Gotta Catch 'Em All... The History Behind Pokémon
by Andy Moseley - reprinted with permission from the December 1999 Mariners' Log
Do you remember Furbys? How about Tickle Me Elmo? Let's not forget the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, virtual pets, Sleep and Snore Ernie, Transformers, Strawberry Shortcake, Cabbage Patch Kids, Alf, and that lovable Fraggle Rock. Every hot craze has a life span of a year or two (sometimes three), maxing out around the day after Thanksgiving and lasting until around Christmas. This year's craze has arrived, and I'm not sure it's going to last just a year.
By now, there's a chance you've heard of Pokémon. You know, creatures such as Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Vulpix, Eevee, and Mr. Mime. If you are a parent of a kid, you probably know what I'm writing about. If not, you are probably wondering what the heck a Pokémon is. Pokémon is this year's hot craze. At the moment, there are 151 different Pokémon-Japanese for "pocket monsters"-that kids are going crazy over.
The Pokémon craze started back in 1995 in Japan. Nintendo, who we know as the minds behind Mario and Donkey Kong, released a role-playing game for its Game Boy hand-held system under its Nintendo of Japan label. The idea was simple at the time: the player was a ten-year old boy whose goal was to become the greatest Pokémon trainer in the world. To do that, all he had to do was encounter and fight 150 Pokémon. In the process, the young boy captured some of the monsters, trained them, and got them to fight against other monsters. Simple enough, right?
The game sold like hotcakes in Japan, which gave Nintendo a good reason to create an animated series of the same name. Japan had a top-rated hit on its hands, and it wasn't just children who were watching. Pokémon had officially captivated an entire nation. The series did create a little havoc, though. On December 16, 1997, over 700 children were hospitalized following seizures due to a flashing effect in one episode. The show was taken off the air for a few months but returned in early April 1998 to great applause.
The folks at Nintendo noticed how big their creation had become in Japan and figured Americans would see it the same way. On September 7, 1998, an American version of the hit show started airing in syndication. The show didn't start out all that strong, but Nintendo had a way to change all of that.
On September 28, 1998, red and blue versions of "Pokémon" were released for the Game Boy. Thanks in large part to video game magazines, the public found out about the games-and they started to fly off the shelves. Ratings soon doubled, then tripled, and the Kids WB picked up the series. KFC even started a bean-bag promotion, hoping for the same success that McDonald's had with its Teenie Beanie Babies promotions.
Pokémon hadn't hit its peak yet, though. Early in 1999, a trading card version of Pokémon started selling in hobby shops and retail stores. The basis of the game was about as complicated as the idea itself-players use point values on their cards to defeat other players' monsters. I personally don't get it, but apparently everybody else does, as it’s the Pokémon cards that are this year's hot find for Christmas. The owners of the Collector's Choice, a local store specializing in hot collectibles, told me that they have had an incredibly hard time keeping Pokémon in stock for over a day. Pokémon has far surpassed the demand that Beanies and racing collectibles have had in their store, something that they never expected. Supply has also run very short in major retail stores. Books-A-Million even has weekly Pokémon league tournaments, as over 100 children and teenagers show up with their collections to play and trade cards.
I consider myself a big kid at heart, as I still make weekly-if not more frequent-visits to Kaybee, along with the toy departments of any store I visit. I've always kept an eye on the big Christmas fad, and I honestly haven't seen anything this wild in a few years. With the first of what will probably be many Pokémon movies now in American theaters, I see this fad lasting past Christmas. There are no signs of Pokémon cards losing popularity, and all other Pokémon products are moving fast as well. Burger King has had tremendous success with its Kids’ Club promotion featuring 57 different Pokémon toys and 150 cards. As we near time for Santa to make his yearly visit, I have a feeling the Pokémon sections of stores will be overcrowded. Furby, watch out, buddy. Elmo, quit laughing because you've got some competition. This year, Pikachu and friends are taking over.
