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The trading card boom is taking an odd turn, with reports from Japan that we'll soon be getting ones we can drink.
A news report on Japanese TV looks at the latest product from snack food and beverage maker UHA Mikakuto, which has teamed up with Capcom to produce a range of drinkable trading cards featuring Street Fighter characters.
As Japan Today reported back in January, the drinks were "developed in conjunction with Kindai University’s pharmaceutical department."
Energy Arts is described as "a no-caffeine energy drink with a very unusual container: a card." Instead of twisting off a cap or pressing down a tab, you hold the card by its edges, then fold it back against itself to snap open the center seam so that you can drink the liquid that’s inside."
The cards are intended to give people a quick boost of energy, as they only contain 12 millilitres (0.4 ounces) of liquid.
However, the concentrated formula means that 1,000 milligrams of the amino acids arginine and citrulline are in each card, which apparently delivers the same energy boost as a full-size canned beverage. The card is good for 18 months, and UHA Mikakuto apparently expects people to carry them around for quick and convenient replenishment.
The big question here is, will these items become as collectable as real trading cards? Given that you effectively have to damage them in order to consume them, I'm not entirely sure that will be the case, but I'm all for bizarre collaborations featuring Ryu and Ken, so I'm very torn on this topic.