Is Pokémon less popular than it used to be?

[yuoke]

Pokemon games have always referenced previous games, with the initial Gen 2 games being sequels that had most of Kanto to explore as well. If any gen was a move to emulate Gen I, it was Gen 5's first set in BW which really did aim to re-create the magic of Gen I by restricting it to only new Pokemon for the main game.

By doing that though ironically, it pissed off a lot of people(not me). People couldnt take not being able to get the same pokemon they get every gen for their teams.
Xy literally recreated viridian forest, Gave you gen 1 starters, had the league be on a off route near the first major town, had mewtwo sitting in a cave that you need to surf to, has someone give you a lapras, evil team is first met in a cave guarding fossils, evil team base is set up with sliding floor panels, and the legendary birds are in.
So bw was emulating the setup of gen 1, xy was pandering to the nostalgia of it like no other gen.

 

[Samayouru]

xy was pandering to the nostalgia of it like no other gen.

This. This aaaaaaalllll the way, mate. I play Pokemon games because I look forward to seeing what they'll add, not what they'll bring back for those who want nostalgia (I think the only thing I really find myself missing are the smaller touches, like bringing back having your lead Pokemon trail around behind you like in HG/SS). Don't get me wrong, I appreciate it when they throw back to something from previous gens, like the Team Rocket member from the Old Country being in the gen 5 games, but I come back because I want to see what they'll do next. It's actually why I prefer ORAS to XY - they kept the basics, but added new things from XY that actually fit in a lot better in the ORAS games (that and they improved the AI of the trainers in ORAS, which was something that I think was lacking in XY).

As for popularity, I do feel that a lot of the fans are just people who've grown up with the games. But that's mostly on the internet - I do take note of people who play Pokemon games out on the streets when I'm in town and such, and there is a very broad age range. Perhaps Pokemon is more popular in England than it is in America, maybe? Idk.

 

[Creyk]

It is stagnating.
They should get people talking about the games in order to reach another sales spike.

 

[randomspot555]

It is stagnating.
They should get people talking about the games in order to reach another sales spike.

If "stagnating" is selling millions upon millions of games, they really don't need to change much.

 

[Saylii]

Pokemon is only less "popular" right now as in this date, 6/7/16, because there hasn't been a new game in nearly three years. ORAS was a remake and while new people bought it that were introduced to the series after R/S/E, I guarantee the gap hurt the perception of Pokemon's strength since it meant less new things to talk about. Social media trending was barely a thing back in 2013. It doesn't help that the anime isn't as big as a driver of fans in the US like it is in Japan. None of the people that I know that actually play Pokemon pretty seriously watch the anime.

If Nintendo/Game Freak wanted to make Pokemon explode again, they would need to:
a) Launch an anime series geared towards older teens/adults. They can keep the kiddie version for Saturday cartoons, but they could easily release a grittier, 13-episode run with their Netflix partnership.

b) Make it easier to get your Pokemon into Social Media straight from the game. Instead of using outside websites to customize trainer cards, they need an in-option game that'll transfer straight to your FB/Twitter. They need to make it easier to create screenshots from in-game play. Pokemon is a social game and while they've made steps with the GTS/Wonder Trade/competitive battling, it could be a lot better.

c) Pokemon GO releases with few bugs and a high user base. That'll do more for the franchise then S/M will, hands down.

 

[BCVM22]

Social media trending was barely a thing back in 2013.

That's not remotely true. There's no social media that exists now that didn't exist three years ago. "Social media trending" was absolutely a thing in 2014 when OR/AS released, so we're not quite two years out, rather than three.

If Nintendo/Game Freak wanted to make Pokemon explode again, they would need to:
a) Launch an anime series geared towards older teens/adults. They can keep the kiddie version for Saturday cartoons, but they could easily release a grittier, 13-episode run with their Netflix partnership.

They don't "need" to do that at all. Eternally, there is nothing about the franchise that "needs" to be made darker or grittier and I will eternally be nothing but perplexed by people demanding this. And there is no Netflix partnership - yet.

Make it easier to get your Pokemon into Social Media straight from the game. Instead of using outside websites to customize trainer cards, they need an in-option game that'll transfer straight to your FB/Twitter.

