Pokémon began not many years ago as a video game adapted to the Game Boy. It became very popular very quickly and Nintendo quickly saw great opportunities in merchandising by-products. These days it’s a huge global industry whose spinoffs dwarf the flagship video game (which still leads the creative conceptions of the product line) and includes the animated series and movies, which have been translated into dozens of languages, the Pokémon manga ( comics), the very popular Pokémon card game, and countless Pokémon plush toys.
By-products stay “fresh” by keeping up with updates in the video game. The latest incarnation is Pokemon Black and White, and sure enough, this is what fans are freaking out about: Pokemon Black and White plush toys (stuffed animals), Pokemon Black and White game cards, Pokemon Black and White promo cards and Pokemon Black and White Zuken figures. Both cards and toys can be very expensive collectibles, and especially cards can become rare or collectible because they are written in different languages. Cards can also be Simple, Promotional, Legendary Pokémon, Shiny Suicune, Shiny Raikou, or Shiny Entei.
Everything related to the commercialization of Pokémon derived products is controlled by the Pokémon Company, a subsidiary of Nintendo. All non-Asian production is under the control of The Pokemon Company International, also affiliated with its parent, Nintendo. Tomy and other second and third party companies handle the physical manufacture of products, including cards and stuffed animals. The game usually goes by the trade name “Game Freak”.
Pokémon is an industry that generates an incredible income of $ 10,000,000 USD per hour. It also attracts knockoffs around the world, and illegal copies of its Nintendo game seem to be popping up in markets around the world as soon as they are released. However, behind corporations like Tomy there are a host of other industries and cottage industries behind the Pokémon line. The studios and their artists must be hired to produce the animation, and the scriptwriters must work closely with Nintendo to ensure that the animation episodes are accurate. The worldwide dubbing of episodes must also be handled legally.
In a free market, the Pokémon Company has no direct control over the sales of its products, of course, but, like the Apple Store, it has established Pokémon stores that exclusively sell Pokémon products. The business is supposed to bear the costs of running and promoting the stores, but enjoying the return on profits. Pokémon advertises little; it is so popular that it is not necessary. Finally, there’s a whole collector’s industry revolving around old Pokémon games, cards, and stuffed toys. Most of these products can be found on the Internet.
