Pokémon
Pokémon[a] is a Japanese media franchise consisting of video games, animated series and films, a trading card game, and other related media. The franchise takes place in a shared universe in which humans co-exist with creatures known as Pokémon, a large variety of species endowed with special powers. The franchise's target audience is children aged 5 to 12,[1] but is known to attract people all ages.[2][3][4][5]
| Pokémon | |
|---|---|
International franchise logo | |
| Created by | |
| Original work | Pocket Monsters Red and Pocket Monsters Green (1996) |
| Owner | Nintendo Creatures Game Freak |
| Years | 1996–present |
| Print publications | |
| Comics | See list of Pokémon manga |
| Films and television | |
| Film(s) | See list of Pokémon films |
| Animated series | Pokémon (1997–present) |
| Games | |
| Traditional | Pokémon Trading Card Game |
| Video game(s) | Pokémon video game series |
| Official website | |
| Official hub | |
The franchise originated as a pair of role-playing games developed by Game Freak, following an original concept by its founder, Satoshi Tajiri. Released on the Game Boy on February 27, 1996, the games became sleeper hits and were followed by manga series, a trading card game, and anime series and films. From 1998 to 2000, Pokémon was exported to the rest of the world, creating an unprecedented global phenomenon dubbed "Pokémania". By 2002, the craze had ended, after which the brand became a fixture in popular culture, with new products being released to this day. In the summer of 2016, the franchise spawned a second craze with the release of Pokémon Go, an augmented reality game developed by Niantic. Pokémon has since been estimated to be the world's highest-grossing media franchise and one of the best-selling video game franchises.
Pokémon has an uncommon ownership structure. While most IPs are owned by a single company, Pokémon is jointly owned by three: Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures.[6][7] Game Freak develops the core series role-playing games, which are published by Nintendo exclusively for their consoles, while Creatures manages the trading card game and related merchandise, occasionally developing spin-off titles. The three companies established The Pokémon Company (TPC) in 1998 to manage the Pokémon property within Asia. The Pokémon anime series and films are co-owned by Shogakukan. Since 2009, The Pokémon Company International (TPCi) subsidiary of TPC has managed the franchise in all regions outside of Asia.[8]
Name
The contracted term Pokémon derives from a syllabic abbreviation of the franchise's full name, Pocket Monsters (ポケットモンスター, Poketto Monsutā). When the franchise began to be released internationally, the short form of the title was used, with an acute accent (´) for pronunciation.[9]
Pokémon refers both to the franchise itself and the creatures within its fictional universe. As a noun, it is identical in both the singular and plural, as is every individual species name;[10] it is grammatically correct to say "one Pokémon" and "many Pokémon", as well as "one Pikachu" and "many Pikachu". In English, Pokémon may be pronounced either /'powkɛmon/ (poe-keh-mon) or /'powkɪmon/ (poe-key-mon).[11]
General concept
The Pokémon franchise is set in a world in which humans coexist with creatures known as Pokémon. Pokémon Red and Blue introduced 151 Pokémon species, with new Pokémon being introduced in subsequent games; as of February 2023, 1,015 Pokémon species have been introduced.[b] Many Pokémon are designed to resemble real-world animals; for example, Pikachu is a yellow mouse-like Pokémon with a lightning bolt-shaped tail, and possesses electrical abilities.
The player character takes the role of a Pokémon Trainer. The Trainer's three primary goals are to explore the Pokémon world, complete their Pokédex―an electronic handheld encyclopedia―by obtaining all available Pokémon, and to train a team of up to six Pokémon at a time and engage them in battle. To obtain most Pokémon, the Trainer uses a spherical device known as a Poké Ball. Once the opposing Pokémon is sufficiently weakened, the Trainer throws the Poké Ball against it, and it is then transformed into a form of energy to be transported into the device. Once the Pokémon is successfully caught, it is under the Trainer's command from then on. If the Poké Ball is thrown again, the Pokémon re-materializes into its original state. The Trainer's Pokémon can engage in battles against opposing Pokémon, including those in the wild or owned by other Trainers. Because the franchise is aimed at children, these battles are never presented as overtly violent and contain no blood or gore.[12][13][14][15] Pokémon never die in battle, instead fainting upon being defeated.[16][17][18]
After a Pokémon wins a battle, it gains experience and becomes stronger. After gaining a certain amount of experience points, its level increases, as well as one or more of its statistics. As its level increases, the Pokémon can learn new offensive and defensive moves to use in battle. Many species of Pokémon can evolve into a different species, with increased stats compared to its pre-evolved form. Most species will evolve at a certain level, while others evolve through different means, such as exposure to an evolution stone.
History
Origins
The main idea behind Pokémon was conceived by Satoshi Tajiri. Tajiri grew up in Machida, a suburb of Tokyo. In his youth, he enjoyed discovering and catching insects and other small creatures in the various ponds and fields that surrounded his town.[19][20] As Japan's economic miracle occurred, many cities, including Machida, were significantly expanded. As a consequence, Machida's nature was largely destroyed. In his second year of junior high school,[21][22] an arcade hall opened in Tajiri's neighborhood, introducing him to video games. While studying electrical engineering at Tokyo College of Technology, Tajiri began publishing a doujinshi magazine titled Game Freak.[23] The title was inspired by the 1932 film Freaks, which Tajiri was fascinated with at the time.[24] He self-published the first issue of the magazine in March 1983, at the age of 17.[25] [26] At the time, magazines specializing in video games did not yet exist in Japan, allowing Game Freak to fill a gap in the market.[27][28] Concurrently, Tajiri was contacted by aspiring manga artist Ken Sugimori, who became Game Freak's illustrator.[29] Game Freak folded in the late 1980s,[25] by which point Tajiri had become a respected game journalist in Japan's fledgling video game industry.[30]
Tajiri's knowledge of video games brought him into contact with Tsunekazu Ishihara. Ishihara had studied Arts and Science at Tsukuba University, and was trained in CGI. After working in advertisement for two years, Ishihara joined a company named Sedic in 1983, which created video graphics and software,[31] including one video game, Otocky (1987).[32][33] As video games grew in popularity, Sedic also produced a number of game-related television shows for Fuji Television's late-night slot.[31] In his job as a TV producer, Ishihara befriended Tajiri, as well as Shigesato Itoi, who would later become CEO of Ape, Inc.[34][35] Ishihara was also the general director of the world's first gaming encyclopedia: TV Games: Encyclopedia of Video Games (テレビゲーム―電視遊戯大全, Terebigēmu ― Denshi Yūgi Taizen).[36][37] Hatakeyama & Kubo (2000) wrote that, at the time, Ishihara was probably the most well-connected man in the industry,[38] with a knowledge of games "beyond comparison".[39] Ishihara was also interested in playing cards,[40][41] and contributed to the development of at least three simple card games designed by Itoi for Ape.[c]
In 1986, Tajiri, Sugimori, and a few other enthusiasts started an informal development team called Game Freak, named after the magazine it grew out of. Over the next few years, they independently developed the puzzle game Quinty, working on it alongside school or their regular jobs.[48] However, no one within the group knew how to make the game's music. After consulting all his contacts, Tajiri got in touch with Junichi Masuda, who became the group's composer.[49] Quinty was finished in 1989, and published by Namco.[50] Tajiri officially incorporated Game Freak Co., Ltd. on April 26, 1989.[51]
1989 – 1995: Development of Red & Green
Tajiri started to think of what was to become Pokemon while completing Quinty, and before he officially founded Game Freak. Around this time, Nintendo announced the upcoming release of the Game Boy, a handheld console that would revolutionize the gaming industry. Tajiri learned that the device would have a link port, and with the corresponding Game Link Cable, two Game Boys could be linked together.[52] Sometime later, Tajiri remembered an incident while playing Dragon Quest II (1987), a role-playing game (RPG) for the Famicom (NES). The game features randomly appearing items of varying rarity, including an extremely rare item called Mysterious Hat.[d] Tajiri did not encounter any, while Ken Sugimori, who was also playing the game, encountered two. Upon recalling this experience, Tajiri realized that the cable now made it possible to transfer things from one cartridge to another.[53][54][55][56] He noted that, until then, the Game Link Cable was only used for competing, but not for something else.[57] Combining this inspiration with his memories of catching insects and other small species, Tajiri's idea would eventually evolve into a virtual recreation of his boyhood experiences,[58] and an attempt to "regain the world that he had lost".[59] He would later state that the game represents "the story of a boy's summer day".[60]
Tajiri and the Game Freak staff began pondering over a game centered on capturing creatures of differing rarity. Since the Game Boy is a portable device, these creatures could then be exchanged with other players in real life. Once the player has caught a creature, it was to be stored in miniaturized form in a special capsule. This facet of the game was inspired by Ultraseven, a tokusatsu show that Tajiri had enjoyed as a child.[61] The series' titular character owns a number of capsules containing miniaturized kaiju (monsters), which come out and return to their original sizes when the capsule is thrown into mid-air. Kaiju media in general were an important influence on Pokemon, as many Game Freak staff members had grown up with them.[54][62] Other cited influences include: gashapon, capsules with toy figures in them that can be drawn from vending machines;[63][64] collectible cards, such as baseball cards, Ultraman cards and menko;[65][66][67][68] The Final Fantasy Legend (1989), the first RPG for the Game Boy;[69] and petting in Japan, with Tajiri noting that having Pokemon is similar to having pets.[70] Tajiri initially named his project Capsule Monsters, which GF's staff commonly shortened to Capumon.[71] However, it later turned out that the term Capsule Monsters could not be trademarked, and it was subsequently decided to call the game Pocket Monsters, which became Pokemon. According to Tomisawa (2000), the phrase "Capsule Monsters" was already registered.[71] According to Hatakeyama & Kubo (2000), the word "capsule" could not be used in the trademark.[72] Tomisawa (2000) states that the Game Freak staff then came up with several alternatives, before someone within the team suggested "Pocket Monsters".[71]
In March 1989, Nintendo co-founded Ape, Inc. with Itoi. Ape's principal work was Mother (1989), a role-playing game written by Itoi, but it was also founded with the intent to give outside talent a chance to pitch new, innovative games.[40][35] At the time, Ape was housed in the same Kanda-Sudachō office building as Nintendo, located in Tokyo.[73] Ishihara, a friend of both Itoi and Tajiri, was involved with Ape's management (and would become its vice-president in 1991).[35][38] Tajiri's relationship with Ishihara prompted Tajiri to present his idea for Pokemon at Ape's office.[74][75] Present during Tajiri's pitch was Takashi Kawaguchi, who worked at Nintendo's General Affairs Department and was also a manager at Ape.[40][76] Kawaguchi brought the idea to Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi, who reportedly said: "This is it. This is the idea I've been waiting for."[77] By pure coincidence, Ishihara had come up with an idea for a game similar to that of Tajiri, and around the same time was discussing it with Ape. This game, Toto, involved "using the Game Boy as an insect cage". GF and Ape subsequently agreed to merge their projects together.[78] According to Tajiri, the two teams initially collaborated on the project, but the work proved difficult, one of the reasons being that Ape was busy developing EarthBound.[79][80] Tajiri eventually figured that "rather than working with Ape, we had to do something on our own, or the project would never get finished".[79] Ape, Inc. is not credited on the final product.
