“International Pokemon Logo.svg”
“Gotta Catch ‘Em All.”
These words, the slogan of the Pokemon franchise, have become immortalized in the hearts and minds of children the world over. Pokemon has always been uniquely appealing; the idea of capturing and training monsters was an unexpected smash hit among young people, and the video game series continues to grow and acquire new fans in the modern age.
Pokemon became the powerhouse it is today because it tapped into a pre-existing market that other video games at the time had not yet taken advantage of: the collectibles market. When the first Pokemon game was released in 1996, most games at the time were fairly linear in nature, potentially containing hidden secrets for the eagle-eyed player, but not much else. Achievements or other collectible items were a relatively foreign concept, which is what allowed Pokemon to brand itself uniquely from the start. By tempting children with the thought of 151 collectible monsters that they could train and individualize, Game Freak managed to offer players a tangible reward for continuing to play the game.
The game series also benefited massively from its heavily marketed social aspect; players of the games could “trade” with other players for new, exciting Pokemon and “battle” other players to see if their Pokemon were the most well-trained. This motivated children to encourage their friends to purchase the game; the more children who had the game, the more potential players each child had to trade, battle, and interact with. Game Freak’s customers spread like wildfire, and the company raked in a massive amount of profit.
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The games also succeeded because of the different versions, Blue and Red. Neither version contained all 151 Pokemon; the remaining Pokemon were contained within the other game. This encouraged children to either purchase both copies of the game, or find friends who had a differing copy. Had each game contained all the Pokemon, the company would have sold far fewer cartridges and made a lot less money. With the popularity of the anime series, Game Freak also introduced a third version, Pokemon Yellow, which more closely followed the storyline of the anime, and because of this the company managed to sell even more cartridges.
Pushing Game Freak’s amazing business model aside, it’s important to respect the Pokemon franchise not just because of the amount of money the company has made with their unique strategies, but also because of the sheer historical and cultural impact Pokemon has left on society in the information age. I’ve made life-long friends over Pokemon, whom I still talk to on a daily basis. Pokemon’s popularity is so large that when the mobile game Pokemon Go was released, it instantly became a smash hit and one of the most downloaded mobile phone games of all time. The day the game was released, everywhere I went, I would see people out in the streets, collecting every Pokemon they could find. In fact, the moment the game was released, my friends and I all ran outside, relishing in nostalgia inspired by our Game Boy-fueled childhoods.
Pokemon isn’t just a game: it’s an experience and a phenomenon. The video game series has inspired television shows, books, movies, spin-off games, stuffed animals, pajamas, and numerous other forms of merchandise, both digital and material. I see children today playing Pokemon games out in public, all of which feature both new characters and the old ones from my childhood. The game has not lost its appeal after all these years, and continues to provide the younger generations with countless hours of enjoyment and happiness. I love Pokemon, and I hope the game series continues to have its current cultural impact far into the future.
Works Cited
“International Pokemon Logo.svg.” Wikipedia, Game Freak, 31 Dec. 1996, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon.
“pokemon2.jpg.” Ravishly, 21 Jul. 2016, https://ravishly.com/ravs-radar/while-hunting-pokemon-family-discovered-unexpected-creature.