Pokemon Day marks 30 years of Pokémania as fans reflect
On pokemon day The Pokémon Company used its February livestream to kick off a 30th anniversary celebration that introduced the tenth generation of characters and unveiled the upcoming games Pokémon Winds and Pokémon Waves, a moment the company’s president called “extra special as we kick off the celebration of 30 years of Pokémon. ”
How a Game Boy experiment grew into a global phenomenon
It began in Japan with Pocket Monsters on Nintendo's Game Boy in 1996, a release that wasn’t expected to be a huge hit but that sold more than one million copies in its first year thanks to word-of-mouth and the console’s low price. Battles between rival trainers have always been at the heart of the games, where players take on the role of a trainer, catching and collecting monsters before battling them against others.
Pokemon Day livestream unveils Gen 10 and new games
This year’s celebration gave fans their first glimpse of the three new starter Pokémon — Bean Chick Browt, Puppy-type Pombon and Water Gecko Gecqua — and confirmed the tenth generation of characters. The presentation also unveiled the forthcoming titles Pokémon Winds and Pokémon Waves during the company’s annual February live stream; President Kenji Okubo described the event as “extra special as we kick off the celebration of 30 years of Pokémon. ”
Beyond the games: TV, cards, films and a billion-download app
The franchise expanded quickly into an animated TV series, films and a trading card game, turning the early craze into what the press called “Pokémania. ” The Trading Card Game became so popular that schools started to ban children from bringing the cards to the playground. The mobile game Pokémon GO, launched in 2016, used a device’s GPS and camera to place monsters in the real world and has since been downloaded more than a billion times.
Fans, media and a pandemic-era surge in interest
Fans across generations remain engaged: one outlet has been asking people why they love the series, why it appeals to so many and why it continues to prove popular. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, there was an explosion in Pokémon-related content and a particularly large increase in interest in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.
Share your story: an invitation for readers
Another invitation to fans asks what Pokémon means to them after three decades and offers a form for submissions, requesting as much detail as possible. The form sets a maximum file size of 5. 7 MB and asks submitters to provide contact details so they can be contacted for more information; those contact details will only be seen by. The invitation also reminds people to ask permission before including other people’s names and notes help is available for anyone having trouble using the form.
The next confirmed recurring event on the company calendar is the February livestream when The Pokémon Company unveils its plans for the coming year.