The development contract was signed at the beginning of 1990, with a planned delivery of the game in October.[81] Tajiri directed the project, working under Ishihara.[82] Ishihara was the producer – he managed the budget, staff, and work schedule, monitored the game's overall progress, and served as a liaison between Game Freak and Nintendo.[78][83] Ishihara also contributed ideas to the development,[41] and helped with debugging.[84][85] Sugimori was in charge of the graphics and character design.[86] Masuda created all music and sound effects, and did part of the programming.[87] The budget that Nintendo granted to Game Freak was low.[81] Thus, Pocket Monsters was initially planned as a small, compact game, based primarily around Tajiri's core idea of exchanging.[69][88] However, as development progressed, GF's ideas and ambitions for Pokemon grew.[69] They soon realized that the game they were beginning to envision would not be easy to make. Sugimori admitted that, at the time, no one at GF had much knowledge of RPGs. "We thought we could handle it, but as we began working, we realized it was going to be tough", he acknowledged.[89] Pokemon was suspended indefinitely. While developing their second game, Smart Ball (1991), GF was commissioned by Nintendo to create Yoshi (1991), a simple puzzle game. The idea for it was suggested by Ishihara.[90] Yoshi sold over three million copies worldwide,[91] and both Tajiri[92] and Masuda[41] said that this success allowed Game Freak to survive. Over the next three years, GF developed four more games: Magical Tarurūto-kun (1992), Mario & Wario (1993), Nontan to Issho: KuruKuru Puzzle, and Pulseman (both 1994).
It is commonly stated that development of the first Pokemon game took six years.[10][93][94][95][96] However, this is in fact the total time passed from planning to finish: GF did not work on the game for six years straight.[97] After the initial development phase in 1990 and '91,[98] the staff "tinkered with it from time to time", as Sugimori put it.[99] For instance, by October 1992, a large number of Pokemon had been designed, and a poll was held that month among all staff members to gauge the popularity of the different species. Several more such votes followed to determine collectively which Pokemon should be included.[100] Still, development had mostly come to a halt until the summer of 1994, after the release of Pulseman, upon which Tajiri decided it was time to make a serious effort towards finishing Pokemon.[101] By this point, Game Freak's experience had grown considerably. Over the years, a number of new staff members had been added to the company. One of them was Atsuko Nishida, a graphic designer who created Pikachu, among others.[102][103][104] Ishihara used his knowledge of card games to add more depth to the battle system, and among other things suggested Pokemon types. Ishihara also came up with the idea of the Pokedex, a portable encyclopedic device which players can use to keep track of the Pokemon they caught.[41] Throughout the years, Tajiri had several conversations with Shigeru Miyamoto,[105] Nintendo's top game designer who Tajiri described as a mentor figure.[61] However, in a 2018 retrospect, Miyamoto downplayed his role in advising Tajiri, and stated that his contributions to Pokemon were in fact limited.[106]
Both Tajiri and Ishihara sought to 'individualize' the player's experience, to make each game slightly different so that every playthrough would be unique.[107] At an early stage, Tajiri had the idea of having the software generate a random number when first booted, ranging from 00001 to 65535 (the highest possible value of an unsigned 16-bit integer).[108][109] When a player then catches a Pokemon, it is assigned both the game's ID and the player's name, which stick with the creature even after it is traded.[110] Furthermore, based on the unique ID, GF wanted the game to render slightly different landscapes and present the player with different Pokemon.[96][109][111] This idea proved infeasible, however.[e] When Tajiri discussed his thoughts of individualization and the ID system with Miyamoto, the latter noted that it was a bit difficult to understand. Miyamoto then suggested using different colored cartridges, which would make the differences between versions more visually clear.[112] According to Tajiri, "five or seven colors" were considered,[113] but they eventually settled on two: a Red version and a Green version. Both games were identical, but each had Pokemon not found in the other, encouraging players to socialize and trade to complete their collection.[107]
Ishihara aspired to create games of his own.[114] As Pocket Monsters Red and Green were nearing completion, Ishihara founded Creatures, Inc. on November 8, 1995. Upon founding, the company was housed in the same Kanda-Sudachō office building as Nintendo, located in Tokyo.[115] Co-ownership of the Pokemon property, which Ishihara helped create, was subsequently assigned to Creatures. This resulted in Pokemon having three legal owners: Game Freak, the main developer; Creatures, representing producer Ishihara; and Nintendo, the publisher. Anne Allison (2006) wrote that Nintendo also bought Pokemon after it was finished.[116] Hatakeyama & Kubo (2000) noted that the ownership structure of Pokemon is uncommon.[117] They wrote that "Pokemon is probably the only property in the world today for which the original rights are not concentrated in a single company", like The Walt Disney Company does with their IPs.[117] Tajiri and Ishihara did consider merging Game Freak and Creatures at one point. However, Tajiri decided against it because he feared it would erase what he had built up since he was a teenager. "I felt threatened by the idea of changing how Game Freak was operating, and starting back over with Mr. Ishihara", he said. "It was an identity problem. If Game Freak ceased to exist, then so would I". Tajiri noted that, since Game Freak and Creatures both focus on Pokemon, it sometimes felt more like different departments than different companies.[74]
Pocket Monsters Red and Green were finally finished in December 1995.[118] A release date of December 21, 1995 was announced,[119] but missed. After sufficient cartridges, manuals and packages had been manufactured, the pair of games ended up being published on February 27, 1996. However, the property was copyrighted in 1995, and "© 1995" is shown on the title screens[120] and cartridges.[121] This year is since used on the copyright notice[6] seen on many Pokemon products, even though no actual Pokemon product was released in 1995.
1996 – 1998: Rise in Japan
Release of Red & Green
Nintendo had no high expectations of Pocket Monsters Red and Green, and media largely ignored the game(s).[122] By 1996, the seven-years old Game Boy console was considered yesterday's news and near the end of its lifecycle.[93][123][124] On the other hand, new Game Boys continued to be manufactured and sold.[125] The console was widespread and, due to its age, affordable to children.[93][126] Also, the Game Boy had experienced a small revival in Japan in 1995 due to the success of Mario's Picross. Coincidentally, this game was directed by Ishihara, and co-developed by Ape. The popularity of Mario's Picross inspired Nintendo to develop the Game Boy Pocket,[127] a slimmer and improved version of the Game Boy, released in Japan on July 21, 1996.[128] Because of the timing, some were under the impression that the Game Boy Pocket was made to promote Pocket Monsters, but this was in fact a coincidence that would end up benefiting both.[129]
CoroCoro manga, Mew lottery
Two media channels that would play important roles in the Pokemon franchise were the CoroCoro Comic, released monthly, and its sister magazine Bessatsu CoroCoro Comic, released bi-monthly. Both manga magazines are published by Shogakukan, a long-time business partner of Nintendo, and have featured manga based on Nintendo properties (e.g. Super Mario-kun, Kirby of the Stars, Donkey Kong). At the time of Pokemon's release, the main CoroCoro magazine was read by one in four elementary school students.[130] CoroCoro's deputy editor-in-chief was Masakazu Kubo. On Ishihara's suggestion,[131] Kubo commissioned the creation of a Pocket Monsters manga. Written and drawn by Kosaku Anakubo, its first chapter was featured in the March/April issue of Bessatsu CoroCoro Comic, released on February 28, 1996, one day after the release of Red and Green.[132] Shogakukan, which frequently surveys their target groups, determined that the Pocket Monsters manga was well received.[133]
To further promote Red and Green, the May issue of CoroCoro, released on April 15, 1996, announced the "Legendary Pokemon Offer", centered around a mysterious, secret Pokemon called Mew.[134][135] Mew was a last-minute addition to Red & Green. It is unobtainable in the game(s) through usual means, and was intended to be used at a later point in some post-launch activity.[136] To participate in the promotion, CoroCoro readers had to send in a postcard, and from the entrants, 20 were selected at random. The winners then had to send in their cartridge so that Mew could be uploaded onto it.[136] The lottery was a success and increased word-of-mouth.[93][136] By September, sales of Red and Green had surpassed 1 million units.[137]
Pokemon Blue
After the release of Pokemon Red and Green, Game Freak continued to grow, and a number of new employees were hired. For training purposes, they were ordered to study and make bug fixes to the source code of Red & Green, and to create new sprites for it.[138] The upgraded version was dubbed Pokemon Blue. It was originally not meant to be sold. Only a small number of handmade copies were made, intended as a special gift to "20 to 100 people".[139] After Kubo learned of it, he encouraged Tajiri and Ishihara to allow an official release of Blue. President Hiroshi Yamauchi initially rejected this, fearing it would confuse people into believing it was an entirely new Pokemon game. Kawaguchi then suggested an alternative, which Yamauchi agreed with: Blue would not receive a normal retail release, but would be made available only through mail order for a limited time as a special offer.[140] It was announced in the November issue of CoroCoro, which explicitly stated that Blue was not a new game, but rather a special, limited edition to celebrate the sale of 1 million copies of Red and Green.[135] The offer was a surprisingly big success: 300,000 units were expected to be sold, but over 600,000 were ordered.[141][142]
Trading card game launched
The Pokemon Trading Card Game was one of the first collectible card games (CCGs) developed in Japan. Its creation was influenced by Magic: The Gathering, the first CCG in history.[143][144][145] Indeed, the Pokemon Trading Card Game can be considered a simplified version of Magic.[146][147] First released in the United States in 1993, Magic had gained popularity not just in North America and Europe, but also in Asia.[148] Ishihara was fond of playing cards,[41] and had contributed to the development of at least three simple card games designed by Shigesato Itoi and released through Ape, Inc.[c] At the time, Ishihara was particularly interested in Magic: The Gathering.[143] While developing the Pokemon RPG, he realized that the concept behind it could be adapted into a Magic-like CCG.[40] The Pokemon Card Game was designed by Ishihara,[149] Akihiko Miura, Kōichi Ōyama, and Takumi Akabane.[150] All were former staff members of Ape and had previously worked on EarthBound (1994): Miura was the game's main designer, Ōyama was its art director, and Akabane was one of its chief debuggers.[151]
While card games have a long history in Japan, a collectible card game was a relatively new concept there, and at the time not widely known.[152] Because of this, Ishihara had difficulties finding distributors. Sometime in 1995, Ishihara pitched the card game to Nintendo. They agreed to have the cards manufactured, subcontracting an unidentified printing company. However, Nintendo did not want the hassle of having to develop a distribution system from the ground up, i.e. finding retailers willing to sell a CCG.[153] Ishihara was then contacted by Satoshi Kayama, director of a small firm called Media Factory. Like Ishihara, Kayama was a fan of card games. He felt that CCGs would soon rise to prominence in Japan, and had been gathering information on the possibility of developing such a game in some form. When Kayama heard that Creatures had developed a CCG, he contacted Ishihara and offered to distribute it, signing the contract near the end of 1995.[154]
