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Did Pikachu save the Pokemon franchise?
Justin Haywald at 1up has written a great overview of the Pokemon games. Even (especially?) if you don't play them, it's a good read for giving you a sense for why and how much these little guys are a force to be reckoned with. 186 million units sold over the series' lifetime? Wow.
However, in his discussion of game mechanics, I think Haywald doesn't give enough credit to the marketing synergy behind the Pokemon industry. These games would never be so successful if they weren't sold to children as more than just games. I'm also curious how he figures the games are "almost as popular with adults [as they are with children]". I'm going to call bull. I've played Pokemon games and I can see their appeal to hardcore RPGers as a subset of adults. But these are clearly not games that will work for the average adult videogamer.
I especially liked Haywald's take on the rise of Pikachu.But there's another game-within-the game at work in Pokémon, made to resonate with the casual audience: the player's relationship with their pokémon. And no game made that connection quite as apparent as Pokémon Yellow. After the raging success of the Pokémon TV show and the incredible love viewers showed to a certain electric mouse, the developers changed the starting pokémon to Pikachu and let the player talk to him throughout the adventure. If he was kept alive and well trained, he expressed his happiness whenever the player interacted with him, while bad trainers who repeatedly let the mouse faint or kept him confined to his Pokéball would only receive messages of unhappiness from their companion.
Wait, wait. Pikachu is a dude?
By Felipe 058 at 8:03 AM ON 04/03/09
I must agree that, for adults, the Pokemon games really only appeal to hardcore RPGers. I've been a fan since the first game came out (of course I was in fourth grade at the time), and as an RPG, it hasn't really ever failed me. But I find it extremely bothersome that almost everyone automatically assumes that Pikachu is female. Pokemon can be and are of either gender. It is only the fact that in the series he has such a close connection with Ash that the assumption of Pikachu's female gender arises. That and how in the first three games, Pokemon were never given genders. It was only in the second series that gender was applied.
Yeah, I just argued in the deffense of Pokemon. Don't frakking judge me!
By Aeon221 at 9:38 AM ON 04/03/09
It looks like that Pikachu is freaking dying.
Oh and that Pikachu cartoon was pretty boss back in the day. I remember that its first season was the only time in my entire k-12 career that my brother and I were up promptly by 6am
By Watch Pokemon at 10:09 AM ON 04/03/09
Lol AEON221, Pokemon was definatly a boss cartoon then.
Everything Pokemon was boss back then, Pokemon card, Pokemon blue and red, Pokemon Movies and Episodes.
Back on the post, Pokemon is definatly the best game created, Definatly for gameboy and any handheld anyway.
And yeh felipe, im sure only a few pokemon have genders, Like nidoran and nidaran
By budgethero at 11:56 AM ON 04/03/09
are there any other pictures like that with photoralistic pokemon?
By Mr. Brand at 2:41 PM ON 04/03/09
You're not asking for pokepron, are you, Mr. Hero-on-a-budget?
By budgethero at 2:51 PM ON 04/03/09
....u went there. i didnt.
there is/was a mod in development for HL2 that would feature photorealistic pokemon. the concept art looked much like this. u could see the scales on charizard and the palm leaves on the evolved for of bulbasaur reflected like real leaves. i thought it was interesting to see them in not cartoon form.
By Bacongrease at 11:54 PM ON 04/03/09
@ aeon221 don't u know that when pikachu reproduce the mother dies and the young consume her?
And most pokemon come in both genders with a few exeptions (nidoran nidorina any pokemon of which there is only one etc) the resin we associate certain pokemon with certain genders is because of the show. Also I think the Ash pikachu relationship is more like one of a loving pet than a boy girl relationship.
Bacongrease:
@ aeon221 don't u know that when pikachu reproduce the mother dies and the young consume her? And most pokemon come...More »