Roadmap

PokemonMarketWatch is in active build. The site goes live at the soft-launch phase with the editorial product working and the data product following.

We publish the roadmap publicly because (a) transparency about what's working now versus what's coming protects you from making decisions on infrastructure we haven't shipped yet, and (b) telling you the cadence in advance lets you decide whether to bookmark or wait.

Live now

  • ✅ Daily editorial briefs: published on the homepage and through the newsletter
  • ✅ Foundational manifesto articles: the JP-leads-US thesis piece, the reprint cycle case study, the 30th Anniversary positioning thesis
  • ✅ Print Run Timeline database (initial 50 sets): searchable canonical reference for major Japanese sealed sets, with current cycle-phase tags

Building this summer

  • ⏳ Delta Tracker: side-by-side JP-domestic / international-facing JP / US-secondary price view for tracked products. The hero product. Target launch: July 2026.
  • ⏳ PMW Japan Index: single daily-updated number tracking the top-weight Japanese Pokémon market constituents. Methodology published with launch. Target launch: July 2026.
  • ⏳ Print Run Timeline database expansion to 200+ sets: back-catalog set additions, vintage Japanese sealed coverage, regional / Pokémon Center exclusive promo products. Target completion: August 2026.
  • ⏳ Daily reprint alert email: push notification when @pokeca_new_card or pokemon-card.com/info posts a reprint announcement, with translated context. Target launch: August 2026.

Building through fall

  • ⏳ 30th Anniversary live coverage hub: September 16, 2026 worldwide launch, with continuous tracking of JP and US pricing through the launch window
  • ⏳ Japanese-to-English set lag tracker: historical lag data for every JP set that has an English equivalent, with the predictor model running on the open variables
  • ⏳ Proxy service comparison calculator: input a Japanese product, get a side-by-side comparison of Buyee, ZenMarket, FromJapan, and direct international-facing JP retailer total costs (item + fees + shipping + estimated tariff)

Long-term

  • 🔵 Investor portfolio tracker: paid tier. Track your sealed and graded Japanese Pokémon positions against PMW's daily price data.
  • 🔵 Sealed product allocation predictor: modeled probability of TPCJ allocating to specific retailers in advance of launches, using historical allocation pattern data.
  • 🔵 English-language Japanese press translation feed: daily curated translations of Snkrdunk Magazine, pokemon-infomation.com, and major JP analyst commentary.

How we sequence

The reason the data tools are coming after the editorial: the editorial layer is what makes the data interpretable. PriceCharting has Japanese-product prices today, sourced from eBay. Card Ladder has graded-Japanese-card prices today. Neither is read systematically by American sealed-product investors because neither provides the analytical context that makes the prices actionable.

We are building the analytical context first, then layering the data tools underneath it. This is the opposite of how most market-data sites are built (data first, editorial later, often never), and it is intentional. The audience for PMW is the audience that already knows price tracking exists. What they need is the editorial framework to interpret what the prices mean.

How to follow the build

  • Newsletter: highest signal-to-noise. We send daily for the editorial briefs and weekly for the deeper analysis. Sign up at the homepage.
  • RSS: the firehose. Every article, immediately. Feed at /rss/.
  • This roadmap page: updated monthly. Anything that ships gets moved from "building" to "live now."

Honest disclosures

  • This site is in early development. The data product backlog is several months of work. We will ship the highest-leverage pieces first.
  • Some features described as "coming" may be removed, deferred, or replaced based on what we learn about reader demand once the editorial is live.
  • We don't promise schedules we can't keep. The target dates above are honest estimates, not commitments.
  • Affiliate links are present from day one. They are clearly marked. They do not influence what we recommend. Our editorial integrity is the only product we have to sell.

Last updated: May 22, 2026.