but will return in this year's Pokémon Card 151, which features the very first game's roster (including Kadabra). 

Diese Nachricht war gebrochen von der Website PokéBeach (öffnet in neuem Tab), die auch nach der Veröffentlichung eine Nachricht von Geller erhielt. 

"I am pleased Pokémon fans are excited to see Kadabra return to the card game," said Geller. "Look, I want to thank the Pokémon fans who reached out to me over the last [few] years. Including the ones from PokéBeach, who kept contacting me non-stop. So basically, it was you and my granddaughters that got me to change my mind.

"Now we can all see Kadabra reunited with the original Pokémon in the card game this summer. I love you all. And I admit, totally open and honest. I was a fool. It was a devastating mistake for me to sue Pokémon. [Kadabra] was basically a tribute to Uri Geller. But it’s back now. Forgive me. I love you all. Much love and energy."

Während Geller in der Vergangenheit streitsüchtig war, hatte er hier vielleicht auch ein bisschen Recht. Kadabra wurde definitiv von Geller inspiriert, der ein weltberühmter Illusionist ist und in den vergangenen Jahrzehnten ständig auf den Bildschirmen zu sehen war. Der Rest des Alakazam-Pokémon basiert auf anderen Magiern: Abra ist Edgar Cayce; Alakazam ist Harry Houdini.

Geller apparently wrote to Nintendo in late 2020 to tell them he'd changed his mind about things, and in December 2020 the president of The Pokémon company, Tsunekazu Ishihara, wrote a letter of thanks (and to give credit where it is definitely due, this seems sparked by a PokéBeach campaign that began on its forums in 2018).

In August 2022, Geller had basically announced this was coming. "The reason I changed my mind—first of all, I did a stupid thing for suing them," said Geller. "I was just angry that my name appeared on a Pokémon card out of the blue without ever being asked. The most important thing is in these 20 years I became a grandfather. I saw my granddaughters and I thought 'Come on, you gotta release the Pokemon card back into circulation again.' Hence my letter. And what a nice letter [Ishihara] sent back. I’m really happy about it."

This is a very Friday story, in which a notoriously litigious corporation is finally no longer under the threat of litigation, and can do a nice thing, but arguably they also deserved it, so… I'm throwing my hands up. I guess at least Nintendo knows Houdini isn't gonna sue.

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• Quelle: https://www.pcgamer.com/nintendo-brings-back-rare-pokemon-card-23-years-later-after-famous-magician-drops-lawsuit-i-was-a-fool