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Thirty years on, Pokémon is still a monster hit

economist.com

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Re: Thirty years on, Pokémon is still a monster hit

#61

Post by JoshTriplett »

bubblewand wrote: post #34
JoshTriplett wrote: post #26

As a kid, I had the original Pokemon Blue for the GBC. Played it, enjoyed it, found it novel, beat it. Went to an event, got an authentic Mew (certificate is still around somewhere). Not long after, I was gifted Pokemon Silver. Played a bit of it. Didn't find it novel anymore. Very rapidly had this feeling of "I see where this is going and I want off this ride". Gave up on Pokemon, and haven't regretted it even sligh…

From what I can tell the staying power seems to be in: 1) New players. More of ‘em born every year! And, 2) Competitive play, which is a huge thing (I hate playing most games with randos online, personally, but lots of people love it). Like with any multiplayer game (call of duty, say) you need the latest entry or you’ll be looking at a ghost town in the multiplayer lobbies. Plus you get to experience the meta evolvi…

I think it also attracts many different kinds of players (with overlap between them). Some of the same MtG "player personality archetypes" apply to Pokemon: https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Player_type : hyper-competitive players, players who like swinging with the biggest baddest coolest Pokemon they can get, and combo players who like figuring out just the right combination of mechanics if you bring in some move from six games ago plus an item from three games ago plus a new Pokemon that just made the combo possible. Also throw in aspects like grinding for shinies or EVs.

Different appreciations for asethetics apply as well: people who get really into the lore, people who really enjoy specific Pokemon (look at Yellow, or the Let's Go games), people who just want "whatever has the best stats".

And each new game tends to take all of those archetypes into account when creating new content.

Re: Thirty years on, Pokémon is still a monster hit

#62

Post by Blackthorn »

ecshafer wrote: post #28

Its interesting that elementary kids have this kind of evergreen introduction to Pokemon. There is always a new set of games coming out, cards to buy, toys, anime. So kids see older kids with it, they want to get it, then they get introduced. So this "fad" has gone on for 30 years. However, even as someone who plays JRPGs. I can't for the life of me understand how adults are playing the games. The pokemon games are p…

SMT is your example here for the anti-grind, anti-boring-tbc?

I guess SMT2 was bizarrely anti-grind in a sense, but I dropped it when it turned out that leveling up made me weaker.

Re: Thirty years on, Pokémon is still a monster hit

#63

Post by bubblewand »

alexpotato wrote: post #56
ohhnoodont wrote: post #51

I loved gen 1 pokemon as a kid in the 90s. But today I sometimes feel like our culture is locked in time. Walking into a toy store is somewhat depressing - everything looks exactly the same as it did when I was a kid! It’s been 30+ years, kids should have way cooler toys and IPs.

> But today I sometimes feel like our culture is locked in time. People say this often and I agree that it does feel that way. They particularly underline "they are constantly remaking old movies!" which is also true. However, this is not a new phenomenon. As someone who loves movie trivia, IMDB is full of "this 1980s film was actually a remake of this other 1947 film". An older example: the Victorians (~1837 - ~1901…

The Wizard of Oz (the one you know of) was a remake.

The Thing (the one you know of—though the other had a longer title anyway) was a remake.

The version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers with Donald Sutherland (so, the one with that meme-able image of him pointing toward the camera) was a remake.

(Franchises? There are some from like the 40s that had a dozen or so entries over the next couple decades)

Many remake examples from almost all periods of filmmaking.

There were tons of remakes of silent films after talkies came about, then another wave of remakes of jankier-effects stagier-acting-style movies from the ‘40s and ‘50s when effects got way better and naturalistic acting took over in the 70s (plus some of these were remaking black & white to color).

Re: Thirty years on, Pokémon is still a monster hit

#64

Post by asdff »

jtbayly wrote: post #43

Rant incoming... My wife and I live near a park. When we go on walks, we see people who have driven to the park, where they drive slowly around the parking lot, frequently stopping and starting, cars running the whole time. Rarely do they get out of their car. They are, I believe, playing Pokemon Go. Yesterday there were over 2 dozen cars driving around. Nobody was walking. They don't talk to anybody. They are like z…

You should have seen it when pokemon go came out

Re: Thirty years on, Pokémon is still a monster hit

#65

Post by treesknees »

sunaookami wrote: post #41
ecshafer wrote: post #28

Its interesting that elementary kids have this kind of evergreen introduction to Pokemon. There is always a new set of games coming out, cards to buy, toys, anime. So kids see older kids with it, they want to get it, then they get introduced. So this "fad" has gone on for 30 years. However, even as someone who plays JRPGs. I can't for the life of me understand how adults are playing the games. The pokemon games are p…

Newer Pokémon games have way more quality-of-life such as EXP share and way faster animations so it's not a slog anymore. Recently finished Scarlet and enjoyed it very much. Currently replaying SoulSilver and I couldn't play it without cheats that make the game a bit faster (cutting repetitive animations, making the game run at 60 FPS, etc.) since everything is so slow. I'm nearing 30 and have played a lot of JRPGs i…

I completely agree with this. I'm playing through Leaf Green, and I'm around 8 hours in with just a single badge. I don't think I'd get through it without the boost of nostalgia for the GBC/GBA games. The newest games are nothing like the slog we went through as kids.

