Pocket Monster (Pokemon), started modestly as a boy’s game in Japan but soon after it became the most popular kid game in the global market place. The spread of the Pokemon phenomenon had such a great impact on children that it would hardly be surprising to see them delighted at the sight of their popular icon, Pikachu.
More remarkable is the fact that an airline industry, the business which is usually prone to promoting seriousness of its service to adults, would willingly turn itself into an advertisement and carrier for children’s pop character. One more interesting fact is that it ended up provoking a huge interest in the United States, an area previously only impacted by innovations of Disney or Hollywood but not from Japan.
Positive Arguments about Pokemon
Children were excited seeing a familiar pop figure transformed to a new and unexpected one, namely, a passenger plane. For those traveling inside the carrier, they encounter much more than an internal cover up. In reality, it defined the entire flight experience. Attendants would dress in Pokemon adorned aprons, and passengers would be surrounded by images of the pocket monsters starting from headrests, napkins and ending with food containers and cups.
For in-flight entertainment, there were Pokemon movies and videos. Disembarking from the plane, passengers would be rewarded with a goody bag filled with Pokemon treats. Among other things, the items in the goody bag would include a notebook, a badge, a tissue container, and a comb.
Some people compared flying on a Pokemon jet with their visiting a theme park in terms of interior as well as extensive consumption of different foods and, in general, having lots of fun. According to an advertisement released by All Nippon Airways (ANA) targeted at Japanese children, the setup did not only present recreation, it also presented an atmosphere of intimacy as well as warmth.
There are enough social benefits of the Pokemon phenomenon. As mentioned earlier, the appeal of Pokemon crossed the boundaries of age, gender, and culture. To a large extent, Pokemon can be said to have created or at least facilitated a common culture among lots of children in Japan, the United States and other areas. In the process, Pokemon was seen as a means of developing children’s social and communicative competencies such as skills in negotiating, self-confidence, and even tolerance for others.
In regards to the media and cultural studies, it could be argued that Pokemon fostered the development of new interpretive communities that in turn allowed for more fluid or negotiable identities among members of a community. The notion of interpretive community could be taken to imply a cozy friendliness, which was characteristic of very few of the real life communities.
In the case of Pokemon, much of the negotiation that accompanied the trading of cards or game characters was characterized by competition and conflict in the market. Pokemon also created an environment in which adults could impose norms on children about sharing and respecting others, to which they did not necessarily adhere to themselves.
The Proliferation of Pokemon
The above events and more are certainly what contributed to the global proliferation of the Pokemon phenomenon. By all standards, Pokemon was a huge success in the history of Japan pop culture and its rise globally was stunning.
Before Pokemon, the field of children entertainment had for a long time been dominated by the United States of America. Things, however, changed when the Pokemon phenomenon appeared. As a result, one of the most striking questions was about the secret that lay behind the incredible success of Pokemon.
Negative Arguments about Pokemon
In spite of the many praises that Pokemon received, it had a negative side, too. Opponents were concerned with the commercial dimension of Pokemon and in particular, the trading of cards. According to some people, the Pokemon phenomenon led to the economic exploitation of children.
It was generally blamed for encouraging a form of gambling mainly because children were forced to invest in more and more booster packs in the hope of finding their sought after card. Children would do everything in order to reach their objectives. There was the option of buying the cards from specialist shops, mail order, and online companies. Most of the time, the children would have to spend huge sums of money to get the desired card.
Some parents, however, interpreted this as a positive experience, from which children could get to learn fundamental lessons about the way to save their money. While others would express horror seeing their children transformed into stockbrokers, some would argue that the children were, however, acquiring important bargaining skills and an understanding of how market based societies function.
Conclusion
From the discussion presented in this paper, it is quite obvious that the Pokemon phenomenon revolutionized the game industry to the people’s amazement and satisfaction. The phenomenon, therefore, can be said to have presented a great opportunity that may be utilized for further development of the industry.