CoroCoro again proved a valuable information channel. The Pokemon card game was first announced in the November issue, the same one that announced Pokemon Blue.[155] The issue came bundled with two promo cards: one of Purin (Jigglypuff) and one of Pikachu. Surveys showed that they were respectively the most and second-most popular Pokemon at the time.[156] On October 20, 1996, the first card set was released.[157] Booster packs were launched the same day, containing 10 randomly inserted cards.[158] In the West, the booster packs contained 11 cards.[f] The original set of the Pokemon card game would be titled the Base Set in English. Many more sets would follow. Despite being ignored by the media, except for the CoroCoro,[159] the cards became an instant success upon release. 87 million Pokemon cards were shipped by the end of March 1997, six months after its launch, and one month before the debut of the next big installment of the franchise: the Pokemon anime series. The success of the TV series would cause the cards' sales figure to explode: by March 1998, a total of 499 million cards had been produced in Japan.[160]
Anime production launched
By August 1996, Kubo had become convinced of Pokemon's potential, and believed Shogakukan should create a Pokemon anime.[161] Nintendo was hesitant, realizing that if the anime would flop, it would negatively affect the popularity of the game.[162] Ishihara initially opposed the idea, because he thought it would overly hasten the 'consumption' of the property: he feared that if the series would end, people would assume that Pokemon has ended, and move on to the next thing.[163] At the time, Creatures and Game Freak were planning the sequel(s) to Red and Green, Pokemon Gold and Silver, and Ishihara did not want the anime to end before they could release their new game(s).[164][165] Kubo was ultimately able to resolve the concerns of all parties involved. An important aspect of Kubo's bargaining power was the then-ongoing Mini 4WD craze and its accompanying hit series Bakusō Kyōdai Let's & Go!!. Kubo had an important role in the creation of both, which impressed the stakeholders.[166] To appease Ishihara, Kubo promised him that Pokemon would last for at least one and a half year. This was unusually long for a debuting anime, and required a big investment.[164][167] Kubo's proposal for Pokemon was officially approved on September 26, 1996.[168] For Nintendo of Japan, it was the first time they licensed a TV series.[169] Kubo assigned independent producer Choji Yoshikawa to lead the project.[170]
Shogakukan Productions, commonly called ShoPro, was Shogakukan's production company. The animation company they commissioned was OLM, Inc. (Oriental Light and Magic), on Kubo's suggestion.[171] Pokemon's director became Kunihiko Yuyama, one of OLM's founding members. ShoPro assembled a team of five writers, plus two supporting writers.[172] All key people involved with the production of Pokemon were well-experienced and had proven track records within Japan's anime industry. Yoshikawa felt that the team got lucky. "The probability of so many great people coming together at the same time is very low", he said.[173] Per Tajiri's explicit condition,[174] every anime team member had to play the game extensively, including the illustrators and voice actors.[173] The anime staff "unanimously agreed that the game was interesting"[175] and "felt connected with each other through the world of Pokemon",[173] feeling positively challenged to make an anime that would match the game's quality.[176]
A production council was formed to produce the Pokemon anime. Different people appeared at different meetings, but four individuals usually present were Ishihara of Creatures, Sugimori of Game Freak, Yuyama of OLM, and independent producer Yoshikawa. Yoshikawa had the final say. The council decided on the anime's worldview, characters, general storyline, and various important details. The early meetings, which were also attended by Tajiri, usually started with a Q&A session in which Tajiri and Ishihara were asked about the Pokemon universe.[177] The council was careful to have the anime be in concordance with the video game. Inevitably, there had to be differences between the two, but all agreed that the overall worldview as envisioned by Tajiri should not be disturbed.[178] At the start of the video game, the player has to choose one of three starter Pokemon: Fushigidane, Hitokage, or Zenigame (Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle). The council didn't want to unfairly popularize any of them, and wanted the protagonist to start out with a different Pokemon.[179][180] Hatakeyama & Kubo (2000) wrote that, by coincidence, three people independently suggested to the council that a Pikachu should be a main character in the anime: Kubo, Yuyama, and Keisuke Iwata of TV Tokyo's Film Department.[181] In the end, all council members agreed that Pikachu should be one of Pokemon's central icons. They expected Pikachu to appeal to both boys and girls, as well as their mothers. This would expand Pokemon's audience, which was considered a core objective of the anime.[182][183]
During the council's very first meeting, Yoshikawa brought up the issue on whether the Pokemon in the anime could speak, and if not, how they could communicate. In the video games, each Pokemon has a specific cry. In Anakubo's CoroCoro manga, most Pokemon could speak. At first, the council believed there should be a mixture of Pokemon that could talk and Pokemon that could not. However, this idea was eventually discarded: the Pokemon had to make a specific cry. The council agreed that Pokemon were like animals, and while the humans and the Pokemon should be able to understand each other in the series, they should not speak each other's language.[184] It was decided that Pikachu would repeatedly say its own name in various intonations. The role of Pikachu was given to Ikue Otani. During try-outs, Yuyama had Otani voice Pikachu in normal Japanese, as well as in 'Pikachu talk', in which it only said the syllables of its name. Yuyama realized that, even in the latter style of limited communication, Otani was experienced enough to still convey the messages and emotions needed.[185]
ShoPro paid half of the production cost of Pokemon. TV Tokyo paid the other half and was granted co-ownership of the anime.[186] The ads during Pokemon's commercial breaks were managed by advertisement agency JR Kikaku, which was in turn paid by sponsors buying advertisement space.[187] In negotiating with TV Tokyo, Kubo managed to secure the 19:00 – 19:30 timeslot on Tuesdays.[188] Pocket Monsters premiered on April 1, 1997. By November, it had become the highest-rated program on TV Tokyo.[189] The anime succeeded in its goal of widening Pokemon's audience. Although the video games and the cards remained mostly of interest to boys, the anime also got more girls interested in the franchise, and girls' purchases of Pokemon products increased.[190] This has been partly credited to Pikachu, who gained widespread popularity among children.[191] The success of this character would later lead to the game Pokemon Pikachu, released in Japan on September 12, 1998 (it would be released in the West as Pokémon Yellow).[192][193] An adaptation of Pokemon Blue, this 'Pikachu version' was made to resemble the TV series more.[194]
Copyright counsel formed, merchandising expands
In the early months of the franchise, Nintendo was the contractual representative for Pokemon, and thus the central contact point for all Pokemon-related licensing (the approval of branded products).[195] Around the time that planning of the Pokemon anime begun, licensing requests for Pokemon started to increase, which Nintendo had difficulties handling due to a lack of (experienced) staff.[196] Nintendo consequently granted ShoPro exclusive licensor rights. This was the first time that NoJ (Nintendo of Japan) granted licensor rights to another company, aside from its overseas subsidiaries NoA (Nintendo of America) and NoE (Nintendo of Europe).[197]
A copyright council was formed, headed by Ishihara. Beginning in April 1997, the council met every Tuesday, in the conference room of Creatures' office, at the Nintendo Kanda Building in Sudachō, Tokyo.[115][198][199] Attendees usually included Ishihara and his secretary, representatives of Nintendo, Game Freak, ShoPro, TV Tokyo, and JR Kikaku, as well as head of the anime Yoshikawa.[200] Broadly put, every meeting had three types of agenda items: discussing Pokemon-related events and basic policies in Japan, discussing Shogakukan publication plans, and considering merchandise proposals.[201] For merchandising, the council set the bar high. Fiercely protective of Pokemon's brand equity, Ishihara was unwilling to greenlit an item just because it had a picture of a Pokemon printed on it. To avoid the market being flooded with low-quality goods, Ishihara put very specific demands on the products he evaluated.[164][202] Furthermore, in most cases, the council opted to contract one company for each product category.[203] Because of this, most merchandise proposals were rejected: of the approximately 7,500 applications submitted in 1997, only about 5% was approved.[204]
By March 1998, 35 companies offered licensed Pokemon goods, and there were approximately 700 Pokemon products.[128][205] Tomy manufactured Pokemon toy figures and plush dolls.[206] Bandai made Pokemon gashapon, dolls and ramune-flavored candy in a plastic box in the shape of a Game Boy.[207] Meiji Seika produced Pokemon chocolate snacks and pudding.[128][208] The lucrative franchise provided a much-needed boost to Japan's economy, which was stagnating in what would later be called the Lost Decade.[209][210] An example of a firm that benefited greatly from Pokemon was food manufacturer Nagatanien. From May 1997, the company began selling Pokemon-branded curry, furikake, and baking mixes.[128][211] In December 1997, Nagatanien was hit hard by the collapse of one of its biggest sales channels, Toshoku, in what was then the third-largest bankruptcy in Japan's postwar history.[212][213] Nonetheless, due to their Pokemon-licensed products, Nagatanien reported net profits in fiscal years 1997—98, despite having forecasted losses.[211][212][214]
"Dennō Senshi Porygon" incident
In the evening of December 16, 1997, the Pokemon franchise was hit by a crisis related to the broadcast of the anime's 38th episode, "Dennō Senshi Porygon" (Computer Warrior Porygon). It was watched by approximately 4.6 million households.[215] In the episode, Satoshi (Ash Ketchum) and his friends are transported into a virtual world, accompanied by a Porygon, a digital, human-made Pokemon. While flying through cyberspace, they are at one point attacked by an anti-virus program which mistakes them for viruses, shooting "vaccine missiles" at the group resulting in explosions of bright, rapidly swapping red and blue flashes.
The intense stimuli brought about by the episode triggered a variety of adverse health effects in more than 10,000 viewers,[216] primarily irritated eyes, headaches, dizziness, and nausea.[217] A small part suffered a photosensitive epileptic seizure, manifested in loss of conscious and/or convulsions.[217][218] Hundreds[g] of children were brought to hospitals, although a part of them had recovered enough upon arrival that they did not need to be hospitalized. No one died. Broadcasting of Pokemon was halted. New guidelines were drawn up to help prevent similar events from happening.[224] With the show on hiatus, ShoPro and OLM worked on a feature Pokemon film. By the time the incident occurred, its script was already written, and the movie was in the storyboard stage. In mid-January, the staff resumed creating new episodes.[225] The Pokemon anime series returned on April 16, 1998.[226] The film, titled Pocket Monsters the Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back, premiered on July 18, 1998 (it would be released in the West as Pokémon: The First Movie). It became that year's second-highest grossing domestic film, and fourth-highest grossing film overall.[227][228]
Ultimately, the incident did not damage the Pokemon franchise – it in fact grew further during and after the anime's hiatus. While video rental tapes were removed from shelves,[229][230] all other Pokemon products continued to be sold as usual, and customer demand for them remained high.[231][232] Helping matters was a general understanding among businesses that the Pokemon anime was not canceled, but rather suspended, and many executives (correctly) expected the show to be resumed after precautions had been taken. Supermarkets and other distribution outlets responded calmly to the crisis, and did not remove the Pokemon products from their sales floors.[233]
1998 – 2000: International expansion
North America
"When we started this project in Japan, one of the first things I was told was that this kind of thing would never appeal to American audiences. They said, 'Because the characters are in a very Japanese style, you cannot sell them to Americans'. So from the very beginning, I never thought there would be an English version. Now, it's just as popular in the United States [as in Japan], and I realized that we shouldn't always believe the opinions of conservative marketers."
