March 27, 2006
Pokémon Celebrates its 10th Anniversary
From the mind of a Japanese school boy to the
biggest game franchise of all time
It has been ten years since the wonderful world
of Pokémon first took us by storm. In February 1996 an invasion of peculiar
creatures known as Pokémon occurred in Japan, before becoming a phenomenon in
the US and then Europe, on a scale never seen before. To the shock and disbelief
of European media, a Japanese toy captured the hearts and minds of children all
over the continent in a way never quite seen before, becoming a success
overnight. Since then, Pokémon has evolved from its humble beginnings as a
computer game to launch multiple cartoons, toy ranges, pasta shapes, movies and
even a Pokémon branded jumbo jet! Now in its seventh year in Europe, this craze
shows no signs of dying down – Pokémon is here to stay!
In 1990, Satoshi Tajiri, of game developer GAME
FREAK inc. presented a virtually complete concept for a game inspired by a love
of collecting insects as a child. After a further six years of intensive
development at GAME FREAK inc. in 1996 Nintendo launched two versions of a new
game, Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green.
With hopes that Pokémon would be a million
seller, the initial sales figures were in fact rather disappointing. Publicity
started to gather pace, however, when Corocoro magazine – publishers of the
Pokémon comic strip – revealed details of a mysterious Pokémon which sometimes
appeared at random in the game. But how could the kids catch it? The interest
and publicity surrounding this rare Pokémon, called Mew – whose random
appearances were due to a software glitch – gave impetus to sales and by
September 1996, Pokémon Red and Green had sold 1 million copies.
Following on from these games’ unprecedented
success, the first Pokémon cartoon was broadcast in Japan on April 1st 1997. In
July 1998, the first Pokémon movie, "Mewtwo strikes back" was released and
worldwide sales topped $36 million. This prompted the opening of a store solely
dedicated to Pokémon in the heart of Tokyo. In September 1998 Pokémon was
introduced to America along with the cartoon series. Seven years down the line
and a Pokémon theme park was opened for the first time in Nagoya, Japan, as part
of the Expo 2005 in Aichi prefecture. Between its opening in March and September
the same year, there had been over 4.1 Million visitors to the park! And
POKéPARK is returning from June 2006; this time around though the lucky hosts
and lucky Pokémon fans will be in Taipei, Taiwan.
In September 1999, European audiences were given
their first taste of the Pokémon television series, which accompanied the launch
of the video games Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue (Pokémon Green in Japan). By the
end of 1999 it was clear that there was no stopping Pokémon becoming a global
phenomenon.
Aside from the video games, one of the most
popular Pokémon products is the Pokémon Trading Card Game. Launching alongside
the franchise in Europe, the Trading Card Game (TCG) has been fuelled by
Organised Play programs in over 30 Countries and has to date spurred sales of 14
billion cards. It is now distributed in 22 countries in Europe with local
leagues and national championships. The TCG highlight of the year is the Pokémon
TCG World Championships, which this year will take place in August in Anaheim,
California.
The Pokémon Company will also be launching a
whole new Trading Figure Game. Crafted by Kaiyodo, this is a Pokémon ‘own brand’
product, and is the first Trading Figure Game from Pokémon. It will be making
its European debut in summer 2006, before any other territory.
In 2003 Nintendo released the hugely successful
series on the Game Boy Advance in the form of Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire.
This game was an instant phenomenon and has since gone on to sell a staggering
15 million copies worldwide to date. October 2004 saw the release of Pokémon
FireRed and Pokémon LeafGreen for the Game Boy Advance, selling a staggering
250,000 games across Europe in just two days! Globally combined sales of these
games have gone on to top over 9 million (by end December 2005). With the launch
of the Nintendo DS in 2005, a Pokémon inspired racing game, Pokémon Dash, was
subsequently launched.
The latest success story in a history of gaming
accolades belongs to Pokémon Emerald. Launched in October 2005 on the Game Boy
Advance SP, this game reached a staggering 1.2 million sales across Europe and
nearly 5 million worldwide by the end of 2005. One month later, Pokémon XD: Gale
of Darkness launched on the Nintendo GameCube.
The worldwide Pokémon franchise is estimated to
be worth approximately $25 Billion. In Japan alone Pokémon merchandise accounted
for $4 Billion of sales in its first eighteen months. Europe wide nearly 35
million Pokémon games have been sold since its debut nearly seven years ago.
In the year of Pokémon’s 10th Anniversary,
Pokémon fans can rejoice in the knowledge that all new and exciting adventures
will be available in 2006. On 5th May 2006, the all-new Pokémon block puzzle
game, Pokémon Link! launches across Europe, combining all the excitement of
puzzle games with the vivid Pokémon universe.
