THE DIFFERENT FACTORS INVOLVING THE SUCCESS OF POKEMON
A Research Paper Presented to
The Faculty of the English Resource Center
School of Multimedia Arts
Asia Pacific College
Magallanes, Makati
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Course
ERESWRT - Research Writing
Ian Jev Angelo I Viernes
March 2014
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
Pocket Monsters, or what we commonly refer to as "Pokemon", is one of the most well-known and remarkable games of our generation. In an article, it is said that throughout its franchise from 1996 it had released exactly 54 games and is still ongoing. In the original games, you will try to collect every single of the 719 creatures by playing either a boy or a girl, and set out on a journey to explore different people and locations.
But that's not all you see in Pokemon. The researcher aims to expose information about how Pokemon grew and captured the attention of many people in the society. The researcher aims to break down different factors in which Pokemon may have used in order to spread their franchise and continue to rise.
Games provide people entertainment, and certainly Pokemon had provided us with entertainment that we could distinguish that kind of entertainment from other games. In an article by N.L. from "economist.com" states that a game provides the satisfaction of control and gives a sense of progress. (http://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2014/02/electronic-entertainment#comments)
The researcher wanted to know more about how the game made its players hooked and addicted to the game. The researcher stumbled upon more articles, helping it explain further and further how this franchise evolved into a successful one.
Pokemon may provide its users a virtual pet. The article entitled Free Creatures by Fredric Kaplan discusses how virtual pets are designed and molded to affect our senses into thinking that we should take care of them. Kaplan says that we continue to interact with them and develop a sense of responsibilty towards them. (http://www.csl.sony.fr/downloads/papers/2000/kaplan-er.pdf)
Pokemon also holds professional gaming tournaments. In an article entitled "Becoming the very best: The Pokemon World Championships" by Griffin McElroy in polygon.com, he compares Pokemon as a chess match. "The game all of a sudden has all these different layers to it, and it amazes me that a player can think through all these different steps. It's been compared to a chess match in that there's a set things you can do, but in chess, you don't get to attack 25 different ways with 50 different moves." The article also states that they get play because they get fame and fortune. It motivates them because they can get it while doing what they love. (http://www.polygon.com/2013/7/20/4539528/becoming-the-very-best-the-pokemon-world-championships)
Like any other franchises, the Pokemon has a fanbase. In that fanbase, they create multitudes of stories and ideas and they come together as one society that understands each other. They would come together and accept each other within no boundaries, but only the game putting them together. In the article by a blogger named LimeCatMaster entitled Four Main Reasons The Pokemon Franchise Won't Die it features the mass appeal of Pokemon with the media, as well as its big cultural impact. They would create stuffed toys to masks, to trading card games and even pain a whole airplane with Pokemon characters. They would create games to replicate Pokemon stories and change them. The article said that as long as we have ourselves, imagination will run free. Pokemon is a product of our imagination and it is a bond that holds us together. (http://www.screwattack.com/news/4-reasons-pokemon-franchise-wont-die-and-why-thats-good)
The researcher found the success of Pokemon to be interesting. The paper will be aiming to breakdown the factors that make a game addicting and successful, most importantly what made the Pokemon games successful.
But that's not all you see in Pokemon. The researcher aims to expose information about how Pokemon grew and captured the attention of many people in the society. The researcher aims to break down different factors in which Pokemon may have used in order to spread their franchise and continue to rise.
Games provide people entertainment, and certainly Pokemon had provided us with entertainment that we could distinguish that kind of entertainment from other games. In an article by N.L. from "economist.com" states that a game provides the satisfaction of control and gives a sense of progress. (http://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2014/02/electronic-entertainment#comments)
The researcher wanted to know more about how the game made its players hooked and addicted to the game. The researcher stumbled upon more articles, helping it explain further and further how this franchise evolved into a successful one.