Shigeru Miyamoto, August 1999[234]
Possibly the first person to show interest in a North American launch of Pokemon was Minoru Arakawa, founder and then-president of Nintendo of America (NoA). Arakawa visited Japan to participate in Shoshinkai 1996, held November 22-24. It was around this time when he first played one of the three Pokemon titles. He thought the games were promising, but Nintendo of Japan (NoJ) had no plans at the time to release them elsewhere. He returned to America with a few cartridges and tested the game on his employees – they did not believe it would work in the US.[235] At the time, role-playing games (RPGs) were not very popular outside Japan,[236] and NoA executives believed that American children did not have the attention span for such a complex game.[237] Americans were said to be more interested in sport- and action-oriented games, preferably with realistic graphics.[238][10] Japanese people, by contrast, were alleged to care more about characters and plot.[239] Up to that point, few Japanese properties had been successfully mainstreamed in the US, and if they were, it was alleged to be on account of having been properly Americanized: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was considered a prime example of this.[240] Visually, Pokemon was believed to be too kawaii, or cute. It was assumed that Pokemon could not succeed on cute alone – it must also be cool.[241][242] In an effort to enhance the franchise's coolness, NoA considered a graphical redesign and contracted a few external artists to create some test-designs for the American market.[237][242] The mockups they proposed included 'graffiti style' drawings,[242] 'beefed-up' and more muscular looking Pokemon,[243] and a new Pikachu that looked like "a tiger with huge breasts".[241] Arakawa concluded that it "didn't work",[242] and by that time, the anime had begun its production in Japan, leading NoA to conclude it was too late for a graphical revamp anyway.[237]
Of pivotal importance to Pokemon's global expansion was Alfred R. Kahn, CEO of US-based 4Kids Entertainment, NoA's licensing agent since 1987.[244][245] Convinced of Pokemon's potential, Kahn agreed to invest an undisclosed sum in return for both the anime and licensing rights.[236] Pokemon became one of the first Japanese media franchises in which both the localization of the anime and the licensing of merchandise was handled by a single company, as well as a non-Japanese company.[246] Kahn suggested the name "Pokémon", adding an acute accent to the e to assist with pronunciation and to "give it a little flair".[9] NoJ president Hiroshi Yamauchi officially approved the project in late November,[247] and subsequently announced it at Space World 1997.[248] However, three weeks later, the "Dennō Senshi Porygon" incident happened, which Kubo felt made even more people resistant to the idea of an overseas introduction.[249]
Market research turned back negative: American kids reportedly did not like Pokémon.[250] Arakawa ignored the study and, convinced of the franchise's potential, allocated an enormous budget to Pokémon's launch. The exact amount was not disclosed, but was reportedly equal to or more than $50 million (roughly $89.77 million in 2022), approximately the same amount as the launch budget of the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985. Arakawa admitted that it was "quite a bit of money", but NoA "had been doing well for several years, so we had a lot of money to spare". He opined that if Pokémon would be as successful in the US as it had been in Japan, "an investment of 1 would turn into 100."[251] NoA and 4Kids thus devised a strategy on how to localize Pokémon for the United States.[237] Arakawa appointed Gail Tilden to lead the project, prompting her to leave her position at Nintendo Power magazine.[252] Tilden said that they "decided to make an all-out effort to repeat the phenomenon in the Western world".[93] In two press releases, NoA self-described Pokémon's marketing campaign as "aggressive".[253][254]
The localization of the Pokémon anime was done by 4Kids, and directed by Norman J. Grossfeld. Grossfeld strongly believed that the anime should be Americanized.[255] At NATPE 1998, he asked ShoPro for a "kind of carte blanche, to let me change the show as I think would work for this market," to which ShoPro agreed.[256] However, no national TV station was interested in buying the anime or financing its localization.[236][9] Kahn then decided to self-finance Pokémon's production costs, despite realizing this "could very well bring down 4Kids" if the show would fail.[256] According to Kahn, they "spend a fortune" on the localization.[15] To have it broadcast in syndication, 4Kids offered the show for free to local TV stations across the country, in exchange for a portion of the advertising revenue.[236][9] NoA assisted, persuading dozens of stations to carry the series by offering to buy some of their advertisement space, spending a total of $5 million (c. $8.98 million in 2022).[238][256] Despite all this, most broadcasters were still reluctant to carry Pokémon, with Grossfeld experiencing difficulties getting through their "preconceived notions or their snobbery for Western-produced animation over something from Asia".[256] At the time, anime had not yet found mainstream popularity in the West. Contemporary news reports cited Sailor Moon[3][238][257][258] as an example of an anime that had failed to catch on with American youth.[h] Still, with NoA's help, 4Kids ultimately succeeded in contracting 112 broadcasters for Pokémon,[262] reaching "about 85 to 90 percent"[263] of television households. However, many broadcasters gave it off-peak time slots, with starting times like 06:00 or 06:30.[238][9] Prior to the late 1990s, this was the case for many anime in the US.[246]
Grossfield created the advertising slogan "Gotta catch 'em all!" as the English equivalent to the Japanese Pokemon GET daze~! (ポケモンゲットだぜー！, Get (the) Pokémon!).[264][265] The phrase "miraculously managed to gain approval" by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which normally prohibits the use of injunctions in ads directed at children (e.g. "You must buy this!"). While the tagline does sound commanding, the FCC reasoned that the act of catching is at the core of Pokémon's play. Therefore, the phrase was allowed.[266] The series' theme song was written by John Loeffler and John Siegler.[267] In commissioning the track, Grossfeld specifically requested the song's chorus to be written around the "Gotta catch 'em all" phrase, firmly embedding the slogan into the theme.[265]
While NoA and 4Kids were allowed a fair degree of liberty in their localization of Pokémon, the Japanese copyright counsel, headed by Ishihara, had the last say over it. All decisions regarding adjustments and promotion had to gain final approval of the Japan side.[268] This included all of the merchandise, for which a 'two-step system' was created. All (aspiring) licensees in North America were to send their merchandise proposals to 4Kids.[236] Staff of both 4Kids and NoA then made a pre-selection and send the approved proposals to Japan, where the council made the final decision. Many submissions were bounced at the US stage, and thus never got sent to Japan. Tilden noted that processing all license applications, and mailing all approved prototypes and their documentation to Japan, was a lot of work. Arakawa did consider streamlining the process by moving someone from Japan to the US, but no person could be found who was as competent as Ishihara.[269]
The Pokémon anime was first broadcast on September 7, 1998.[270][271] Pokémon Red Version and Blue Version were released three weeks later, on September 28, 1998.[272] To localize the card game, Nintendo contracted Wizards of the Coast, the creator of Magic: The Gathering.[273] The Pokémon Trading Card Game was officially launched nationwide on January 9, 1999, although pre-sold in select stores in December.[274] Coinciding with the North American launch of Pokémon was the release of the Game Boy Color on 23 November 1998.[275]
Other regions
The American version of the Pokémon anime started broadcasting in Australia and New Zealand on September 28, 1998. Red and Blue were subsequently released there on October 23. Various territories in Asia followed: the anime series debuted in Hong Kong on November 16, in Taiwan on November 23, in Shanghai on November 24, in Beijing on January 10, 1999, and in South Korea on July 14, 1999.[276]
Outside North America, 4Kids distributed the anime in cooperation with Brian Lacey of Lacey Entertainment.[277][278] The series was presented at MIP TV, in Cannes, France, from April 3–8, 1998.[279] Broadcasters were initially not interested due to its Japanese origins, and preferred to wait and see how the anime would succeed in the US. After the anime's success, Lacey received inquiries about the series throughout 1999 from multiple international broadcasters.[277][280] Lacey noted that, in Europe, this was a stark contrast compared to previous years: "I was trying to sell this sort of stuff for years and buyers would tell me they were moving away from Japanese animation shows", he said.[280] In October 1999, the franchise was launched in the European key markets of Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Spain.[281] The anime started broadcasting in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden in December 1999.[280] In 2000, broadcasting rights for the first season were secured by TV stations in South Africa, Russia, Iceland, and Finland.[282] In Israel, the anime debuted in February 2000. For unclear reasons, Red and Blue were not officially released there. Thriving only on the strength of the TV series, The First Movie, the cards, and imported video games, the Israeli Pokémon still became a success.[283][284]
By the end of 2000, Pokémon games had been released in 70 countries, the anime was broadcast in 51 countries, the films were released in 33 countries, and the cards had been translated into 11 languages.[285]
1999 – 2000: Pokémania
In North America, the success of the debuting Pokémon franchise was almost immediate. Red and Blue sold 200,000 copies in its first month. By December, the Pokémon anime had become the highest-rated syndicated children's show during the weekdays.[277] This attracted the attention of two media companies: Warner Bros., co-owner of The WB channel; and Saban Entertainment/Fox Family Worldwide, owners of the Fox Kids channel. A bidding war ensued between the parties, which was won by Warner Bros.[286] On February 13, 1999,[287] Pokémon debuted on The WB's Kids' WB block, where it was broadcast exclusively from then on.[236] The debut episode became the most watched premiere in Kids' WB's history.[287] In European countries, the anime received similar levels of success. For example, in Germany, "a highly competitive kids market", Pokémon was purchased by RTL 2. The show's popularity bolstered the entire program block, more than tripling its viewers. Andrea Lang, RTL 2's editor of cartoons and children's programs, said: "We were speechless. We've never had a comparable success".[280] By March 1998, half a year before Pokémon's overseas launch, 499 million Pokémon cards had been produced. By March 1999, the total number of cards shipped reached 764 million. By March 2000, this figure would grow further to 4.255 billion cards, manufactured in both Japanese and American factories.[160]
By April 1999, there was a general consensus in the US that Pokémon had become a phenomenon and the newest children's fad.[3][288][289][290] By some, the fad was referred to as "Pokémania",[291][292][293][294] including journalists of Time[93] and USA Today.[295] In the US, severe scarcity occurred of Pokémon goods,[14] especially Pokémon cards,[296] causing companies to miss profits.[297] A Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article, published on August 3, 1999, cited a Toys "R" Us manager as saying that a supply of 600 booster packs would last 24 hours. The CEO of one card distributor stated that they were "thousands of boxes behind" on orders. In the same article, a Wizards spokeswoman stated that more employees and printers had been hired to increase card production.[298] However, near the end of the month, a different Wizards spokeswoman told The Washington Post that they had "exhausted most of the card-printing capacity of the United States".[10] Similarly, USA Today reported in November 1999 that factories making Hasbro's Pokémon toys had expanded production by 20 times, but demand still exceeded supply.[299] In Europe, scarcity of Pokémon merchandise also occurred.[280]
In part due to the Pokémon craze, Nintendo saw a 250% increase in profits in 1999 compared to the previous year,[10] reaching a six-year high.[300] The Pokémon franchise accounted for over 30% of Nintendo's revenue that year.[301] Pokémon's popularity also caused a sharp increase in sales of the Game Boy line.[237][302][303] The financial windfalls came at a time when Nintendo lost dominance in the home console market, with the Nintendo 64 being outsold by Sony's PlayStation.[304][305][306] The global success of Pokémon compensated this loss somewhat.[307][308][309][310] Buckingham & Sefton-Green went even further, writing in 2004: "while Nintendo is now among Japan's most profitable corporations, it could be argued that the company would have struggled to survive without Pokémon".[311]
4Kids, initially a little-known firm,[236][244] expanded thirty times in revenues,[312] and was named the fastest-growing company in America in the September 4, 2000 issue of Fortune magazine.[245][313][314] Many businesses that timely obtained a Pokémon license reaped considerable profits.[312][315] In the summer of 1999, a massive run on stocks of publicly traded Pokémon licensees caused their value to increase dramatically. However, by November, most investors were shorting their shares. Knowing that the Pokémon fad would peak and fall at some point, investors were bearish about its prospects.[316]
Pokémon: The First Movie premiered in North America on November 12, 1999, and in Europe the following year. Despite being negatively received by many Western critics, it became one of the most successful Japanese animated films of all time.[317] In the United States, November 1999 was estimated to have been the peak of Pokémania.[318][319][320][321] Supporting the American release of The First Movie was a promotional action with Burger King, one of the largest in the history of the fast-food industry.[322][323][324] The success of the promotion resulted in supply issues; restaurants often ran out of Pokémon toys to include with their meals.[324][325][326][327] On December 27,[328] Burger King recalled its Poké Ball toy after a 13-month-old girl died suffocating on one.[329][330]
On October 15, 2000, Pokémon Gold and Silver were released in North America. Within a week, the pair had become the fastest selling game of all time, an accomplishment it kept for two years until Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.[331] In Europe, Gold and Silver were released on April 6, 2001.[332]
The Pokémon Company and Pokémon USA established
On April 23, 1998, Pokemon Center Co. Ltd. was founded as a joint venture by Nintendo, Creatures, and Game Freak.[333] It was initially formed for the management of specialized merchandise stores called Pokemon Centers, of which the first location opened in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, on July 18, 1998.[334][335] Throughout the years, multiple Japanese Pokémon Centers would open and close. As of May 2023[update], a total of 22 Pokémon merchandise shops exist in Japan.[336] An American Pokémon Center also existed in New York City from 2001[337] to 2005.[338] It then reopened as Nintendo World,[339] later renamed Nintendo New York.[340]
After the release of Gold and Silver, Tsunekazu Ishihara began setting out a number of long-term goals for the Pokémon franchise, which included releasing a movie every year (a condition which Shogakukan mostly kept). As part of Ishihara's plan, the Pokemon Center Co. Ltd. was reformatted into The Pokémon Company (TPC), which was officially established in October 2000.[334][341] The goal of TPC is to centralize and streamline the global management of Pokémon.[342] Satoru Iwata, who had joined Nintendo of Japan in June, was involved with the company's creation, which was one of his first jobs at Nintendo.[341]
In February 2001, Pokémon USA (PUSA) was established, an affiliated firm of The Pokémon Company.[334] The company's first president was Tatsumi Kimishima (who would later become president of NoA, and subsequently president of NoJ). In 2002, Kimishima was succeeded by Akira Chiba.