Re: Thirty years on, Pokémon is still a monster hit

#66

Post by irishcoffee »

poetril wrote: post #37

I grew up playing the games, and still have my copy of Yellow and Red. I fell of the wagon somewhere around Gen VI, the games just got to easy. It became clear to me that Gamefreak was just throwing in the towel and gave up making interesting games. That being said, recently I started getting into the world of Romhacks and they have sparked new joy in me. The games are hard, fun, and have a lot of love poured into th…

In my head there are and only ever will be ~151 pokemon. I played red/blue when they launched as 8-bit wonders. I could never get into the rest of them.

Re: Thirty years on, Pokémon is still a monster hit

#67

Post by specialist »

asdff wrote: post #58
ohhnoodont wrote: post #51

I loved gen 1 pokemon as a kid in the 90s. But today I sometimes feel like our culture is locked in time. Walking into a toy store is somewhat depressing - everything looks exactly the same as it did when I was a kid! It’s been 30+ years, kids should have way cooler toys and IPs.

I was just thinking too when there are new IPs, they are completely indistinct today. Take a character from any of the past 15 years of animated movies and they are interchangeable with each other. Everyone is afraid to establish a design language beyond looking kinda-sorta like a pixar character. 90s were so different with creative freedom with the media we were exposed to. All those shows had their own art style. C…

I believe, but cannot prove, new media(s) enable new waves of creativity.

(Orthogonal to the socioeconomic incubators.)

Re: Thirty years on, Pokémon is still a monster hit

#68

Post by asdff »

poetril wrote: post #37

I grew up playing the games, and still have my copy of Yellow and Red. I fell of the wagon somewhere around Gen VI, the games just got to easy. It became clear to me that Gamefreak was just throwing in the towel and gave up making interesting games. That being said, recently I started getting into the world of Romhacks and they have sparked new joy in me. The games are hard, fun, and have a lot of love poured into th…

Pokemon is one of the worst games for min maxing into a broken game. You go on the subreddits and everyone runs the same perfectly optimal team with the same perfectly optimal movesets. Playing like that probably is remarkably boring, but also once you learn of these patterns and playstyles it becomes hard not to consider using them. Like games that give you free money cheats, the seems great for a second then the drive to actually play the game as it was meant to be played is lost.

I've tried to keep my pokemon knowledge free and clear from this influence. I don't look up anything. I don't really understand the meta beyond basic type matchups. I fumble through the games inefficiently and slowly same as I did in the 90s.

Re: Thirty years on, Pokémon is still a monster hit

#69

Post by CobrastanJorji »

alargemoose wrote: post #40
tiznow wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Roaming around the apartment complex I grew up, in with friends and a link cable meeting new kids and trading Pokemon were some of the best times of my life. I'm still a Pokemon fan to this day. I play Go all the time, collect cards when they're not obscene to acquire, and I'll probably buy a Switch 2 when they come out with the upgrade to immerse myself in the online aspect of modern Pokemon games. Fantastic franchi…

Heads up that the switch 2 launched last May! (Depending on region) though they announced the next mainline Pokémon game won’t launch till 2027.

Above is probably referencing an "Upgrade Pack," a product allowing owners of Switch 1 games get them to work a little better on the Switch 2. For examples, the $10 "Pokemon Legends" Upgrade Pack slightly improves the frame rate and draw distance.

Re: Thirty years on, Pokémon is still a monster hit

#70

Post by specialist »

ohhnoodont wrote: post #51

I loved gen 1 pokemon as a kid in the 90s. But today I sometimes feel like our culture is locked in time. Walking into a toy store is somewhat depressing - everything looks exactly the same as it did when I was a kid! It’s been 30+ years, kids should have way cooler toys and IPs.

I've come full circle to appreciating the current durability of culture.

Last summer, I played Pokémon with my neice's kid. I got to relive the pure joy of playing Pokémon with my neice, nephews, and own son. So now three generations are nerding out together. I love it.

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