Pokemon may provide its users a virtual pet. The article entitled Free Creatures by Fredric Kaplan discusses how virtual pets are designed and molded to affect our senses into thinking that we should take care of them. Kaplan says that we continue to interact with them and develop a sense of responsibilty towards them. (http://www.csl.sony.fr/downloads/papers/2000/kaplan-er.pdf)
Pokemon also holds professional gaming tournaments. In an article entitled "Becoming the very best: The Pokemon World Championships" by Griffin McElroy in polygon.com, he compares Pokemon as a chess match. "The game all of a sudden has all these different layers to it, and it amazes me that a player can think through all these different steps. It's been compared to a chess match in that there's a set things you can do, but in chess, you don't get to attack 25 different ways with 50 different moves." The article also states that they get play because they get fame and fortune. It motivates them because they can get it while doing what they love. (http://www.polygon.com/2013/7/20/4539528/becoming-the-very-best-the-pokemon-world-championships)
Like any other franchises, the Pokemon has a fanbase. In that fanbase, they create multitudes of stories and ideas and they come together as one society that understands each other. They would come together and accept each other within no boundaries, but only the game putting them together. In the article by a blogger named LimeCatMaster entitled Four Main Reasons The Pokemon Franchise Won't Die it features the mass appeal of Pokemon with the media, as well as its big cultural impact. They would create stuffed toys to masks, to trading card games and even pain a whole airplane with Pokemon characters. They would create games to replicate Pokemon stories and change them. The article said that as long as we have ourselves, imagination will run free. Pokemon is a product of our imagination and it is a bond that holds us together. (http://www.screwattack.com/news/4-reasons-pokemon-franchise-wont-die-and-why-thats-good)
The researcher found the success of Pokemon to be interesting. The paper will be aiming to breakdown the factors that make a game addicting and successful, most importantly what made the Pokemon games successful.
B. Statement of the Problem
The study aims to answer these questions:
1. What made Pokemon a successful franchise?
2. Why did the Pokemon franchise make a great impact on the society?
C. Significance of the Study
Professional and Casual Pokemon Gamers. This research paper would serve interest for professional and casual gamers of Pokemon as they can see this game from a different view. It would give them a deeper understanding and widen their perspective into connect different ideas.
Professional and Amateur Game Designers. Those who are in the field of game design would benefit from this research paper because they can gather various ideologies and concepts and incorporate them into future games. They would be able to use different variations of information given in this research paper and use it as reference material.
Game Companies. Those who are trying to develop games may find this research paper as a big help for them because they can gain knowledge on what the society depicts as a game and what they would want in a game. This study would be a great reference because they would know how to maintain a game for a long period, such as the franchise for Pokemon.
Future Researchers. Researchers who will have related topics as in this research paper would take this as a very useful reference because they can utilize the information presented in this research paper and can cite this as their source of study. It would be easier for them because the research paper gives detailed and structured data about related studies.
D. Scope and Delimitation
This study will focus on discussing how the Pokemon franchise gained great impact on the society and how it maintained to be a successful franchise. The researcher will tackle different factors that are presented by the franchise to determine what made it famous.
The researcher had limited time in preparing the paper and was only able to discuss mostly about determining how this trend continues. Even though there were a lot of references, the researcher had done his best into filtering unwanted information to those that can be used in the research paper.
E. Materials and Methods
The information relayed and structured through this research paper was mainly articles and blogs from the internet. Information was also gathered by interviewing those who are knowlegdeable with the topic.
The collected information will now then be patterened accordingly and the researcher will try to connect the different ideas altogether to represent what is now the successful franchise for Pokemon.
E. Materials and Methods
The information relayed and structured through this research paper was mainly articles and blogs from the internet. Information was also gathered by interviewing those who are knowlegdeable with the topic.
The collected information will now then be patterened accordingly and the researcher will try to connect the different ideas altogether to represent what is now the successful franchise for Pokemon.
F. Definition of Terms
Fanbase. Numerous people considered as a distinct social group.
Franchise. An authorization granted by a company to an individual or group enabling them to carry out specified commercial activities.
Game. A form of play or sport, especially a competitive one played according to rules and decided by skill, strength or luck.
Game Designer. Much like the director of a film, the designer is the visionary of the game and controls the artistic and technical elements of the game in fulfillment of their vision.
Pokemon. A media franchise published and owned by Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon)
