Pokémon

Originally released in 1996 as a pair of Nintendo Game Boygames, Pokémon has since spread across several media formats and undergone regular, iterative redevelopments to become a multibillion-dollar global franchise. A cross-media barrage of video games, trading cards, comics and cartoon series, films, toys and an endless supply of merchandise has made it one of the most widely-recognized brand names to have ever emerged from video games, and a major source of income for Nintendo.

Central to every incarnation are the eponymous Pokémon: a diverse range of animal species with incredible abilities and near-human intelligence. Most Pokémon species are inspired by real animals which have been associated with one of 17 neoclassical elements (such as water, fire, steel, or poison), resulting in such creatures as mice that discharge bolts of electricity from their cheeks. Their combative powers are pitted against [Page 564]each other in Pokémon battles—a sanitized analogue of cockfighting, in which Pokémon trainers encourage their indentured “friends” to beat each other into a state of unconsciousness.

The original Game Boy games were notable for being released as a near-identical pair. Players were instructed to catch and catalogue every species of Pokémon within the game world, with the added twist that the two different versions of the game contained different rosters of wild Pokémon. In order to complete their collection, players were therefore required to meet up in real life and trade Pokémon between the different versions. These principles of showing-off and trading Pokémon are central to the game's sociable philosophy—recent sequels even allow players to connect over the internet, creating a buzzing global marketplace.

This urge to complete Pokémon collections has been successfully exploited by the prolific cross-media promotions that are a hallmark of the franchise. The cartoon series contains hints and tips for the video games, the films are often accompanied by limited edition trading cards, and so on. In the same way that players are encouraged to seek each other out to expand their collections, they are also encouraged to explore other branches of the franchise—and spend more money in the process.

The viral nature of this promotional model has made Pokémon a very powerful cultural and economic force. At time of writing, the video games series has sold over 175 million units worldwide, while the cartoon series has run for over 550 episodes, accompanied by 11 feature films. The trading card game and its expansion sets have grown to around 3,000 unique cards in total, and continue to draw a healthy player base to its official international tournaments. The extent of global toy and merchandise sales since 1996 cover such broad markets and high quantities that they are simply beyond estimation.