This would no doubt be very entertaining, but it would not in and of itself make the franchise "explode" again, and in order to do this, you have to build Twitter/Facebook integration into your OS. The 3DS would need entirely new functionality to do this easily, and it's a two way street as well on the part of those platforms themselves; I imagine going to that trouble for hardware in its twilight like the 3DS isn't nearly worth the meager boost it would provide, in and of itself. I agree social media integration like that would - or should - be very much in play for the next generation of hardware, but it will be in play from the beginning and it will benefit all of the titles smart enough to take advantage of it, not just Pokémon.

Pokemon GO releases with few bugs and a high user base. That'll do more for the franchise then S/M will, hands down.

It will certainly do new things for the franchise, absolutely. It's entirely premature to say that it will do more for the franchise than the impending next generation of core titles, the very lifeblood of the franchise.

 

[Alexander18]

I think Pokemon is still popular. We have now 721 plus new pokemon for gen 7. Even if it wasn't as popular as before, it is still popular enough to keep going and to produce anime, games and other merchandise.

 

[PrinceOfFacade]

It's certainly not as popular in the U.S., but for the world as a whole, I don't think much has changed.

 

[RedJirachi]

It was so vocally popular when it was new because it was new. At the time, it was rather new and intriguing

 

[Navarch]

I think it's still strong. Maybe not as strong as it was, but I think it's going to get back up there. The updated graphics is what is really going to draw people in I think, and they can only get better. Around 2004-2012, the graphics were underwhelming compared to other games just because the DS couldn't handle them. So, I think that's why Pokemon was kind of lagging during that time.

 

[RedJirachi]

Depends on which age group. The older game group are more into it today because of the improved mechanics, and the younger game group was more into it back then because of how new and accessible it was to them

 

[Lunala]

Considering the millions of sales mentioned by another user, I'd say this thread already has it's answer: Pokemon is still very popular.

I don't think there is a convincing argument against it.

 

[malcolm_n]

Not sure how this is even a question, given we're on one of MANY popular fan sites asking it. I mean, as people grow up, some may back away, but others (like myself) continue to love the franchise and have even brought our children into it. Pokémon has become a childhood staple, like Monopoly or Koolaid here in the US. It's just kind of expected. The fact that they update it with new innovations and remakes every couple years doesn't change that.

 

[Ditto B1tch]

Yes, if the anime didn't suck that much, it could be more popular.

 

[Mr Dragon]

I can't help but look at this thread with a bit of a smirk given that earlier today I read a news article saying that in the US Pokemon Go is now more popular than Twitter.

 

[greninjamaster]

One of the funniest things I here is people saying Pokemon Go! is just a phase and will soon be irrelevant. That's what they said about Pokemon originally and here we are 20 years later still as an amazing a franchise as when it started(although not in the anime).

Pokemon Go! is not gonna die anytime soon if at all, especially when they start adding the other gens. It's got an endless amount of content and it already is the #1 used app in the US.

 

[yuoke]

One of the funniest things I here is people saying Pokemon Go! is just a phase and will soon be irrelevant. That's what they said about Pokemon originally and here we are 20 years later still as an amazing a franchise as when it started(although not in the anime).

Pokemon Go! is not gonna die anytime soon if at all, especially when they start adding the other gens. It's got an endless amount of content and it already is the #1 used app in the US.

I actually hope Go can bring up genwunners and other people that lost interest back in and also be able to see that later gens have good pokemon.

 

[Pokegirl Fan~]

Not anymore with Go around. It seems to have returned as a fad again

 

[Mrs. Oreo]

Not anymore with Go around. It seems to have returned as a fad again

It's funny cuz even my parents were talking about Pokemon Go today hee hee, and they usually don't even know what new Pokemon games are out. But as you said, it's likely a fad so I don't think the franchise has repeaked in terms of popularity, at least not permanently. ^^;

 

[Delbert Barnes]

It's not as strong as before, but it still has a huge following. Upon the release of Pokemon Go, most of the people I knew online talked about it, even those people whom I didn't think would ever talk about Pokemon. (It even trended on twitter iirc)