Pokemon As A Part Of Popular Culture

Pokemon is a popular culture phenomenon that has been a part of my life since my earliest memories. From having all my favourite pyjamas printed with an array of colourful pocket monsters, to bringing a pencil-case to school full of licensed stationery, it is safe to say that I have been a consumer of this franchise for well over a decade and I have had the pleasure of watching it grow into the billion-dollar business it is today. Successfully dominating the popularity of a multitude of different profitable mediums such as trading-card games, broadcasted television shows, collectable figures, video games and even hamburger wrappers, the unprecedented rise of Pokémon continues to fill the missing void of nostalgia that resonates with older generations, as well as spark new memories with newer generations. With the franchise’s recent brand extension of virtual reality technology through its current breakthrough Pokemon Go, its strategic adaptation to dive into the world of smartphones has recaptured fans all over the world to literally, catch them all. This reflection will explore how this much-loved Japanese cartoon franchise has globalised the entertainment industry through its adaptive brand extension that taps into the nostalgic hearts of its fans of all ages, using Pokemon Go as a case study.

I was fortunate enough to grow up seeing the origin and the progressive rise of Pokemon. Originated in the early 1980’s as a small gaming magazine by Japanese inventors Satshi Tajiti and Ken Sugimori (Madnani, 2016), this ever-growing franchise soon moved into videogames which was licensed by Nintendo. I still remember the day I brought my Gameboy to school with my new Pokemon Red and how much all the other students were eyeing me and my latest and greatest black and white device. With Pokemon initially designed to be catered to children, everyone in my class was obsessed with the iconic yellow mouse and at the time, this game and all things related to it were a must-have, Although, before I could even do my timetables, all I was thinking about was convincing my parents to get me the all the Pokemon books from the book club. Now, I can see how this was a much greater popular culture phenomenon than I had ever anticipated.

Popular culture is defined as how people react to and utilise resources that are related to or provided by a cultural industry (Takacs. S, 2014). There are a multitude of pathways that can be taken which can transition something that was considered to just be culture, to be popular culture. Although it may be difficult to identity the difference between the two ideas due to their subjective nature and requirement to be seen in practice, Pokemon is clearly a subset of popular culture due to its outstanding globalisation and spread across the world. The company’s maintenance and longevity of its relevance as a brand has made Pokemon a huge competitor for other gaming franchises such as Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda, despite it not being newly introduced to mainstream popular culture, nor to the video-game domain.

Pokemon’s ability to adapt and remain current with popular trends has allowed the company to move at the same pace as its users, as well as convert new fans with platforms that they are familiar with. Living in such a fast paced and high-tech society, it is important to keep up to date with trends and continuously develop innovative ideas. From transitioning from gaming magazines to developing video games, and progressively creating new games with new characters and new objectives, the company is an expert on keeping up with the times and making sure their users do not get bored of their content or are limited to outdated platforms. Originating on the Nintendo Gameboy in 1996, Pokemon has spread itself across all mediums from Nintendo DS which was released in 2004, and the latest Nintendo Switch in 2017. Although, when Pokemon made the world-stopping move to iOS and Android, fans went crazy over the release of Pokemon Go.

The years 2016 and 2017 saw over 100 million people roaming around their streets and being glued to their smartphones as the mobile augmented reality iOS and Android game Pokemon Go was taking the globe by storm. I remember walking around the city with my friends and linking up with other “trainers” to battle it out and ultimately, catch them all. I loved reconnecting with my favourite and much-adored Pokemon, as well as expressing my love for all things related to the game with other people who shared the same interest. It was almost impossible to walk around a busy area, typically hot spots of the game as they are populated with rarer Pokemon and more Poke-stops, without seeing small groups of players swiping up their screens as they throw Poke-balls at these virtual monsters. Although, despite the virtual reality technology already being front-runners of the gaming industry, with success in other immersive games such as Ingress and Temple Treasure Hunt, Pokemon Go erupted into popular culture by merging this technology with the Pokemania world.