Kids Still Playing Pokemon Like It's 1999

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Kids Still Playing Pokemon Like It's 1999

Posted by timothy on Saturday July 21, 2012 @06:30AM from the wait-it's-not-1999-yet? dept.

theodp writes "In 1999, TIME's cover warned readers to Beware of Pokemon ('For many kids it's now an addiction: cards, video games, toys, a new movie. Is it bad for them?'). But Pokemon wasn't as easily felled as Lehman or Bear Stearns. Thirteen years later, 16-year-old Manoj Sunny has his eye on a Pokemon world title, having earned the chance to travel to The Big Island with 35 fellow Americans for the 2012 Pokemon Video Game World Championships, which will be held Aug. 10-12. Sunny, who also captains his school's chess team, credits his success to a good memory, intuition, daily practice, the use of an online simulator, and a competitive attitude ('I hate losing. Once I lost, I needed to get better.')"

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Get off my lawn. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-07-21 06:34 · Score: 2, Funny

REAL men played with homoerotic action figures like He-Man.
1. Re:Get off my lawn. by Quiet_Desperation · 2012-07-21 07:50 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Things are a tad different now.
  *cough*ponies*cough*
2. Re:Get off my lawn. by stoborrobots · 2012-07-23 03:51 · Score: 2
  
  Seriously? I previewed and everything! :-S
  At a guess, the link was probably supposed to be http://csimadmax.deviantart.com/art/she-rarity-199414368 and accidentally got an extra 6 appended to it...
  
  --
  "Go to CNN [for a] spell-checked, fact-checked summary" -- CmdrTaco
Not surprised by vux984 · 2012-07-21 06:36 · Score: 5, Insightful

My kids both like pokemon. I don't blame them... its collectible, and collecting is fun.
What did we collect when I was a kid? Hockey cards? Baseball cards? Same idea but a hell of a lot less fun. Especially if you didn't really care about the sport...
I'm vaguely surprised that Pokemon hasn't been replaced by something newer, but I'm not surprised that its still around. Nintendo has done well with the marketing.
1. Re:Not surprised by Sir_Sri · 2012-07-21 06:40 · Score: 2
  
  Agreed. I think 'Pokemon' is more of a franchise than a single product anyway, so it has largely replaced itself with newer versions. Kids will always find things to collect and entertain themselves with, marbles, cards, electronic versions of the above etc. That Nintendo and Pokemon have clung on for 13 years is a testament to how well they've been able to understand and adapt to that market.
2. Re:Not surprised by ShanghaiBill · 2012-07-21 06:54 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  ... its collectible, and collecting is fun.
  Collecting was never fun for me. I never saw the point. When I was a kid, my dad tried to get me interested in coin collecting. He saw it as good "father and son time", but I hated it. We could have gone hiking or fishing, he could have taught me something useful. He was an electrical engineer, but he never taught me anything about electronics (I learned it all on my own). But instead of any of that, we spend our time going through bags of pennies looking for a rare 1939D. Bleh.
  Now that I have kids of my own, we do active outdoor stuff, we build things, we do science experiments. My daughter has a great collection of Barbie shoes, but I was not involved in that (other than as a source of funding).
3. Re:Not surprised by Dogtanian · 2012-07-21 08:41 · Score: 2
  
  Agreed. I think 'Pokemon' is more of a franchise than a single product anyway, so it has largely replaced itself with newer versions. Kids will always find things to collect and entertain themselves with, marbles, cards, electronic versions of the above etc. That Nintendo and Pokemon have clung on for 13 years is a testament to how well they've been able to understand and adapt to that market.
  Though I was never into Pokemon myself (*) I did notice that this was one major difference between Pokemon and other "fad" toys, cartoons etc. Normally once their heyday is passed, such toys, etc. die the death and disappear almost completely (or at least shrink to a tiny proportion of their former popularity). For example, Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles in the UK after about 1990. Or who's playing Tamagotchi today?
  
  While it's undoubtedly subsided a bit since its late 90s peak, Pokemon never really seemed to go away, enjoying a steady level of continued popularity that seemed to get attention for new releases and the like. And that is somewhat unusual...
  
  That said, are they still showing that epilepsy-inducing cartoon or any modern replacement for it? My gut reaction is that they probably couldn't get away with showing it- or at least the ones I vaguely remember seeing- to today's kids. (Actually, it looked pretty crappily made to me even then, but as noted elsewhere I was at least a decade older than the target audience even then, so I can't really judge it. But I still suspect that today's kids would expect more).
  
