Pikachu and Pokemon: From Idea to International Sensation
This entry was created by a student in Stanford's Rhetoric of Gaming class. For more about the class and the assignment, click here.
Pikachu. Thirteen years ago, that word had no meaning. Now, it is the mascot for the second-bestselling franchises of all time. My research project focuses on the rise in popularity of Pokémon, and how one person came up with an idea that took the entire world by force. What was so appealing about Pokémon? What were the early marketing strategies by Nintendo? And is the popularity decreasing now, as many say, or is there more in store for the franchise? These are all central questions to my topic.
In the Nintendo.com article, “Fans Can Actually Become a Pokémon with Two New Nintendo DS Games” (http://www.nintendo.com/whatsnew/detail/9NH7dkYdedNEp7fwhDrI2NSqsKPVna6B) , Nintendo announces the release of the then-newest edition to the series. The article states that fans now have the chance to “experience life from a Pokemon’s point of view”. In addition to announcing the game, Nintendo also announces a new sweepstakes where fans can enter after playing an online game to win Nintendo prizes.
The news also announces some gameplay aspects of the new games. Players can wirelessly connect with other players to get help in-game. Players can also send notifications to other players through their PCs or cell phones. This social gameplay pushes owners to pressure their friends to buy the game, a common marketing tactic of Pokémon. Over 490 Pokémon make appearances in both games. The games are for the Nintendo DS, and the article pushes players to “upgrade” from Gameboy Advances to the Nintendo DS.
At the very end of the article, it states that over “175 million” Pokemon games have been sold. The only video game series to sell more games is Mario and that series had a fifteen year head start. Overall, the article strongly suggests the reader to go and buy the game, especially targeting readers that are Nintendo fans. The use of gimmicks and statistics to sell the game is also apparent. The new game highlights the franchise is still carrying on as these games were being released a full twelve years after the first Pokémon games.
Comments
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Posted by: Research Paper | October 12, 2009 06:37 AM
I wonder about the game sales of Pokemon over the years. Do you know if the newer games have sold more or less than the previous games, and have DS sales been better than game boy sales, etc. There is a lot more to go over about the culture of pokemon in Japan, and you can even talk about crazy pikachu girl - lemme find it.
http://damncoolpics.blogspot.com/2008/12/this-girl-is-most-hardcore-pokemon-fan.html
i think there was more, i dunno google for "crazy pikachu fan girl wtf" or something. Point being - there is a lot of stuff about Pokemon to talk about, especially beyond the official site.
Posted by: Charley Ho | October 13, 2009 09:45 PM
I actually used to play pokemon on gameboy color, but those were some of the older pokemon games. I also remember playing pokemon crystal and ruby on a gameboy advance. Maybe you could focus primarily on how the newer versions of the games led to customers buying upgrades in their gaming systems. This is a huge advertisment within the game and game system itself. I really like the topic, can't wait to see what you come up with.
Posted by: Kevin Cardey | October 13, 2009 09:50 PM
I personally used to be a huge fan of Pokemon. I collected plush toys, collectible figurines, clothes, and almost every version of the video games released for the Nintendo Gameboy or DS. I still am a huge fan of the video games, as the graphics become more detailed and the replay value allows the game to be played over and over without becoming boring. Every seceding game of the franchise provides more and more features that almost forces consumers to purchase it.
I have actually played the game you have mentioned in your proposal. While it isn’t too fun and quite repetitive for someone my age, I can definitely see how the younger audience of the series can find it hard to put down.
It’s hard to believe how far Pokemon has come. I remember it first coming out when I was in the second grade and was already extremely popular by the end of it. Pokemon is a classic franchise that will live on probably forever, and will go down in history as one of the most addictive cartoon shows and entertaining video games.
Posted by: Thomas Lai | October 19, 2009 03:14 PM