Pokemon Pokemania - Got To Catch Them All

Japan is the origin of Pokemon, and the land of spinoffs when it comes to games and toys, so it is not surprising that Japan is unquestionably the Pokemon stronghold for sales and popularity. Second to Japan is not the rest of Asia (though Pokemon animation has been dubbed into most languages and the game is available and popular), but rather North America and Europe, particular the former where game play is intense and enthusiastic fans hold many events.

Merchandising of Pokemon seems to be split between an older and younger crowd: the older crowd (teens) is far more intent on gaming and far less on buying stuffed toys, animation, and Pokemon game cards. Gamers often develop favorite characters, however, and sometimes will buy a Pokemon stuffed toy. Particularly now, as the release of Pokemon Black and White has quite literally set off a new Pokemon rage, older gamers as well as the more traditional younger crowd are buying Pokemon Black and White Plush Toys, Pokemon zukan and Tomy figures, and Pokemon Cards, which are seen for now as collector's items. Nintendo has a big hit with anything to do with the Black and White series.

In Russia, Pokemon was banned for a while for obscure reasons, but Pokemon animation dubbed in Russian and other Pokemon goods are back on the market now. Pokemon doesn't seem to have captured the imagination of the Russian youth as much as Nintendo would like however. Still, Russia is an exception. In other areas such as the Middle East, Pokemon has shown the same craze popularity as it has elsewhere but in some places the cards have been banned because of local laws. In England there was some trouble for a while because of fisticuffs fighting among youth over Pokemon cards but the situation seems to have calmed down now and is back to normal.

Perhaps not all that surprising in mainly Hindu India with its own mind boggling pantheon of gods, Pokemon was a national craze for some years, with the animation dubbed in both Hindi and Tamil, and shops springing up in all the major cities selling Pokemon merchandise. The craze has leveled off for now but it is my guess that sales are bound to spike again with the introduction of Pokemon Black and White. India appears to be hooked.

In other parts of Asia such as the Philippines and Thailand, Pokemon merchandising has not seen the success yet that merchants would like but like in other places the animation is very popular, and where the animation is popular the merchandising usually follows (I call it the Disney Standard). Similar Pokemon figures are coming out of Brazil and the rest of South America. Pokemon games and goods are popular in South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand as well, pretty much on a level with Europe.

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The Companies Behind Pokemon Merchandising

Pokemon started out not so many years ago as a video game ported to Gameboy. It became very popular very quickly and Nintendo quickly saw great opportunities in merchandising spinoffs. These days it is a big worldwide industry whose spinoffs overshadow the flagship video game (which still leads the product line's creative conceptions however) and include the animation series and movies, which have been translated into dozens of languages, Pokemon manga (comics), the very popular Pokemon card game, and countless Pokemon stuffed toys.

The spinoffs are kept 'fresh' by keeping up with the updates in the video game. The latest incarnation is Pokemon Black and White, and sure enough, this is what fans are going crazy for: Pokemon Black and White plush toys (stuffed toys), Pokemon Black and White game cards, Pokemon Black and white promo cards, and Pokemon Black and White Zuken figures. Both cards and toys can be very expensive collector's items, and especially cards can become rare or be collectible because they are written in different languages. Cards can also be plain, promo, Legendary Pokemon, shiny suicune, shiny raikou, or shinny entei.

Everything associated with the merchandising of Pokemon spinoff goods is controlled by the Pokemon Company, an affiliate of Nintendo. All non-Asian production is under control of The Pokemon Company International, likewise an affiliate to its parent, Nintendo. Tomy and other 2nd and 3rd party companies handle the physical manufacturing of the goods, including the cards and stuffed toys. The game usually goes under the trade name of 'Game Freak.'

Pokemon is an industry that generates an incredible $10,000,000 USD an hour in revenue. It also attracts imitations worldwide, and illegal copying of its Nintendo game seem to sprout up in markets around the world as soon as they are released. Behind corporations like Tomy however there is a vast amount of other industries and cottage industries behind the Pokemon line. Studios and their artists need to be hired for production of the animation, and the scriptwriters must work closely with Nintendo to make sure that the animation episodes are accurate. Worldwide dubbing of the episodes must also be handled legally.

In a free market, the Pokemon Company has no direct control over the sales of its products of course, but has, like the Apple Store, set Pokemon stores that sell only Pokemon goods exclusively. It is assumed that the company takes on the costs of running and promoting the stores, but enjoys the return in profits. Pokemon advertises little; it's so popular that it doesn't need to. Finally, there is a whole collector's industry that revolves around old Pokemon games, cards, and stuffed toys. Most of these goods can be found on the Internet.