  (*) Er, that'd probably be because I was already well into my twenties when it first came out in the late 90s :-)
  
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4. Re:Not surprised by Omniver · 2012-07-21 12:01 · Score: 2
  
  My kids both like pokemon. I don't blame them... its collectible, and collecting is fun.
  What did we collect when I was a kid? Hockey cards? Baseball cards? Same idea but a hell of a lot less fun. Especially if you didn't really care about the sport...
  I'm vaguely surprised that Pokemon hasn't been replaced by something newer, but I'm not surprised that its still around. Nintendo has done well with the marketing.
  Not just collectible, playable. I'm in my 40s and through my son got into the video games recently and was surprised to find a really well developed and balanced gaming system that was both simple to understand yet nuanced enough to allow for extremely detailed and varied strategies. Online we found in-depth analysis on team and move strategies and a worldwide community of online players. This isn't just cute monsters, that's the marketing aspect, Pokemon is an excellent game. We are now doing the card game as well, recently joining a local league - and getting our asses kicked.
5. Re:Not surprised by vux984 · 2012-07-21 14:25 · Score: 2
  
  You let your kids be controlled by marketing? What a lousy parent.
  I let my kids live in the real world. Not controlled by marketing, but not hidden from it either.
  And of all the toys kids could want mine latched onto lego & pokemon. I encouraged the lego, they discovered pokemon on their own. The cards are collectible, the game is decent. I couldn't be happier to have kids that chose building things and turn based strategy games as their favorite indoor play activities.
6. Re:Not surprised by Team+Rocket+Elite · 2012-07-21 15:07 · Score: 2
  
  The Pokemon TV Show is still around today. Since the airing of that particular episode, there have been stricter policies on flashing images that are similar to the ones that caused the problem. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denn%C5%8D_Senshi_Porygon#Aftermath
7. Re:Not surprised by AngryDeuce · 2012-07-21 23:51 · Score: 2
  
  I collected comic books myself. Got boxes and boxes of them in the basement boarded and bagged in sealed containers, just waiting for the day for me to pass them off to my unborn son.
  Who will more than likely deem them retarded and sell them off, but hey, I tried.
Aside from the games' rules themselves... by Pluvius · 2012-07-21 06:39 · Score: 4, Interesting

The only important difference between competitive Pokemon and competitive chess is that chess is old and respected.
Rob
1. Re:Aside from the games' rules themselves... by King+InuYasha · 2012-07-21 06:46 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Perhaps these other games should be respected as well. They offer more complex rules and require far more difficult strategic thinking than classic games like Chess and Checkers.
  Personally, I love the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG battle system. It's very complex and offers a wide range of valid strategies to actually win a match. Pokémon offers a similarly complex system, too. In a way, these games have invigorated the flagging card game genre.
  While I have no proof to back this up, I suspect that games like these that were popular in the 1990s and early 2000s are the reason why casual puzzle and strategy games are far more popular on computer platforms.
  Of course, none of these games get any respect. Most "adults" denigrate these games and believe they are worthless and/or childish. Many of these games are great for mental development in a multitude of areas.
  For example, you may have not really thought of the Pokémon TCG as a way for children to develop a good understanding of economics, but it does[1].
  [1]: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/717948.stm
2. Re:Aside from the games' rules themselves... by Pluvius · 2012-07-21 07:02 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  You're confusing Pokemon with Magic. Also, if chess was invented in the 90s, I can almost guarantee you'd see similar bullshit marketing tactics.
  Rob
3. Re:Aside from the games' rules themselves... by The+Rizz · 2012-07-21 07:07 · Score: 2
  The only important difference between competitive Pokemon and competitive chess is that chess is old and respected.
  No, there are two major differences between Pokemon (and other CCGs) and chess.
  
  There is a financial disparity between players' chances of winning. (More $$ = better cards; better cards = better chances.)
  
  The game undergoes changes every ~3 months. (New cards are released, changing the shape of the meta-game.)
4. Re:Aside from the games' rules themselves... by PopeRatzo · 2012-07-21 07:32 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Perhaps these other games should be respected as well. They offer more complex rules and require far more difficult strategic thinking than classic games like Chess and Checkers.
  Personally, I love the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG battle system.
  
  No. The benefit of chess is there is no corporate marketing campaign associated with it, and nobody owns the intellectual property.
  The more I think about it, the fact that chess is public domain makes in infinitely better than any game like Yu-Gi-Oh! that belongs to someone.
  And it's not just because Chess is free and you have to pay, at some level, to play Yu-Gi-Oh!. It's because chess belongs to everyone, to humanity, and I can go back and re-play the games played by chess masters 100 years ago and STILL not have to pay someone royalities. Two men of distinctly different backgrounds can play chess while incarcerated, in separate cells, as long as they can communicate somehow, either by yelling out the moves or by giving the moves to the screw patrolling the cellblock.
  There are volumes and volumes of chess theory and chess strategy and chess philosophy. I can ride my bike over to North Avenue Beach and play chess, right now, with a refugee from sub-Saharan Africa or an immigrant from the Ukraine (and get beaten by both, even though I've got a ~1700 Elo rating). You'll find retired Romance Language professors and backward hat & baggy pants-wearing teenagers playing one another for a buck a game.
  And there is something comforting about playing a game that has changed very little for the better part of a millennium.
  No matter how you look at it, Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokemon will be an historical footnote when chess is still being played off-planet. They might be great games, but their proprietary nature and cultural framework keep them locked down.
  
