Beckett Pokémon Unofficial Collector

Beckett Pokémon Unofficial Collector (originally titled Beckett Pokémon Collector) was an English-language magazine with information on Pokémon animation, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, the and other Pokémon-related media. It was in circulation from September 1999 to July 2010 and was the longest-running publication dedicated to Pokémon. Beckett Pokémon Unofficial Collector was published by , and the editor of the magazine at the time of closure was Doug Kale.
While Beckett was often the first English-language print source to report on developments in Japan regarding the Pokémon franchise, it was also known to occasionally report false information. Beckett was the first publication of any kind to report information about , through the December 2007 issue."New Pokémon Video Games" (December 2007). Beckett Unofficial Pokémon Collector issue 97 page 4.
==Content==
The magazine had contained, among other things, listings of prices for Pokémon trading cards. In addition to Pokémon coverage, the magazine also occasionally featured "Bonus sections" on other games and anime, such as , , and .
The magazine contained a variety of Pokémon-related content aside from the regular monthly sections. Featured content would often consist of console and game reviews, strategies for the Pokémon Trading Card Game, coverage of new Pokémon and forthcoming games as they were announced in Japan, and and coverage, among other topics.
Beckett Pokémon Unofficial Collector often hosted contests to win prizes such as plush Pokémon, Pokémon playsets, Pokémon merchandise and full boxes of Trading Card Game cards. Merchandise such as s were also occasionally offered as incentives for purchasing or renewing a subscription to the magazine.
In 2007, Beckett Pokémon Unofficial Collector held a "cards for kids" campaign which asked readers to donate unwanted duplicate Pokémon cards which would be distributed to children in hospitals and extended care facilities, along with a copy of the magazine. This was not the first year the magazine held this campaign — in a previous unspecified year, over 100,000 cards were sent in by readers.
===Sections===
There were several sections of the magazine which recurred in most, if not all, issues of the magazine:
* Beckett Pokémon Hot List: A list of top-selling cards in Japan.
* Beckett's Ultimate Guide: a new Pokémon is featured every month.
* The Real-Life Pokémon: A report on a featured Pokémon which resembles or is based on a real-life animal.
* Collector's Corner: Photos of readers' Pokémon collections.
* Pokémon Price Guide: A main selling point of the magazine, especially in its earliest years of publication. This section is a detailed estimated price guide of the value of all current TCG cards from the up until the most recent English expansion as well as all English-released promotional cards. In older issues, the price guide also included information on Japanese cards and other collectibles such as Topps trading cards, Pokémon Action Flipz, and even various Pokémon merchandise and manga issues.
* Art Gallery: fan art submitted by readers. Beckett was also known to publish fan-made cards as well.
* Fun Trivia: The closing section of the magazine.
==Issues==
==Unofficial Pokémon art==
The magazine created unofficial art of Generation 2 Pokémon and several Generation 3 Pokémon to use in early issues. Much of the art looks fairly off-model from the official designs, though some of the off-model art looks similar to the Pokémon's Gold and Silver sprites (ex. Magcargo).
Some bootleg Pokémon merchandise used these artwork and designs."Beckett Series". Bootleg Celebi. https://bootlegcelebi.miraheze.org/wiki/Beckett_Series"One classic bootleg is the good ol’ alien celebi". Tumblr, uploaded by necklesslapras. November 13th, 2019. https://necklesslapras.tumblr.com/post/189041011144/one-classic-bootleg-is-the-good-ol-alien
Beckett Pokemon Unofficial Collector Generation 2 Pokemon Art 01.png|Several Generation 2 Pokémon art
Beckett Pokemon Unofficial Collector Generation 2 Pokemon Art 02.png|Several Generation 2 Pokémon art
Beckett Pokemon Unofficial Collector Generation 2 Pokemon Art 03.png|Several Generation 2 Pokémon art
Beckett Pokemon Unofficial Collector Generation 2 Pokemon Art 04.png|Several Generation 2 Pokémon art
Beckett Pokemon Unofficial Collector Generation 2 Pokemon Art 05.png|Several Generation 2 Pokémon art
Beckett Pokemon Unofficial Collector Generation 2 Pokemon Art 06.png|Several Generation 2 Pokémon art
Beckett Pokemon Unofficial Collector Generation 2 Pokemon Art 07.png|Several Generation 2 Pokémon art
Beckett Pokemon Unofficial Collector Generation 2 Pokemon Art 08.png|Several Generation 2 Pokémon art
Beckett Pokemon Unofficial Collector Generation 2 Pokemon Art 09.png|Several Generation 2 Pokémon art
Beckett Pokemon Unofficial Collector Generation 2 Pokemon Art 10.png|Several Generation 2 Pokémon art
==Lawsuit with The Pokémon Company International==
On July 16, 2010, The Pokémon Company International filed a lawsuit against Beckett Media. The lawsuit argues that Beckett's use of Pokémon card images and other artwork violates TPCi's copyright. This lawsuit was the result of Beckett Media ignoring TPCi's earlier requests to remove their copyrighted material.
In late September 2010, magazine subscribers received a notice that the magazine was going to be canceled, most likely due to the aforementioned lawsuit. Subscribers were to later receive issues of Beckett Game Strategyst, which would have included information about Pokémon games. However, in June 2011, Beckett Game Strategyst was canceled as well. Subscribers would instead receive issues of Beckett Fun Online Games.
==In other countries==
Between 2000 and 2001, an edition of Beckett Pokémon Collector was released. Rather than a separate magazine with similar contents but made in Italy, it was a straight translation of the American magazine, up to the mail and the Art Gallery sections with the English names and addresses of the original readers replaced with fake Italian ones. The fact was obvious since the magazine published no address to send letters to and many kids wrote their name, age and town on their drawings, blatantly contradicting what was written underneath (such as a drawing stated as coming from "Marco, Age 11" with the words "Drew age 6" clearly written on the drawing itself).
==External links==
*Forum thread on Platinum leak
==References==
==Related articles==
Category:Magazines
Category:Pokémon Trading Card Game publications