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Why Many Kids Don't Always Have A Favorite Pokemon

I'm sure you've heard of Pokemon, but did you know that a new release of the video game called Pokemon Black and White is out? There are new Pokemon Black and White plush toys to go along with it, as well as new Pokemon Black and White promo cards and Pokemon Black and White game cards. There are also new Pokemon Black and White Zukan figures by Tomy. My son can't stop checking out all the new goods at his favorite Pokemon web site.

As far as individual Pokemon go, there is the phenomena of kids or gamers becoming attached to a certain Pokemon. In fact, a teenager of 17 might become so enamored of a certain character that he may even buy the Pokemon plushie (stuffed toy). Which is quite out of character for a 17 year old. And everyone who knows anything about Pokemon knows that Pikachu is of course the adored unofficial but obvious mascot to Pokemon in the same way that Mickey Mouse is to Disney.

But usually kids have a hard time telling you their favorite Pokemon character when asked. It makes sense though when you break it down. For one thing, no matter how cute, comely, or handsome the Pokemon may be, they are after all monsters. Even 'cuddly' Pikachu has an absolutely terrifying electric punch. Every Pokemon character is dangerous. Mickey Mouse can't hurt you but any of the over 400 Pokemon can- lethally! So there is a dark element to the Pokemon that I think kids remain in awe and are a little frightened of when it comes to the Pokemon.

It's a fascinating thing to be a trainer of monsters. In Ultraman, monsters represent absolute evil. There is no taming them- the only solution is to destroy them utterly. Ultraman is a savior, not a tamer. Monsters only represent chaos and destruction. The monsters in Pokemon represent something different altogether. Pokemon are animal-like creatures that in general present us with a temperate, cute, and even affectionate nature. Watch out when they release their powers though, for they become formidable. Pokemon are more like a Stegosaurus than a Godzilla: basically they are non-aggressive but are quite capable of defending themselves when necessary. Stand back when they do.

Finally the tremendous combination of species with different capabilities makes it hard to have an absolute favorite. There are no 'all mighty' Pokemon. Some are stronger than others of course, but different Pokemon can be very useful in surprisingly different situations. So one type of Pokemon could be a favorite in a given scenario, and another in a different one. I think that rather than developing favorites (like a favorite ship in a space game), the drive is to know and handle as many Pokemon as one can. With enough skill, one can then become a Pokemon master.

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Why I Let My Son Play Pokemon

My son doesn't watch TV very much. My son is now 10 but first became a 'gamer' at age two with Reader Rabbit's Preschool (mouse only) and I have encouraged him to use the computer ever since. Yes, I admit that he has broken nearly $1000 USD worth of DVD drives, keyboards, and other peripherals, but I consider that to be 'collateral cost damage' to his education. As a parent, I don't believe in restricting my child on the computer: I want him to learn as much as he can as fast as he can.

Since I myself can fix any software problem he can cause I let him use my account. I want him to have the 'full arsenal.' If I worry that he is going to come across things on the Internet that will be harmful to him, I also know that I can always check wherever he's been. An emptied history cache is a tell tale sign that something's up and it's time for a talk. Kids are learning the Internet and computer databases very quickly. Filters prevent kids from learning in my opinion. I believe in talking, and trust. The day that my son can outsmart me on the computer will be his rite of passage. In any case, I trust my son.

My son has always been a gamer. He was playing "Where in the World Is Carmen San Diego?" when he was five. He branched out. Recently Pokemon came out with a new game called Pokemon Black and White and my son went nuts for it. I haven't bought him the DS game yet though- he's crazy for the Pokemon Black and White cards and loves browsing the websites featuring the spinoffs. I just bought him a Pokemon Plushie at a realtor near us that he, unfortunately or not, is sleeping with. He seems content playing Crystal though, and knows his mother- he doesn't nag for new games. One private reason I don't buy him the Pokemon Black and White game (apparently you have choice between the two colors) is that I don't feel he really understands Crystal yet.

Allow me to put this way. My son does a lot more on the computer than play games. He knows the file system, can navigate like nobody's business, and knows how to solve problems. He has a good knowledge of the basic database, which is what computing is all about. He knows HTML 1 well enough to make a simple homepage, and knows a little PHP as well. He can troubleshoot and fix problems. I strongly feel that gaming adds to his knowledge, and that computers are the thing he is best yet. So I encourage gaming- I think he has a good career ahead of himself.

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