2001 – 2006: End of the craze, business reforms
In North America, Pokémania peaked in 1999. Throughout the next year, it showed signs of slowing down.[343] On April 29, 2000, the anime was bumped off Kids' WB's #1 spot after holding it for 54 weeks. Around the same time, Pokémon was surpassed at Fox Kids by its rival Digimon.[344] In late 2000, Wizards of the Coast laid off 100 employees, owing in part to the weakening demand for Pokémon cards.[345] Its parent company Hasbro reported a loss over 2000 and the first half of 2001,[346][347] partly due to an overly optimistic forecast regarding the demand for Pokémon cards and toys.[348][349][350] In Europe, the craze peaked in 2000, which offset some of Hasbro's losses.[351][352] On January 20, 2001, The New York Times reported that Pokémon's trading card market had collapsed in the US.[353] A June 2001 survey in the United Kingdom confirmed that Pokémon's popularity was waning there.[354] Tobin (2004) wrote: "By the summer of 2001, Pokémon's shelf space in Japanese and U.S. toy stores was but a fraction of what it enjoyed in the fall of 1999".[355] By the end of 2001, Pokémania was fading globally, and by 2002, the fad was largely over.[356]
From 2000 to 2002, Game Freak developed Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, the successors to Gold and Silver, for the newly released Game Boy Advance. Masuda was promoted to director, succeeding Tajiri, who appointed himself executive director.[357] Masuda was concerned that the end of Pokémania indicated the end of Pokémon as a whole: "After Gold and Silver came out, it was a huge hit around the world, but shortly after everyone was saying, 'That's it. The Pokémon fad is over! It's dead!'."[358] Determined to keep the franchise going, GF not only wanted to "prove people wrong" with Ruby and Sapphire, but already started planning their sequels: Diamond and Pearl (2006). They also began planning remakes of older installments, starting with FireRed and LeafGreen (2004), recreations of the original Red and Green.[358]
Ruby and Sapphire were released in Japan on November 21, 2002, and in the rest of the world the next year. The games introduced 135 new Pokémon, bringing the total amount to 386. Because of this, Golin Harris, NoA's ad agency,[237] advised them to move away from the "Gotta catch 'em all!" slogan. They reasoned that if new, younger players were drawn into the franchise with Ruby/Sapphire, they would find the concept of "catching them all" to be a daunting if not impossible task if they didn't also have Red/Blue/Yellow and Gold/Silver/Crystal.[359] Dockery (2022) noted that "from both a marketing perspective and, really, a legal perspective, it would not be to the company's advantage to keep pushing that slogan. The phrase was referenced and used sparingly from time to time in the coming years, but never again was it at the forefront of Pokémon's marketing".[359] However, the slogan did occasionally resurface in a prominent manner, including in the English theme songs of season 17 (which was a remake of the first theme song)[360] and season 19.[361]
By 2002, the relationship between PUSA and Wizards of the Coast had deteriorated. That year, at least seven high-profile employees were poached from Wizards by PUSA: Wizard's former art director, senior graphic designer, business manager, events marketing director, project management director, and two vice presidents. All employees had signed NDAs.[345][362] In March 2003, PUSA told Wizards that their contract would not be renewed, and that Wizards would not be distributing the new Ruby & Sapphire card set.[363] Later, Wizards was also prohibited from releasing the sets Jamboree and Legendary Collection II.[364] Notably, Jamboree was the first set containing cards designed by Wizards themselves. As considerable time and money was invested into creating them, Wizards was upset when they were barred from putting them out. On October 1, 2003, the day after their agreement expired, Wizards filed suit against Pokémon USA, alleging that the defendant had seized their intellectual property and trade secrets, and illegally tried to gain advantage over them in the competitive trading card market.[345][362] The case was settled out of court.[365] Jamboree and Legendary Collection II have remained unreleased.
In October 2001, 4Kids Entertainment signed a new contract with PUSA, continuing to serve as Pokémon's exclusive licensing agent and anime localizer.[342] On December 23, 2005, it was announced that the agreement would not be renewed and would expire on December 31, with PUSA moving all licensing in-house.[366][367] The localization of the anime would be done by PUSA in cooperation with TAJ Productions. PUSA proceeded to replace almost all of the original English voice actors, who were still under contract with 4Kids.[368] This decision "raised the ire of fans and the actors themselves".[369] According to Stuart Zagnit, who voiced Professor Oak, the recasting was done to cut back on costs.[368]
In March 2003, Pokémon UK was established in London as a British representative of The Pokémon Company.[334]
2006 – 2015: Generation 4 – 6, TPCi established
In Japan, Pokémon Diamond and Pearl were released for the Nintendo DS on September 28, 2006. On the same day, season 10 of the anime started, which is the first season of the Diamond and Pearl series (S10 – S13). The Diamond and Pearl video games were released in the West in 2007.
In 2009, Pokémon USA and Pokémon UK merged to form The Pokémon Company International (TPCi).[8] This subsidiary of The Pokémon Company (TPC) has since managed the Pokémon franchise outside of Asia.
In Japan, Pokémon Black and White were released on September 18, 2010, again for the Nintendo DS. In the West, the games were released the next year. The anime followed suit with season 14, the first season of the Black and White series (S14 – S16).
Pokémon X and Y were released worldwide for the Nintendo 3DS on October 12, 2013. It was followed by Pokémon Sun and Moon, for the same console, on November 18, 2016.
2016: Pokémon Go
In 2016, the Pokémon franchise spawned a second worldwide fad with the release of Pokémon Go, a mobile augmented reality game. The app originated as a Google April Fools's Day joke in 2014: the "Google Maps Pokémon Challenge". The prank was conceived by Tsunekazu Ishihara and Satoru Iwata.[370] On Ishihara's initiation,[371] the hoax was turned into an actual video game developed by Niantic. Ishihara was a fan of Niantic's previous transreality game, Ingress, and saw the game's concept as a perfect match for Pokémon.[371]
Through in-game purchases, the game generated more than $160 million by the end of July 2016,[372] with App Annie reporting that Pokémon Go had generated around $10 million in revenue every day that month.[373] The same month, Sensor Tower reported that the game had passed more than $200 million in worldwide revenue, beating every existing record set by Clash of Clans and Candy Crush by a wide margin.[374] The average daily usage of the app on Android devices in July 2016 exceeded that of Snapchat, Tinder, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.[375] By September 2, 2016, Pokémon Go had generated more than $440 million in worldwide revenue, according to Sensor Tower.[376] By September 30, it had received 500 million downloads and grossed $470 million in 80 days, according to market research firm Newzoo.[377] Pokémon Go reached the milestone of $600 million in revenue after only 90 days on the market, becoming the fastest mobile game ever to do so.[378]
2017 – present: Generation 7 – 9
Pokémon Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! were released worldwide for the Nintendo Switch on November 16, 2018. The games are remakes of Pokémon Yellow.
Pokémon Sword and Shield were released on November 15, 2019 for the Switch. Its follow-up, Pokémon Legends: Arceus, followed on January 28, 2022, again for the Switch.
The most recent installments of the franchise's video game series are Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, released for the Switch on November 18, 2022.
Media
Video games and other software
Pokémon video games have been released in a wide variety of genres. As of June 2023[update], a total of 122 Pokémon games have been published. According to Pokémon's official website, as of March 2023[update], over 480 million Pokémon game units have been sold worldwide.[379]
Core series
The core series role-playing games are the central installments of the franchise, and are commonly classified in generations. For example, Pokémon director Junichi Masuda referred to Diamond and Pearl (2006) as the fourth generation,[380] and X and Y (2013) as the sixth generation.[381]
The first generation, and the franchise as a whole, began with Pocket Monsters Red and Green (1996), released outside Japan as Pokémon Red and Blue (1998). A special 'Pikachu version', Pokémon Yellow (1998), followed. The second generation began with Pokémon Gold and Silver (1999). A special edition, Pokémon Crystal (2000), was released later. This pattern was repeated in the third and fourth generations: Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire (2002) were followed by Pokémon Emerald (2004); and Pokémon Diamond and Pearl (2006) were followed by Pokémon Platinum (2008).
The fifth generation includes Pokémon Black and White (2010) and Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 (2012) for the Nintendo DS. The sixth generation began with Pokémon X and Y (2013) for the Nintendo 3DS. Pokémon Sun and Moon (2016) and Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon (2017), also released for the Nintendo 3DS, comprise the seventh generation. With the launch of the Nintendo Switch came the eighth generation games Pokémon Sword and Shield (2019) and Pokémon Legends: Arceus (2022). The most recent core Pokémon RPGs are Pokémon Scarlet and Violet (2022), comprising the ninth generation, for the Switch.
Throughout the years, a number of remakes of previous core series games have been released: FireRed and LeafGreen (2004), HeartGold and SoulSilver (2009), Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire (2014), Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl (2021), and Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! (2018). The latter pair of games are remakes of Pokémon Yellow.
Side series
Pokemon Stadium (1998) is considered the first Pokémon side game. In Japan, it was followed by Pokemon Stadium 2 (1999), which was later released internationally as Pokémon Stadium (2000). The original Pokemon Stadium has never been released outside Japan. It was followed by Pokemon Stadium Gold & Silver (2000), which was released outside Japan as Pokémon Stadium 2 (2001). The games allow players to use a Transfer Pak to load their Pokémon from their Game Boy cartridge onto their Nintendo 64 memory card and into the game. None of the Stadium titles feature a storyline like the RPGs, focusing mainly on Pokémon battles.
Pokémon Colosseum (2003) and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness (2005) are RPGs for the GameCube, developed by Genius Sonority. Pokémon Battle Revolution (2006), released for the Wii, was also developed by Genius Sonority. Unlike Colosseum and XD, Battle Revolution has no storyline, focusing on battles. Via WiFi, the game can connect with the Nintendo DS and transfer Pokémon between Battle Revolution and Pokémon DS games.
Spin-offs
Pokémon spin-off games have been created since the early days of the franchise. Hey You, Pikachu! (1998) is a virtual pet simulator in which the player can communicate with the titular character through a microphone bundled with the game. In Pokémon Snap (1999), the objective is not to catch Pokémon, but to photograph them. Pokémon Puzzle League (2000) and Pokémon Puzzle Challenge (2000) are based on Tetris Attack. Other early spin-offs include Pokémon Trading Card Game (1998) and Pokémon Pinball (1999). Pokémon Channel (2003) combines elements of the adventure, virtual pet, and simulation genres and is a spiritual successor to Hey You, Pikachu!.
The Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series are roguelike RPGs in which the player controls various Pokémon instead of a human trainer. The series is notable for featuring randomly generated dungeons, making every playthrough unique. The Pokémon Ranger series are action RPGs. It consists of three titles, all released for the Nintendo DS. In the games, the player catches Pokémon by drawing circles around them on the DS's touchscreen, using the stylus. After catching, the Pokémon befriends the player and follows them around, aiding them in catching other Pokémon and solving puzzles. Befriended Pokémon will leave after a while and return to their habitat.
The Pokémon Rumble series consists of beat 'em up games featuring melee battles. PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure (2009) and its sequel PokéPark 2: Wonders Beyond (2011) are action-adventure games. The player controls Pikachu and travels through the titular park, engaging in battles, completing minigames, and making friends with the various Pokémon that live there. Detective Pikachu (2018) is an adventure game for the Nintendo 3DS in which Tim Goodman and his Pikachu friend solve various mysteries. The game was adapted into a live-action film that premiered in 2019.
