Pokemon are among the hottest spin offs out there in the toy and gaming industry. Why are they so popular and why would it be so difficult to rival that popularity?
I went to the opening of a new shopping mall with my son the other day and could hardly believe the crowd at the Pokemon store. There was a actually a line snaking around the corridor with people waiting to get in. I had never seen such a run since I waited all day in line to buy the original Bondi IMac the first day it went on sale (yes, I was 'quite' young then). Anyway, my son could not stop talking about Pokemon black and white goods: Pokemon Black and White game, figures, Pokedolls (otherwise known as Pokemon plushies), trading cards and so on. Whether he was talking about Promo cards or Shiny Raikou, everything had to be Black and White!
Personally, as a child I loved plastics models, which was a little odd for a girl, until I discovered Pacman, that is but models do have some things in common with Pokemon. The big question is: how could a computer game gain such fame, attraction, and boost so many spin offs? Obviously, Pokemon is far more than a game. It's part of our culture. No video game in history has accomplished as much as Pokemon.
The number one reason for its popularity is its premise. Among games, the premise behind the game is totally originally and intriguing. So intriguing in fact that fans are more than happy to accept the Pokemon story at face value and do not demand a more detailed background behind the mythical creatures. It is quite modern in the sense that it incorporates DNA and spontaneous evolution into the play and in that sense maintains credibility in its fantasy. With millions of users and fans around the world it is very fascinating.
Secondly, the monsters themselves were brilliantly designed. Cute, but not too cute to turn off the older crowd, they're only monsters when they use their ferocious powers in the battlefield. Simply put, there's nothing else out there quite like Pokemon. They are phenomena by themselves.
So now for my silly idea, which is in fact just a rip off on the Pokemon concept. We build a game (and later stuffed toys of course) around a line of cute dinosaurs. You can cross breed the dinosaurs by incubating eggs from different dinosaurs or by using an infusion rod into the egg. Meat eating dinosaurs can't cross with plant eaters, and land dinosaurs can cross with aquatic dinosaurs but with unpredictable results. The dinosaurs only breed in sets of six, but can be killed in battle. Herdsman take possession of dinosaur group, and they have battles too like in Pokemon. See, I told you, a really bad idea. One of the hardest things in the world to do is come up with something completely unique.
This article was written by Dinah Jackson who is the ultimate Pokemon fan. To find the rarest Japanese Pokemon items, check out the store that has every kind of Pokemon plushie that you can imagine. Also an incredible selection of Pokemon ultra rare cards, charms, straps, plush toys, Pokedolls, keychains, figures, binders, deck boxes, sleeves, plush toys, and just about anything you can imagine. Delivered right to your front door from Japan.
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