Is Pokémon less popular than it used to be?

[Lexya428]

It is definitely not any less popular than it use to be. Even prior to the release of Pokémon GO, while it may not have been broadcasted, many people were/are still following the animé, games, and even cards. Many people found it almost taboo to be even speaking about Pokémon in a professional manner. However, when brought up in any conversation (for many people) the other will admit that they do still play. Since the release of Pokémon GO, it has become more socially acceptable. Many people whom have never even played Pokémon are playing this game. Granted, it does make it a bit harder for them to determine certain aspects of the game. While many of the old-timers know exactly what needs to do what. There are also many whom have fallen away from Pokémon only to have this game surge it's popularity, whether it's nostalgia or not. Both the Pokémon Company, Nintendo, and Niantic did a very good job getting this game to be as popular as it is. The Pokémon Company is making money off of it, whether or not Niantic owns Pokémon GO. They are still making an incredible amount of money off of it. Almost as a form of advertisement and word of mouth. Being that Pokémon is on the news every time you turn on the television, it's in almost every newspaper, and everyone is talking about it. The release of Pokémon GO was perfectly timed, prior to a new generation of Pokémon. This will cause sales to spike.
Basically, Pokémon wasn't grossing any less than before, it was more socially unacceptable than anything. People usually do care what others think about them. With the release of Pokémon GO, it's become socially acceptable. So even that has raised its popularity.

 

[Auraninja]

Ok maybe it didn't save Pokemon, but it definitely helped it gain popularity again. Pokemon GO is probably not a long-term solution to start with, but it was a badly needed promotion to get people back into pokemon.

"Badly needed"? No, at least not for Pokemon. If Pokemon sales dwindled by much, something would have taken up the #2 slot. Mario has 15 years on Pokemon, but during Pokemon's 20 years, it sold very well.

 

[BCVM22]

Pokemon GO saved Pokemon and Nintendo's ***. Should have invested in the mobile industry from the start, eh?

Nintendo lost the stock boost they gained once the investing public realized they had no hand in developing it (which, I mean, really people?), which should put this notion to rest.

 

[MechanisticMoth]

Pokémon Go just reasserted the brand. Even though it's not making a ton of money, it's brought awareness back to the franchise. A lot of my friends (many of whom made fun of my unbridled love of Pokémon) are now playing Go without ever playing a game before. My sister and her boyfriend are considering buying a New 3DS just to play Sun/Moon. She's never owned a video game system of any type in all of her life.

That's personal evidence, but my company organizes Pokémon Go walks, and it's so cool to see people of all different backgrounds playing the game. Kind of funny hearing them paying for pokeballs and other supplies when I live near downtown where there's Pokéstops everywhere.

 

[The Pokemon Broadcast]

Well, I'll say this.

Before Pokemon GO came along, the only place I would see lot's of Pokemon talk would be if I came here.
So far, I've heard a few people in the real world mention how they're playing it (whether it's just out of gen 1 nostalgia or they're legitimately getting into the franchise as a whole, I don't know). Yeah, it's just (so far) a few people here and there, but I haven't seen people talk about it any way since the franchise first became popular all those years ago.

 

[Panik]

Lmao at the people arguing over it being "badly needed".

Stop kidding yourselves folks, Pokemon as a franchise has never been as popular as it is now since the release of the first generation thanks to Pokemon Go.
As far as the general population was concerned pokemon was very much "irrelevant". Pokemon go caused the franchise to go from goofy and nerdy to being socially acceptable over night. Obviously most people on this forum won't understand that because as far as they're concerned pokemon has always been and always will be the coolest thing since sliced bread.

 

[Auraninja]

Lmao at the people arguing over it being "badly needed".

Stop kidding yourselves folks, Pokemon as a franchise has never been as popular as it is now since the release of the first generation thanks to Pokemon Go.
As far as the general population was concerned pokemon was very much "irrelevant". Pokemon go caused the franchise to go from goofy and nerdy to being socially acceptable over night. Obviously most people on this forum won't understand that because as far as they're concerned pokemon has always been and always will be the coolest thing since sliced bread.

Let's not kid ourselves when Pokemon X and Y outsold Ocarina of Time.

Global X/Y sales: 14 million
Ocarina of Time sales: 7.6 million
Bonus: Final Fantasy VII: 9.72 million

 

[PrinceOfFacade]

Lmao at the people arguing over it being "badly needed".

Stop kidding yourselves folks, Pokemon as a franchise has never been as popular as it is now since the release of the first generation thanks to Pokemon Go.
As far as the general population was concerned pokemon was very much "irrelevant". Pokemon go caused the franchise to go from goofy and nerdy to being socially acceptable over night. Obviously most people on this forum won't understand that because as far as they're concerned pokemon has always been and always will be the coolest thing since sliced bread.

Pokémon remains the second biggest selling video game franchise of all time, second only to Mario.

Just because Pokémon hasn't been jammed in people's face everyday like it was in the 90s doesn't mean it became irrelevant. It means it's no longer a trend. If you feel being an ongoing trend among the general population is what it takes for something to have value, popularity or success, then you have a very poor (or modern) understanding of what constitutes value, popularity, and success.

 

[Dijeirusan]

Pokemon GO saved Pokemon and Nintendo's ***.

What are you on about? Pokemon made $2.1 billion last year, and even without GO, would make more this financial year. It never needed saving.

 

[Panik]

Pokémon remains the second biggest selling video game franchise of all time, second only to Mario.

Just because Pokémon hasn't been jammed in people's face everyday like it was in the 90s doesn't mean it became irrelevant. It means it's no longer a trend. If you feel being an ongoing trend among the general population is what it takes for something to have value, popularity or success, then you have a very poor (or modern) understanding of what constitutes value, popularity, and success.