Three crossover games with Pokémon have been released. Pokémon Conquest (2012) is a tactical RPG crossover with Nobunaga's Ambition. Pokkén Tournament (2016) and the enhanced version Pokkén Tournament DX (2017) are fighting game crossovers with Tekken.
The Pokémon Company first entered the mobile phone game market in 2011 with Pokémon Say Tap?, a Japan-only, rhythm-based game for iOS and Android. Since then, a large number of Pokémon mobile games have been released, most notably Pokémon Go (2016), an augmented reality game developed by Niantic that became a worldwide fad in the summer of 2016. Pokémon Duel (2016) is a discontinued digital tabletop game based on the Pokémon Trading Figure Game. Pokémon Quest (2018) is an action-adventure game with a Minecraft-inspired graphical design. Pokémon Café Mix (2020), later renamed Pokémon Café ReMix, is a puzzle game in which players need to swipe and match various icons within a time limit. Pokémon Unite (2021) is a multiplayer online battle arena game.
Other software
A number of 'transfer programs' have been released to move Pokémon in between games and other storages: Pokémon Box: Ruby and Sapphire (2003) for the GameCube; My Pokémon Ranch (2008), a discontinued WiiWare app; and Pokémon Bank (2014), a discontinued Nintendo eShop app for the 3DS. The most recent transfer program is Pokémon HOME (2020) for iOS, Android, and the Nintendo Switch. HOME allows transferring Pokémon to and from Sword/Shield, Scarlet/Violet, the Let's Go games, and Pokémon Go.
Pokémon Sleep is a sleep-tracking app that rewards the user with Pokémon depending on the quality of their sleep.
Trading card game
The Pokémon Trading Card Game (PTCG) was one of the first collectable card games (CCGs) in Japan. It was inspired by Magic: The Gathering.[143][144][145] As with all CCGs, it is played with a deck – in this case, a stack of 60 cards. Players can build their own deck or use a pre-constructed one. There are various types of cards, including Basic Pokémon, evolved Pokémon, Energy cards, and Trainer cards. The player who wins a coin toss begins by drawing seven cards from their shuffled deck. From the cards in their hand, the player has to put one Basic Pokémon (i.e. an unevolved Pokémon) on the field. This is the Active Pokémon, which the player will attack with. If the player did not draw a Basic Pokémon, they will need to reshuffle their deck and try again ("taking a mulligan").[382] Aside from placing a Basic Pokémon on the field, players can also place dormant Basic Pokémon on the Bench. When the Active Pokémon is Knocked Out, the player must put that Pokémon in the discard pile and move a new Pokémon from their Bench to the Active Spot. For each subsequent turn, the player draws one card from their deck. The player who Knocks Out the opponent's Active Pokémon normally takes one Prize card; different Pokémon variants reward variable amounts of Prize cards. A match ends when either player claims all of their Prize cards.[383]
To attack, players must place Energy cards from their hand to their Active or Benched Pokémon (putting them underneath them, with the top part sticking out). All attacks require a certain amount of Energy cards, some of specific types. One of the main difficulties of the game is that players need to strategize which Energy cards they should give to which Pokémon. With each turn, the player can evolve one Pokémon if they have an Evolution card in their hand. Evolved Pokémon are stronger: they have more Hit Points (HP) and their attacks deal greater damage. However, they also require more Energy cards. Damage is indicated using damage counters (small plastic cards placed on top or right next to the card). Trainer cards have various effects. They include healing items, items to be held by Pokémon, and cards that allow the player to draw more cards from their deck.[383]
The Pokémon Trading Card Game was designed by Creatures, which continues to develop new cards and card sets to this day. According to the official website of The Pokémon Company, 43.2 billion cards have been produced as of March 2022.[379] As of June 2023[update], the fan site Bulbapedia documents 96 main card sets, 13 special editions, and 36 promotional sets.[384]
Anime
As of 2023[update], the anime consists of over 1,200 episodes across 26 seasons, with the latest, Pokémon Horizons: The Series, premiering in April 2023. The anime originally focused on Ash Ketchum and his travels across the Pokémon world with his partner, Pikachu. They were retired as protagonists after the 25th season,[385] and Pokémon Horizons introduced two new protagonists, Liko and Roy.[386]
A total of 23 anime films have been released, the most recent being Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle (2020).
Spin-off series from the anime have also been produced. The first of these, the Weekly Pokémon Broadcasting Station (週刊ポケモン放送局, Shūkan Pokemon Hōsōkyoku) aired on TV Tokyo from 2002 to 2004. The variety show featured anime episodes focusing on various characters featured in the series. Episodes from this series were aired in English as part of Pokémon Chronicles. Three television specials were also released: Pokémon: Mewtwo Returns, The Legend of Thunder!, and Pokémon: The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon. Several short films focusing on Pikachu and other Pokémon have been released, primarily preceding the films.
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon (2007), Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs (2010), Pokémon Origins (2013), Hoopa's Surprise Ring Adventures (2015), Pokémon Generations (2016), The Two Professors (2018), Pokémon: Twilight Wings (2020), Pokétoon (2020), Pokémon Evolutions (2021), Pokémon: Hisuian Snow (2022), Cube-Shaped Pokémon on Cubie Island?! (2023) and Pokémon: Path to the Peak (2023) are separate animated mini-series. Two new mini-series Pokémon: Paldean Winds and Pokémon Concierge are scheduled to air in September 2023 and December 2023 respectively.[387]
Live-action
Films
A live-action film Detective Pikachu, based on the video game of the same name, was released in 2019. In February 2023, a representative from Legendary Entertainment said that a sequel is "in active development".[388][389]
Television drama
A live-action television drama produced by The Pokémon Company and TV Tokyo titled Pocket ni Boken o Tsumekonde is set to premiere on TV Tokyo on October 20, 2023.[390]
Reception
1999–2000
In 1999 and 2000, Pokémon was an unprecedented, ubiquitous fad in the Western world. Time magazine described it as "a multimedia and interactive barrage like no other before it".[93] The franchise, which is primarily aimed at children, elicited mixed responses from parents and teachers, some of them critical. Yano (2004) even claimed that the reactions at one point constituted a moral panic.[391]
The bulk of the criticism on Pokémon was directed at the trading cards,[392] in particular the booster packs, sealed packages of 11[f] randomly inserted cards that were sold separately from the main sets. The cards are of varying scarcity, the most valuable being the "holofoil cards" (also called "holographic" or "foil cards"), in which the illustrations of the Pokémon have a shiny overlay effect. The rare cards can only be found in booster packs, and the rarest ones are very infrequently included. Tobin (2004) notes that rarity in this case is "artificially created", and "effectively a form of gambling" in which children need to repeatedly purchase booster packs to get more rare cards.[393] Brougère (2004) described a cynicism among adults that corporations could apparently, "out of thin air", ascribe value to cards which they saw as valueless, thereby "deceiving vulnerable young consumers and garnering excessive profits".[392]
As the franchise's popularity grew, children began taking their Pokémon cards to school for trading and playing. Soon, the cards were alleged to be "disrupting learning, poisoning playground friendships and causing such distraction that some children forget their homework, tune out in class and even miss school buses as they scramble to acquire one more card".[394] The fad "turn[ed] the playground into a black market",[395] with card swaps sometimes inciting conflicts. Certain children engaged in "aggressive trading",[396] tricking other (often younger) kids into unfair deals, forcing teachers to arbitrate.[397][398][399][400] Some parents expressed their concerns about the craze, but feared that their children would be ostracized if they were to deny them Pokémon products.[401][402][403] In the US, the Pokémon cards ended up "almost universally banned" from school grounds.[404] Similar bans occurred in Canada,[405][406] Australia,[407] New Zealand,[408] and European countries.[403][409][410] In September 1999, US-based law firm Milberg filed a class-action lawsuit against Nintendo of America, Wizards of the Coast, and 4Kids. The suit claimed that the booster packs constitute a form of lottery and promote gambling in kids.[411][412] Susan Estrich noted that similar lawsuits had been filed against trading-card makers in the US, without success.[413] The Pokémon card suit is not known to have gone to court, and is believed to have been settled.[i]
The Pokémon anime series was criticized by some as "cheap Japanese animation"[415] that is "violent"[16][416][417] and has "little educational value".[418] Michelle Orecklin of Time dismissed the TV series as "less a cartoon than a half-hour exercise in Pokémon product placement".[419] Allison (2006) wrote that even those within Pokémon's US marketing team agreed that the anime's visuals were "not especially sophisticated" compared to Disney cartoons.[415] Pokémon: The First Movie premiered in the United States on November 12, 1999, and in European countries in February 2000. While it was a huge box-office success, the film was received negatively by several Western film critics.[420][421] The Guardian decried it as a "contemptuously cheap animated cash-in on the monster kids' craze".[422] The American adult animated series South Park satirized Pokémon in the episode "Chinpokomon", aired on November 3, 1999. In the episode, a franchise titled "Chinpokomon" is portrayed as a low-quality line of products that is part of an evil plan by the Japanese government to invade the US. South Park co-creator Matt Stone commented that, at the time, Pokémon was "scary huge".[423]
Kohler (2016) wrote that at the time Pokémon was considered "ruthlessly commercial", and that it "program[med] children to be consumers of anything and everything Pokémon".[424] CNN quoted child psychiatrist John Lochridge as worrying that "Pokémon's creators and marketers deliberately set out to create a fantasy world so compelling that children would quickly become obsessed". He believed that kids were being "brainwashed", and said: "I have had parents tell me that they cannot get their kids to do anything except Pokémon, so this stuff seems to really capture their minds, in a way".[4] These concerns were countered by psychologist William Damon, who told Newsweek that obsessing is in fact a normal part of a child's neurological development. It should concern parents only when the obsession gets dangerous or excessive.[425] An op-ed in the New Zealander newspaper The Dominion Post claimed that the anti-Pokémon sentiment was particularly American: "The backlash, which seems largely confined to the United States, may be no more than the sound of the world's leading cultural imperialist gagging on a taste of its own medicine".[426]
As Pokémania built, Western media started reporting on several crimes associated with Pokémon. These included violence[407][427] (including two reported stabbings),[428][429] burglaries,[430][431] robberies[427][432] (some at knifepoint),[433][434] and shoplifting.[435][436] Almost all these incidents were connected to the Pokémon cards, and the individuals involved were almost always underage. In the US, these incidents peaked in November 1999.[318] In England, Pokémon-related delinquency reached a head in April 2000.[433][437] High prices on the grey market were a motive behind some of the crimes, "posing a great temptation for older kids and bullies to take advantage of weaker children".[438] At specialty shops and online auctions, rare Pokémon cards could be bought and sold for prices of $50 or more (c. $88 in 2022).[439]
Aside from the negative reactions, many media also cited alleged beneficial effects of Pokémon.[440][441][442] It was noted that the video games and the cards require children to read, memorize, calculate, and plan out a strategy.[3][160][443] Both encourage socialization, and trading Pokémon requires negotiating skills.[4][10][12] Stephanie Strom wrote in The New York Times that the Pokémon anime taught children "traditional Japanese values -- responsibility, empathy, cooperation, obedience, respect for elders, humility".[444] Anne Allison interviewed various American parents during Pokémania. She found that while most of them were "utterly mystified" about Pokémon, few were overly worried about it, instead meeting the craze with "befuddled acceptance". Allison also notes that the Columbine High School massacre coincided with the fad, causing violent television, music, and games to be scrutinized. Compared to these media, she notes, Pokémon is in fact rather tame.[445]
