What's been the bigger phenomenon: 90's Pokémon or Fortnite?

[Mr. Reloaded]

Both titles are world known phenomenon's at this point, but which game had the greater popularity for it's time?

Pokémon obviously got big because of the trading cards
Fortnite blew up with the help of social media, Twitch streaming and of course Ninja.

 

[RedJirachi]

Probably Pokemon, though it would be interesting to know how Pokemon would spread if the internet was as developed then as it is now

 

[Prof. SALTY]

Proooooobably pokemon. Fortnite just seems like one of those fads that will fade into obscurity after a while. Then again, that's what everyone was saying about pokemon for the first few years

 

[GrizzlyB]

I see that you're 22 years old, which makes sense, because if you were just a few years older, you'd remember that there's absolutely no comparison between Pokemon at its peak and whatever the hell Fortnite is supposed to be.

 

[-Nator-]

Pocket Monsters was, is, and always will be the superior game to 14 Days.

 

[Prof. SALTY]

I see that you're 22 years old, which makes sense, because if you were just a few years older, you'd remember that there's absolutely no comparison between Pokemon at its peak and whatever the hell Fortnite is supposed to be.

I think you're underestimating forknife. It's in everything and is commonly featured on the news and other TV programs. The dances are phenomenally popular (for some reason...). There's merchandise everywhere you turn. Kids are making their parents buy PS4s specifically for the game and there's a massive adult fanbase.

 

[Kutie Pie]

Once Fortnite gets itself a first movie with a record-breaking opening weekend and the seats are filled with excited children and their poor parents, we'll start talking.

 

[Baba Yaga]

^

And in comes the clothes line.

 

[GrizzlyB]

I think you're underestimating forknife. It's in everything and is commonly featured on the news and other TV programs. The dances are phenomenally popular (for some reason...). There's merchandise everywhere you turn. Kids are making their parents buy PS4s specifically for the game and there's a massive adult fanbase.

If Fortnite were really anywhere close to Pokemon, I wouldn't have the option of underestimating it. Pokemon was a game on a niche system (compared to being available on virtually any device like Fortnite is), but still had a TV series (with a movie that took in more than $150 million at the box office), a wildly popular trading card game, and pretty much any kind of toy/clothing/plushie/etc. merchandise you can think of. It also hospitalized a bunch of Japanese children, so when it hit the Western world, it had a lot of religious-types up in arms about being evil or whatever, which increased its cultural exposure in even further -- it's fair to say that it dominated news cycles for a time. Of course, Pikachu is also one of the most recognizable icons anywhere. I don't know of any way in which Fortnite comes close to any of that, even with the massive advantage of existing in the internet/social media age.

 

[Gamzee Makara]

Which one stole black artist's copyrighted work?

The inferior one.

 

[The Admiral]

Yeah, how many kids have put their parents through the ringer trying to get a gold-plated Fortnite collectors' card from a Burger King for way more money than it's probably worth because in retrospect I'm not sure them things were made with any real metal, let alone gold? Has Fortnite been banned from schools on a widespread, national level? Has it been banned from schools on a widespread, national level, both for the obvious "distracting" reasons... and for perceived Satanism? Does Fortnite have a popular mascot that even many non-gamers recognize (christ, does Fortnite even have true recognizable characters?). People out here are, I think, not understanding the exact scale on which 90s-early 00s Pokemon was inescapable and swallowed everything. Sure, Fortnite exists and it's very popular as a game, but aside from the time when I saw Fornite Monopoly, I haven't really seen it leak out into the "real" world (incidentally, gamers are all fake, nobody who's a gamer actually exists). Even then, I only saw that in a gift shop kind of place that popped up in a sorta-local shopping mall for Christmas reasons, not at, like, Target or something. Plus, Pokemon had a Monopoly game. On top of other board games. There was Pokemon branded f*cking everything. Fortnite has absolutely not reached that kind of level, but if the only store you go into is Gamestop, I can understand why you might think otherwise, especially if you don't remember 1998 too well.

 

[Kutie Pie]

Yeah, how many kids have put their parents through the ringer trying to get a gold-plated Fortnite collectors' card from a Burger King for way more money than it's probably worth because in retrospect I'm not sure them things were made with any real metal, let alone gold?

23K gold-plated has a bit of weight to it, so I think they have real metal in them. They're not really worth anything these days, however, I found a comment chain that I think may help determine the quality of the cards:

Sounds pretty neat, actually.

 

[Mr. Reloaded]

I get the picture, thanks guys!

 

[Prof. SALTY]

Yeah, how many kids have put their parents through the ringer trying to get a gold-plated Fortnite collectors' card from a Burger King for way more money than it's probably worth because in retrospect I'm not sure them things were made with any real metal, let alone gold?

There are numerous stories of kids stealing their parents credit cards and spending hundreds on ingame purchases, an even more worthless waste of money.

Has Fortnite been banned from schools on a widespread, national level? Has it been banned from schools on a widespread, national level, both for the obvious "distracting" reasons... and for perceived Satanism?

