GAME's sweetheart deal with Nintendo and dedication to sell the Wii U may already be paying off, as they have announced today that they will be bringing the Pokemon Rumble U NFC figures to the UK.
The eighteen Pokemon figures are Bulbasaur, Celebi, Croagunk, Darkrai, Torchic, Deoxys, Eevee, Genesect, Mewtwo, Victini, Jirachi, Litwich, Lucario, Mew, Zoroark, Pikachu, Piplup, and Shaymin. Each figure wil be sold in blind packaging via Gacha Balls, so people won't actually know which Pokemon they're getting until they open them up.
GAME is also offering a special edition of Pokemon Rumble U, including a download card for the game, a limited edition Kyurem figure in either black or white, an additional mystery NFC figure, and a double-sided collectible poster. This special edition is for sale for 19.99 pounds, and each Gacha Ball figure will run 3.99 pounds. A regular Pokemon Rumble U download card is also currently available for 13.49 pounds.
Considering the situation with other UK retailers and the Wii U, GAME may unofficially be the exclusive retailer for these figures, and of course, stands to benefit the most from them now. Maybe other retailers did not have much of a choice in the matter, given how badly the market is doing there recently, but then again, they may have some regrets after hearing today's announcement.
On the flip side, GAME is blind bagging the toys, just like in Japan. UK marks their stuff up to almost twice as much though, so that's a genuine shame. If you live in the UK yourself, just remember that you can import the figures since they're region free. It's not perfect, but at least you have a way of getting the toys you want.
Source: GAME