In contrast, Pokémon received far less criticism in its native country of Japan. Yano (2004) attributes this to cultural differences, which includes: 1) greater acceptance of exuberant consumerism – to buy is to be a good citizen; 2) less focus on media influence – instead, Japan's educational system, bullying, and dysfunctional families are more often the target of attention; 3) less separation between child- and adulthood – what is suitable for adults is not necessarily considered unsuitable for kids; 4) Pokémon being permeated with kawaisa (cuteness), a hallmark of Japanese culture; 5) Japan's core religions, Buddhism and Shinto, are less moralizing in nature.[446] However, Oliver Burkeman wrote in The Guardian that the Pokémon cards were also banned from some Japanese schools.[18]
Legacy and influences
After World War II, Japan experienced a period of unprecedented growth and became well-known in the Western world for its consumer products, such as radios (e.g. Panasonic, Toshiba), cars (e.g. Toyota, Mitsubishi), and Sony's Walkman.[447] From 1991 onwards, its economy stagnated, causing the country to lose its status as an economic superpower. However, during the 1990s and 2000s, Japan re-emerged as a source of 'cool' cultural goods, embraced by a growing international audience interested in Japanese culture.[448][449][450][451] Nintendo, Sega, and Sony launched several popular video game consoles and franchises.[239][452][453] In terms of children's properties, the success of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers changed perceptions on the viability of such Japanese imports in the West.[454][455][456] The Tamagotchi fad (1997–98),[457] centered around a portable digital pet device, was said to have "paved the way for Pokémon".[238]
Anne Allison (2006) wrote that, before the 1990s, Japan figured little in the face of the worldwide hegemony of Euro-American cultural industries, in particular that of the US. "Hollywood has been hostile to imports", she wrote, "and foreignness has largely been, and been seen as, an impediment to mass popularization in the United States".[458] The surprise success of Pokémon was "an undeniable breakthrough in the homeland of Disney" that "changed preexisting assumptions about the US marketplace at the same time that it was constantly resisted for deviating from them".[459] Pokémon was a welcomed boon to Japan's faltering economy,[209] and positively influenced the country's soft power.[460][461] Kamo (2000) interviewed various American children and found that kids who thought Pokémon was cool, were more likely to believe that Japan was a cool nation.[462] Allison (2003) gave a similar finding: all the children she interviewed knew where Pokémon originated, and "many said that, as a result of Pokémon and other 'cool' Japanese goods, they had developed an interest in Japan. A number said that they now wanted to study Japanese and travel there one day".[463] Kohler (2016) wrote: "Japanese are proud of Pokémon, the most successful export of Japanese popular culture ever".[464] Although, Iwabuchi (2004) questioned to what extent Pokémon really is 'Japanese', and to what extent it is simply a good property with universal appeal. He noted that Japanese nationalist commentators celebrated Pokémon's global success and retrospectively attributed this to its "Japanese cultural power",[465] while ignoring the localization of Pokémon overseas,[466] as well as decades of increasing cooperation and cultural exchange between countries (globalization).[467]
In the 20th century, anime found niche popularity in North America and Europe in series such as Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion, and Speed Racer; and films such as Akira and Ghost in the Shell.[258][263][468][469] The Pokémon anime series and films marked a breakthrough for anime, contributing to its growing worldwide success at the turn of the 21st century.[15][17][470][471] For some children, Pokémon was their introduction to 'Japanimation',[472] serving as a "gateway" to other anime, manga, and Japanese culture in general.[473][474] Pokémon: The First Movie became one of the most successful Japanese animated films in history.[317] After Princess Mononoke, Pokémon: The First Movie became the second anime film to open at mainstream cinemas in the West, as opposed to the usual art house venues.[475] Pioneering anime importer John Ledford noted that Pokémon "underscored the commercial potential of anime", thus making it interesting from a business perspective.[476]
The success of Pokémon encouraged companies to look for other popular Japanese properties that might be localized for Western markets.[246][477][478] The importing of at least three similar franchises were confirmed by business executives to have been (partly) inspired by Pokémon: Yu-Gi-Oh!,[479] Digimon,[480] and Monster Rancher.[481] The import of Cardcaptor Sakura (as Cardcaptors) might also have been prompted by Pokémon.[482][483]
Footnotes
- ^ Japanese: ポケモン, Hepburn: Pokemon
- ^ This count excludes Mega Evolutions, Dynamax, Gigantamax, regional variants, and many other different forms. These forms are not considered separate species of Pokémon, but variations of existing ones.
- ^ a b Four[42] original card games are known to have been designed by Itoi: Slot Brothers,[43] Edoka,[44] Hanamaru,[45] and Rameka.[46] The 1998 book The Secrets of Pokemon states that the last three games were contributed to by Ishihara.[47]
- ^ In Dragon Quest II, the item is called ふしぎなぼうし, Fushigina Bōshi, i.e. Mysterious Hat. The Japanese Pokemon RPGs feature an item called ふしぎなアメ, Fushigina Ame, i.e. Mysterious Candy. This item raises the level of a Pokemon by one. In the English games, it is called Rare Candy.
- ^ Randomly-generated layouts would later be used in the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series of spin-off games, beginning with Blue and Red Rescue Team (2005).
- ^ a b From the original Base Set to the Neo Destiny sets, the booster packs contained 11 cards. After that and throughout the third generation 'EX' sets, the booster packs contained 9 cards. From the fourth generation Diamond and Pearl sets onwards, the packs contained 10 cards. Since the seventh generation Sun and Moon sets, the packs have again contained 11 cards.
- ^ A definitive number could not be established. The Fire and Disaster Management Agency announced that, as of 17:00, December 17, a total of 685 people had been taken to hospitals in direct relationship to the Pokemon episode. Of these, 208 people were actually hospitalized.[219] However, different figures have been stated by different sources.[220][221] According to Hatakeyama & Kubo (2000), "approximately 750 children" were taken to hospitals, of which 135 were hospitalized.[222] It has been reported that, due to the incident catching the country off-guard, different methods of surveying were used throughout Japan, and these methods were not always accurate.[223]
- ^ However, Sailor Moon did gain a cult following at the time.[259] After being pulled from syndication in spring 1996 due to low ratings,[260] it was broadcast again on USA Network fromJune 1997 to March 1998.[261] The anime subsequently had a successful run on Cartoon Network's Toonami block from June 1, 1998 to July 5, 2002.[259][261]
- ^ In her 2006 book Millennial Monsters, Anne Allison mentions the card suit and writes, within parentheses, that it "was eventually settled out of court".[414] However, she does not cite a source for this. The full sentence does contain an inline citation to a New York Times piece, but this article doesn't state that the case was settled.
References
- ^ Kimura, Makoto (February 27, 2006), [Pocket Monsters (1996 – 1998)] (PDF), 2nd version, Waseda University, archived from the original (PDF) on January 6, 2018,
ポケモンの主要顧客層は 5～12 歳の少年少女である。
[Pokémon's main customer base is boys and girls aged 5 to 12.] - ^ Tomisawa, Akihito (September 1, 2000). ゲームフリーク: 遊びの世界標準を塗り替えるクリエイティブ集団 [Game Freak: A Creative Group That Redefines the Global Standard for Gaming]. Media Factory. pp. 138–139. ISBN 978-4840101189.
やがて、どうせ子供向けのゲー厶だろう、と見向きもしなかつた大人たちまでが手を出しはじめた。
[Soon, the game was even picked up by adults, who initially didn't pay attention to it as they considered a children's game.] - ^ a b c d Mcfarland, Melanie; Parvaz, D.H. (April 11, 1999). "Are Your Children Nuts About Little Cartoon Creatures From Japan? Don't Know Why? The Diagnosis Is Simple: Pokemon Fever". The Seattle Times. from the original on May 8, 2023.
And yes, there are plenty of adult fans as well.
- ^ a b c Lockridge, Rick (October 14, 1999). . CNN. Archived from the original on February 5, 2002.
Some grown-ups admit they enjoy the game themselves.
- ^ Sahdev, Ishaan (December 1, 2014). "Pokémon's Audience Is Growing Older". Siliconera. from the original on January 20, 2020.
- ^ a b "Legal Information". pokemon.com.
- ^ Hatakeyama, Kenji; Kubo, Masakazu (December 10, 2000). ポケモン・ストーリー [Pokemon Story]. Nikkei BP. pp. 474–475. ISBN 978-4822241995.
こうした合議制に近いシステムは、実は有名キャラクターではそれほど一般的なシステムではありません。(...) いま、世界的キャラクターの中で、原作権が1大、もしくは1社に集約されていないキャラクタ—は、ポケモンただ一つでしょう。
[Such a council-like system is actually not that common among well-known properties. (...) Pokémon is probably the only character in the world today whose original rights are not consolidated in the hands of a single major copyright holder or a single company.] - ^ a b Daswani, Mansha (April 9, 2009). . WorldScreen.com. Archived from the original on April 13, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e Tsukayama, Hayley (August 4, 2016). "Meet the man who made Pokémon an international phenomenon". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 4, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f Baylis, Jamie (August 29, 1999). "Invasion Of Pokemon". The Washington Post. p. H01. Archived from the original on June 27, 2023.
Pokemon is at once plural and singular.
- ^ "Pokémon". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d.
- ^ a b Liu, Caitlin (May 10, 1999). "Pokemon Is One Powerful Drawing Card". Los Angeles Times. from the original on February 28, 2021.
Parents said that, although some Pokemon charters [sic] are violent, the depiction of blood and gore that comes into family rooms every night is far worse.
- ^ Graeber, Laurel (August 29, 1999). "Masters of the Universe, Youth Division". The New York Times. p. 4. from the original on February 20, 2023.
But on the other hand, I don't worry about it as much as, say, 'Beast Wars', 'Batman' or 'X-Men'", all animated series that she said emphasized violence.
- ^ a b Thomas-Lester, Avis (December 13, 1999). "For Parents, It's No Game: Pokemon Plays Hard to Get". The Washington Post. p. B1. Archived from the original on February 27, 2023.
Parents find them less violent than some other recent toy phenomena, such as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
- ^ a b c Mallory, Michael (October 12, 2001). "Kids' Anime Hits Critical Mass". Los Angeles Times. p. F18. from the original on March 22, 2023.
[The anime] managed to crack a perennial kids' TV nut: how to present action without violence. It's the stylized, whimsical little monsters that do all the fighting, not the humans.
- ^ a b Plotz, David (November 12, 1999). . Slate. Archived from the original on March 16, 2003.
Pokémon softens its violence with sweetness. Like Ninja Turtles and Power Rangers, Pokémon is packed with battle scenes. But it is far gentler. Pokémon never die, they only "faint."
- ^ a b Howe, Rupert (March 5, 2000). "Made in Japan: Chasing the Dragon. Pokemon Was Nicknamed 'Kiddie Crack'. But a New Wave of Japanese Monsters Threatens to Be Even More Addictive". The Independent. pp. 20–23.
But Pokemon was different. Pokemon monsters, famously, do not die; they simply suffer a cute fainting fit. And it's this emphasis on non-violent problem-solving and group action which also informs the new shows.
- ^ a b Burkeman, Oliver (April 20, 2000). "Pokémon power". The Guardian. p. A2. from the original on June 5, 2023.
It's certainly hard to make charges of violence stick: Pokémon fights are ceremonial and impeccably polite in a uniquely Japanese way, and the monsters never die anyway - they just faint before rejuvenating themselves at special Pokémon hospitals.
- ^ [Interview: Satoshi Tajiri (Game Freak) vs. Tsunekazu Ishihara (Creatures) — Page 4]. Nintendo Online Magazine. nintendo.co.jp. July 2000. Archived from the original on February 5, 2003. (Translation)
- ^ Parkin, Simon (October 11, 2013). "Pokémon – from bugs to blockbuster". The Guardian. from the original on October 11, 2016.