I know a lot of schools have tried to ban it but it's hard when it can be access from any device connected to the internet.

The church doesn't really accuse things of being satanic these days but I wouldn't put it past them to have made this statement about fortnite.

Does Fortnite have a popular mascot that even many non-gamers recognize (christ, does Fortnite even have true recognizable characters?).

There's a pinata donkey thing that seems to be on all their merchandise. I can't tell you it's name because I don't know it, but I can easily recognize it when I see it. Also do the dances count...? Those are pretty recognizable.

but aside from the time when I saw Fornite Monopoly, I haven't really seen it leak out into the "real" world (incidentally, gamers are all fake, nobody who's a gamer actually exists). Even then, I only saw that in a gift shop kind of place that popped up in a sorta-local shopping mall for Christmas reasons, not at, like, Target or something.

Wow, you're lucky. Here it's in every store. there are kids clothes everywhere, toys, figures, costumes, ect. everywhere here and you can't walk 10 minutes down the street without seeing kids in said merch. Target stocks all kinds of fortnite junk and so do most other chain stores.

 

[Kutie Pie]

There are numerous stories of kids stealing their parents credit cards and spending hundreds on ingame purchases, an even more worthless waste of money.

What a bunch of little shits. While I don't doubt that's happened during Pokémania as well, such accounts had to have been few and far in between. But that doesn't excuse such bratty, ungrateful behavior. Parents need to step up their game.

I know a lot of schools have tried to ban it but it's hard when it can be access from any device connected to the internet.

Schools being connected to the internet was a mistake. Even more-so that their cybersecurity's even shittier than your average household.

The church doesn't really accuse things of being satanic these days but I wouldn't put it past them to have made this statement about fortnite.

Lol

There's a pinata donkey thing that seems to be on all their merchandise. I can't tell you it's name because I don't know it, but I can easily recognize it when I see it. Also do the dances count...? Those are pretty recognizable.

Maybe I'm an old maid, but I couldn't tell you what any of the dances look like, let alone this piñata donkey that's not from Viva Piñata.

Wow, you're lucky. Here it's in every store. there are kids clothes everywhere, toys, figures, costumes, ect. everywhere here and you can't walk 10 minutes down the street without seeing kids in said merch. Target stocks all kinds of fortnite junk and so do most other chain stores.

I've only seen merchandise at like Wal-Mart and Hot Topic out where I live, but I'm not a big shopper to begin with, and I don't recall seeing anything listed in a Christmas magazine. Maybe it's different in other states/countries.

Honestly, I think Minecraft made as big of an impact as Pokémon did than Fortnite, if you ask me.

 

[shoz999]

Honestly it's too early to judge. Once something has jumped a generation, it's no longer a fad but becomes a global phenomenon and that's what Pokemon is. Fortnite on the other hand, if it is going to become a global phenomenon then it's still too early but Epic Games sure is doing a lot to capitalize on it's success. To give you an idea, Epic Games is using Fortnite as a platform to launch their own online service against Steam and unlike other competitors, there looking to be a pretty dangerous competitor to Steam but again. While we shouldn't underestimate it, we should know it's still too early.

 

[Kutie Pie]

Honestly it's too early to judge. Once something has jumped a generation, it's no longer a fad but becomes a global phenomenon and that's what Pokemon is.

Pokémon was deemed a global phenomenon in 1999.

 

[shoz999]

Pokémon was deemed a global phenomenon in 1999.

A global phenomenon is something that prevails against all odds and lives on, that's Pokemon. There is no 1999. There's only 1999 and up, decline or not. The point is, it's it's still incredibly popular throughout the years even though it doesn't have that same craze factor as before. Something like Bakugan on the other hand, that's more like a fad as in it was extremely popular and... suddenly everyone forgets it even exists almost as if it was never there to begin with.

 

[Prof. SALTY]

A global phenomenon is something that prevails against all odds and lives on, that's Pokemon. There is no 1999. There's only 1999 and up, decline or not. The point is, it's it's still incredibly popular throughout the years even though it doesn't have that same craze factor as before. Something like Bakugan on the other hand, that's more like a fad as in it was extremely popular and... suddenly everyone forgets it even exists almost as if it was never there to begin with.

There is no 1999...? XD I mean, I remember 99 so I guess those are fake memories?

Bakugan was only moderately popular in the west and HARDCORE flopped in Japan so I don't even think 'fad' is the right word.

 

[shoz999]

There is no 1999...? XD I mean, I remember 99 so I guess those are fake memories?

Bakugan was only moderately popular in the west and HARDCORE flopped in Japan so I don't even think 'fad' is the right word.

Nope, fad is the right word. Also what do you mean by 1999? Nevermind that. From what I got according to various sources, Bakugan was hugely popular in the west. There were tournaments, a long-spanning anime season that lasted around 4 years, video games, toys and was even acknowledge by other forms of fictional media as pretty popular. I suppose you could say it was the Yu-Gi-Oh of it's time and then suddenly... it all vanished. So yeah. It's as much of a fad as Furby. If anything, I may even say Bakugan is the perfect example of a fad.