Never once did I state that Pokemon was devoid of value, popularity or success. The franchise has always been relevant in the gaming community.

Feel free to enjoy the gaming community, but that niche community does not represent the general population. Part of business is expanding and this has surpassed almost all of The Pokemon Company's attempts at increasing their demographics. New players, by and large are showing interest and familiarizing themselves with the world of Pokemon that otherwise couldn't care less. The general population has not shown this great of interest in the pokemon franchise since the initial release. That is a big deal.

Just because "everything was going fine, looking good, making smooth progress" doesn't mean it wasn't needed or well received. Try telling that to the suits raking in the dough after the Sun and Moon release.

 

[Auraninja]

Pokemon wasn't something that only it's deepest fans cared about. By gaming standards, it is still doing very well. There is still a sizable population that do not buy gaming systems, whereas on a iPhone, it's as easy as downloading an app on a device that can contact, navigate, troubleshoot, take photos, etc.

On another note, there isn't a big window of opportunity for any Pokemon game to sell nearly as well as Pokemon Go has been downloaded, especially since Pokemon Go outsold Wii Sports, the most bought dedicated video game.

How many people who downloaded this app will all of a sudden buy a Nintendo 3DS to play Pokemon Sun and Moon? The game attracts casuals, but its sales with a very casual audience that is glued to the smartphones is pretty disjointed from people who buy Pokemon as a more dedicated game.

 

[PrinceOfFacade]

Never once did I state that Pokemon was devoid of value, popularity or success. The franchise has always been relevant in the gaming community.

Feel free to enjoy the gaming community, but that niche community does not represent the general population. Part of business is expanding and this has surpassed almost all of The Pokemon Company's attempts at increasing their demographics. New players, by and large are showing interest and familiarizing themselves with the world of Pokemon that otherwise couldn't care less. The general population has not shown this great of interest in the pokemon franchise since the initial release. That is a big deal.

Just because "everything was going fine, looking good, making smooth progress" doesn't mean it wasn't needed or well received. Try telling that to the suits raking in the dough after the Sun and Moon release.

Since when did general population ever matter towards the development of Pokémon? Or any gaming franchise for that matter?

Pokémon has never had the support, acceptance, or interest of the general population, nor has it ever needed it. Hell, Pokémon has been at odds with the general population since 1996, and remains at odds more now than ever with Pokémon GO. You have clearly mistook fads and trending as general population support, and neither means it. Fads move via mob psychology, not genuine interest, which is why they fade rather quickly. Most people in a fad have no actual cling to the subject, and thus will leave upon realization. Trends move via coercive inclusion, rather than personal inclusion. People feel the need to do what those around them are doing to remain in the know, and right now Pokémon GO is in the know. As with all fads and trends, those of Pokémon GO will eventually fade, but its genuine popularity and continuance will not. That is what matters.

As for demographic, Pokémon's demographic changed on its own as longtime players grew older. More new players have been in the 16-24 range since Diamond and Pearl, and increasingly less in the original 7-12 range. What The Pokémon Company must do is not seek a new demographic, but tend to its changing demographic.

All in all, general population means nothing, in any realm of gaming, including mobile. Those of the general population come and go as often as the sun and moon (pun obviously intended). However, there are new entrants into the gaming population every year, a population of over 1.3 billion people worldwide. This is the group that matters.

 

[Dijeirusan]

You don't make over $2 billion a year just from niche audiences. Some "fans" are deluded.

 

[PrinceOfFacade]

You don't make over $2 billion a year just from niche audiences. Some "fans" are deluded.

You seem to assume niches are small.

 

[Nockturne]

Never once did I state that Pokemon was devoid of value, popularity or success. The franchise has always been relevant in the gaming community.

Yeah exactly, so Pokemon Go wasn't "badly" needed then was it? Pokemon could have survived without it because Pokemon was still popular enough to be a success before it.

If the franchise/Pokemon company was at risk of going bust or failing then people might have a point about it being badly needed, but it wasn't. Sure it's a welcome boost and I'm sure the people who stand to make money off it are thrilled but that doesn't mean that saying its a "badly needed" boost is just ignorant of the state of the franchise prior to Go. No one is saying its a bad thing or that the attention it brought back to the franchise is a bad thing, just that describing it as badly needed as if it saved Pokemon from fading away is just factually wrong.

 

[MythicMew]

Given how popular Pokemon GO is right now, I think all Pokemon fans can safely say that Pokemon is just as popular now as it used to be. I personally liked the direction Pokemon took in X and Y, with the 3-D graphics and mega evolutions. I'm not sure why X and y had the lowest sales, but that probably had something to do with the reason why Pokemon Z never happened. I still hope we get some sort of story for Zygarde, and I hope mega evolutions will make a return in the new games.

 

[_Scythe_]

Now that Pokemon Go is out and seeing the craze it is creating, with people who have probably never played or watched Pokemon playing it, even, I'd say it's actually pretty close to being as popular as it once was

 

[Muddy120]

I agree with Go now, Pokemon is actually more popular than even Red and Blue days back in the day, which is crazy and exciting too see at the same time really.

 

[WishIhadaManafi5]

Now that Pokemon Go is out and seeing the craze it is creating, with people who have probably never played or watched Pokemon playing it, even, I'd say it's actually pretty close to being as popular as it once was

Definitely. And where I live it was never really that popular, so it's nice to see some hype. I'm definitely excited for the new games too.

 

[lysandre]

I think so. Because the present generation thinks pokemon is limp. They love games of high graphic quality.