Satoshi Tajiri [was] obsessed with catching insects in his youth
- ^ Hatakeyama & Kubo (2000), p. 133.
- ^ Sato, Tetsurō (March 30, 1998). "「ポケモン」誕生物語" [The Birth of Pokemon]. In Ohtsuki, Takahiro (ed.). ポケモンの魔力 [The Magic of Pokemon]. Mainichi Newspapers. p. 131. ISBN 978-4620312187.
- ^ Sato, Tetsurō. "The Birth of Pokemon". In Ohtsuki (1998), p. 132-133.
- ^ Sato, Tetsurō. "The Birth of Pokemon". In Ohtsuki (1998), p. 133.
- ^ a b Miya, Shoutarou; Tajiri, Satoshi (March 12, 2004). Satoshi Tajiri: A Man Who Created Pokemon. Ohta Publishing. pp. 55–57. ISBN 978-4872338331.
- ^ "Interview with Satoshi Tajiri". GameCenter CX. Season 1. Episode SP. Japan: Fuji TV. May 30, 2004. Event occurs at 10:40 – 11:46.
- ^ Tomisawa (2000), p. 168: "当時は、現在のようなゲー厶情報が掲載された専門の雑誌はまだ存在していなかった。"
- ^ Sato, Tetsurō. "The Birth of Pokemon". In Ohtsuki (1998), p. 133.: "当時はTVゲームの攻略法を解説した雑誌など皆無だった。"
- ^ Miya & Tajiri (2004), p. 146-148.
- ^ Tomisawa (2000), p. 198-200.
- ^ a b Hatakeyama & Kubo (2000), p. 82.
- ^ Otocky at MobyGames
- ^ Sedic at MobyGames
- ^ Hatakeyama & Kubo (2000), p. 82-83.
- ^ a b c Tomisawa (2000), p. 30.
- ^ Hatakeyama & Kubo (2000), p. 83.
- ^ Encyclopedia of Video Games. ASIN 4946432310.
- ^ a b Hatakeyama & Kubo (2000), p. 97-98.
- ^ Hatakeyama & Kubo (2000), p. 80.
- ^ a b c d [The secret story of Pokemon's birth is revealed!! Interview with Takashi Kawaguchi (Nintendo)]. Nintendo Online Magazine. nintendo.co.jp. July 2000. Archived from the original on December 16, 2002.
- ^ a b c d e "増田氏が語る、ゲームフリークが世界で通じる会社になるまで" [Game Freak's Path to Worldwide Fame, As Told By Masuda]. Shūkan Famitsū. May 23, 2019. p. 82-86.
Ishihara in particular was fond of card games and used that insight to advise on how to add more depth to the battle system. To be honest, things like the Pokemon types, the link cable battles, and the Pokedex were all added later in development based on his suggestions. (...) Ishihara also gave us some pointers on the story and setting.
- ^ "デザイナー別 ゲームリスト ： 糸井 重里" [Game list by designer: Shigesato Itoi]. gamers-jp.com. from the original on May 14, 2023.
- ^ "APE 糸井重里 スロットブラザーズ" [APE Shigesato Itoi Slot Brothers]. Mandarake. from the original on May 14, 2023.
- ^ "エイプ 糸井重里 痛快カード時代劇 エドカ" [Ape Shigesato Itoi Edka card game]. Mandarake. from the original on May 14, 2023.
- ^ "はなまる作文ゲーム" [Hanamaru composition game]. Mercari. Archived from the original on June 22, 2022.
- ^ "ラメカ 糸井重里" [Rameka Shigesato Itoi]. Mercari. Archived from the original on June 23, 2022.
- ^ Pokemon Business Study Group (June 1, 1998). ポケモンの秘密 [The Secrets of Pokemon]. Shogakukan. p. 113.
- ^ Tomisawa (2000), p. 226.
- ^ Tomisawa (2000), p. 225.
- ^ Tomisawa (2000), p. 248-254.
- ^ . gamefreak.co.jp. Archived from the original on August 19, 2017.
- ^ Hatakeyama & Kubo (2000), p. 484.
- ^ Tajiri, Satoshi (December 1, 1995). 新ゲームデザイン [New Game Design]. Enix. p. 156. (Translation)
- ^ a b Pocket Monsters Encyclopedia. Aspect. April 5, 1996. p. 140. ISBN 978-4893664945. (Translation)
- ^ Tomisawa (2000), p. 20-21.
- ^ Interview with Satoshi Tajiri (2004). Event occurs at 28:04 – 29:54.
- ^ Pokemon Business Study Group (1998), p. 35.
- ^ Tomisawa (2000), p. 23.
- ^ Hatakeyama & Kubo (2000), p. 133-135: "つまり、ゲームを知った日を境界線として、田尻のゲームを知るまでの世界は永遠に失われたわけですが、その失われた世界を、ゲームを知った後の田尻はもう一度取り戻そうとして、ポケモンを作り出したのでした。" ("In other words, the world Tajiri knew up to the day he learned about games was lost forever. But after that, Tajiri tried to regain the world that he had lost by creating Pokemon.")
- ^ Hatakeyama & Kubo (2000), p. 316.
- ^ a b Larimer, Tim; Yokota, Takashi (November 22, 1999). "The Ultimate Game Freak" (online exclusive). Time. from the original on April 21, 2017.
Ultraman with his capsule monsters--they all became ingredients for the game.
- ^ Shida, Hidekuni; Matsui, Tomoo (May 1, 2001). ゲーム・マエストロ〈VOL.4〉デザイナー/イラストレーター編 [Game Maestro, Volume 4: Designers/Illustrators]. Mainichi Communications. ISBN 978-4839903879. ()
- ^ Miya & Tajiri (2004), p. 130 ()
- ^ Hatakeyama & Kubo (2000), p. 75-76.
- ^ Tajiri (1995), p. 154 + 155.
- ^ [Interview with development staff / Making the Game]. Nintendo Online Magazine. nintendo.co.jp. July 2000. Archived from the original on December 15, 2002. (Translation)
- ^ Pokemon Business Study Group (1998), p. 112.
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- ^ a b c [Interview: Satoshi Tajiri (Game Freak) vs. Tsunekazu Ishihara (Creatures) — Page 2]. Nintendo Online Magazine. nintendo.co.jp. July 2000. Archived from the original on April 10, 2003. (Translation)
- ^ Tomisawa (2000), p. 70.
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- ^ a b [Special Conversation, page 1 - Six years of Mr. Tajiri and Mr. Ishihara]. Nintendo Online Magazine. nintendo.co.jp. July 2000. Archived from the original on February 5, 2003. (Translation)
- ^ Hatakeyama & Kubo (2000), p. 97-99.
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- ^ Hatakeyama & Kubo (2000), p. 97.
- ^ a b Tomisawa (2000), p. 31-32.
- ^ a b Miya & Tajiri (2004), p. 104.
- ^ Hatakeyama & Kubo (2000), p. 487.
- ^ a b Tomisawa (2000), p. 32-33.
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- ^ . abcnews.go.com. ABC News. February 8, 2000. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000.
Exeggutor is my favorite. That's because I was always using this character while I was debugging the program.
- ^ Mochizuki, Takashi (September 21, 2016). "How Pokémon Became a Monster Hit". The Wall Street Journal (Online). from the original on October 4, 2016.
Mr. Ishihara said that Exeggutor became his friend while he checked the programming of the game, and together they explored many places within it and captured characters.
- ^ Hatakeyama & Kubo (2000), p. 105-106.
- ^ Tomisawa (2000), p. 74 + 76-77.
- ^ Hatakeyama & Kubo (2000), p. 488.
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- ^ Hatakeyama & Kubo (2000), p. 114: "発売されると同時に火がつき、多くの関係者の予想を覆して国内累計販売本数100万本という大ヒットになりました。翌92年にはNOAからアメリカ版として『Yoshi』が、NOE(欧州任天堂)からもヨーロッパ版として『Mario&Yoshi』が発売され、どちらもそれぞれ100万本の売り上げを記録しました。" ("As soon as it was released, the game caught fire and became a huge hit, selling a total of 1 million units in Japan, defying the expectations of many people involved. The following year, in 1992, NOA released the game as "Yoshi" in the US, and NOE released it as "Mario & Yoshi" in the European markets, both of which sold 1 million copies each.")
- ^ Hatakeyama & Kubo (2000), p. 114: 「このゲームには、会社の経営の面で、とても助けられましたね。これでゲームフリークは存続できたわけです」("This game helped us a lot in terms of running the company. It allowed Game Freak to survive.")
- ^ a b c d e f g Chua-Eoan, Howard; Larimer, Tim (November 22, 1999). "Beware of the Poke Mania". Time. Vol. 154, no. 21. p. 80-86. from the original on June 8, 2023.
- ^ "What's the Deal with Pokémon?". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 124. November 1999. p. 168 + 170.
During the six years it took to develop the project (p168) (...) It took six years for the creators to complete the game (p170)
- ^ Hilliard, Kyle (December 25, 2016). "Pokémon Red & Blue – A Look Back At The 20-Year Journey To Catch 'Em All". Game Informer. No. 276. from the original on August 30, 2019.
- ^ a b Pokemon Originally Had 65,535 Versions (Exclusive). DidYouKnowGaming. June 11, 2022. Event occurs at 3:42 – via YouTube.
- ^ Pokemon Business Study Group (1998), p. 39-40: "もちろん、途中中断した時期も含まれているので6年丸々ひとつのソフト制作にかかっていたわけではない。" ("Of course, this includes a period of interruption – the company did not spent six years developing a single piece of software.")
- ^ Kawaguchi interview (2000): "最初の１年半くらいは田尻くんが試作などを持ってきていたんですが、そのうちパッタリととだえてしまった。" ("For the first year and a half, Tajiri-kun brought in prototypes, but then he stopped working on it.")
- ^ Hatakeyama & Kubo (2000), p. 118.
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- ^ Tomisawa (2000), p. 35.
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株式会社クリーチャーズ設立(千代田区神田須田町)
[Establishment of Creatures Co., Ltd. (Kanda-Sudachō, Chiyoda)] - ^ Allison, Anne (June 30, 2006). Millennial Monsters: Japanese Toys and the Global Imagination. University of California Press. pp. 197–198 + 239. ISBN 978-0520245655.
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- ^ Pre-release flyer
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Even when we were talking to our friends in the industry and saying that, "Oh, we're working on a Game Boy game," they were like, "Really? You're working on a Game Boy game? That's not going to sell very well, don't you think?" That's kind of what the atmosphere was like in Japan at the time.
- ^ Hatakeyama & Kubo (2000), p. 169.
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- ^ a b Kimura (2006): "香山は続けて岩崎に、米国 WOC 社製「マジック・ザ・ギャザリング」というトレーディングカードゲームが米国で大人気であること、石原たちが開発した「ポケットモンスター カードゲーム」は「マジック・ザ・ギャザリング」をヒントにしているが、純国産のオリジナルトレーディングカードゲームであることを教えた。そして今の所、声をかけた、幾つかの大手卸問屋から取り組みを拒否されていることも岩崎に伝えた。" ("Kayama went on to tell Iwasaki that a trading card game called "Magic the Gathering" made by WOC [Wizards of the Coast] was very popular in the United States, and that the "Pokemon Card Game" developed by Ishihara and his colleagues was inspired by "Magic the Gathering". However, it was a completely original trading card game made in Japan. He also told Iwasaki that, so far, several major wholesalers he had approached had rejected the project.")
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I was working really hard on its development at the time. That really takes me back.
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The main point is not to alienate any of the kids. For example, if we had the main character choose Zenigame (Squirtle), then some of the kids would say, "Hey, I chose Hitokage (Charmander)," and that would lead to the kid saying, "Who needs this show!"
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