  --
  You are welcome on my lawn.
5. Re:Aside from the games' rules themselves... by PopeRatzo · 2012-07-21 10:42 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  I lost all interest in chess after 1997, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.
  Princess Diana's death really hit you hard, didn't it?
  
  --
  You are welcome on my lawn.
6. Re:Aside from the games' rules themselves... by PopeRatzo · 2012-07-21 10:50 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  I don't fully agree with that... computers have done a great deal to expand the realm of chess theory, and I expect to see chess become a "solved" game during my lifetime.
  It's already the case that even a low-powered computer system can play at the Grandmaster level and beyond.
  Does the fact that a car can go over 200mph stop people from running the 100 yard dash?
  Just because a machine can perform a particular task better than a human does not make any human competition in that task meaningless. A computer can fly a plane much faster and more perfectly than a man, but people still want to be pilots.
  The idea that computers "solving" chess will destroy the game is ridiculous. I mean, a stick of dynamite has been able to dislodge a castled king more effectively than a two-bishops attack since the 19th century, but people still play chess.
  
  --
  You are welcome on my lawn.
7. Re:Aside from the games' rules themselves... by Impeesa · 2012-07-21 22:47 · Score: 2
  
  In a way, these games have invigorated the flagging card game genre.
  Flagging? If I'm not mistaken, Magic has only continued to grow since pioneering the genre 19 years ago.
'I hate losing" by ed1park · 2012-07-21 06:41 · Score: 5, Funny

Pokemon championships? You're already lost.
1. Re:'I hate losing" by MobileTatsu-NJG · 2012-07-21 07:52 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  ... posted the Slashdotter on a Saturday.
  
  --
  
  "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
Not the same. by MrQuacker · 2012-07-21 06:43 · Score: 2

My 1st edition Charizard card is never going to be worth anywhere near the $150 it used to be worth...
1. Re:Not the same. by Zomalaja · 2012-07-21 06:55 · Score: 2
  
  Do not even remind me of the time and miles consumed keeping my daughter stockpiled with first edition and Import Pokemon Cards.
What, Pokemans Card/Video Games? by CanHasDIY · 2012-07-21 06:50 · Score: 3, Funny

Meh.

Wake me when we start genetically engineering the little bastards.

--
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
1. Re:What, Pokemans Card/Video Games? by Archenoth · 2012-07-21 09:00 · Score: 2
  
  It's getting there... Often in the games, you have to breed many Pokemon to get them to pass down desirable traits like higher attack or speed IVs, and moves that a particular species doesn't learn normally to get higher end Pokemon... It's surprisingly elaborate.
  
  --
  The arch foe.
Re:Nothing like 1999 by Anonymous Coward · 2012-07-21 07:21 · Score: 2, Informative

Pokemon figurines? Collector's item at best. Pokemon isn't centered on cards or figures; it's centered on the video game series, and every major release (read as not a spin-off) has outsold the last. Pokemon is just as popular, if not moreso than it has ever been, regardless of your kids' experience. I myself played the hell out of Pokemon growing up, as well as Lego Mindstorms.
Misleading, but true to a degree by Archenoth · 2012-07-21 09:11 · Score: 3, Informative

Well... Even to this day Pokemon is the second best selling franchise out there: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Best_Selling_Video_Game_Franchises
The 36 people in this article isn't a very large number... A lot of the people that play Pokemon today are actually in our 20s. Addictive? Perhaps a little. But the games have gotten a lot more elaborate than they have in the past. It's more than just collecting them all now, it's about the literally hundreds of things to do in each of the worlds, the oh-so difficult Battle Frontier which very few have beaten, the Breeding to get Pokemon with higher stats and moves not normally known by a particular species, EV training, the mini games, random quests, all of the post-game quests, harvest-moon style farming, and of course, catching them all... Not to mention all of the new multiplayer aspects, like the launcher battles in Black and White (The newest games) which add a whole new depth to battles.
tl;dr I am a Pokemon nut, this article misleads about the general state of the Pokemon franchise, and the age a majority of us are.

--
The arch foe.
I was an avid collector in the mid 90s by flimflammer · 2012-07-21 11:10 · Score: 2

Man, back in 1996-1997, I collected the hell out of Pokemon. I had doubles/triples of all of the original 102 cards (including 12 Charizards, 8 or so Blastoise, and several misprint cards which were worth a pretty penny), and that was just my spares, not the deck I played with. That game was practically a religion back when we were kids.
It was pretty weird. I do wish I cashed out though, before the bubble burst and they became rather worthless. I sold cards from time to time when they were still big, made a few hundred bucks here or there, but had I sold out completely, I'd have been looking at thousands and thousands of dollars as a middle school kid, as all my extra non-playing deck cards were in mint condition, straight from the booster packs to hard sleeves. The possibilities would have been amazing.
I still have them somewhere, stored away. They very likely won't go up in value ever again, but you know what? It's a healthy reminder of a fun time in my life. It's probably worth more to me now than it was to the world back then.