Tyler Robinson - March, 30th 2023
Pokémon – The history of this iconic trading card game
Collectible card games have been popular in the U.S., and around the world for about 100 years.
However, trading card strategy games had only been prevalent since the early 90’s. This may have been
a surprise to industry leaders due to the innovation in video games as some of the most iconic game
systems were being released throughout this timeframe.
One video game series that released in 1998 for Nintendo’s handheld Game Boy console was Pokémon
Red and Pokémon Blue. These games and their expansions Pokémon Green, Yellow, Gold, Silver and
Crystal sold 75,510,000 copies. This was more than 4 times that of the 2 nd most sold game which was
Super Mario Land*. In 1999, the subsequent trading card game was launched and a legend in the TCG
world emerged.
Pokémon The Card Game
Pokémon Base Set 1, which includes the 1st edition, 2nd issue and the unlimited set (sometimes referred
to as 3rd issue) arrived in North America in 1999, which sent a tidal wave of follow up merchandising, TV
shows and spinoffs of new “monster” driven strategy card games. It was a wild success and the
developers at Game Freak, Nintendo and its original creator Satoshi Tajiri had their work cut out for
them.
In the following months and years Pokémon would steadily grow and the follow up expansion sets and
added “Pocket Monsters,” which is where the term Pokémon derives from, would be created and
released. This started with the second and third expansion called Jungle and Fossil, which lead to Base
Set 2 and a whole host of new Pokémon and Trainer cards.
The first release of Pokémon TCG
No Signs of Slowing
After Pokémons initial release of both the Game Boy games and base edition, follow up games and
expansion sets released regularly. While some releases had less popularity than others, these releases
kept the game fresh and new to the huge community that had been formed. In fact, data collected on
various search engines show a year over year growth of interest increasing. Around 5 million people a
month used relevant keywords to the franchise on search engines in 2004. That number floats around
10 million as of 2023.
Notable increases in popularity for both video games and the card game occurred in 2007, 2011 and
2013. The 2007 peak captured a new younger audience as well as the first generation of Pokémon
players with the release of Diamond & Pearl. It’s release came with the new Nintendo DS which saw
another big push in popularity for the collectible trading cards. The 2011 increase came from the
popular set of Pokémon ‘Black and White’ that followed a slight increase in overall popularity than the
2007 release.
2013 saw its biggest boost in popularity until Pokémon GO’s release with X & Y which was the first video
game to have 3D graphics in the franchise. This saw a huge “first-time” newcomer audience but caused
a bit of division between pre-existing Pokémon players. Some controversy that the game was turning
into a ‘dumbed down’ version of the game that lacked content and difficulty. While no solid data on this
exists, popular remakes or spin offs of various games were emerging with a lower difficulty level. This
was seen to many as a ploy for a broader and younger audience and by making the game easier to
access and play.
Image depicts the Pokémon red & blue video games next to the original Nintendo Gameboy
Pokémon Peak & Resurgence
Most things, especially in the toy industry, could be considered a fad, something that comes in like a
wrecking ball but eventually a decline in interest occurs. This can vary in timeframe and some things can
just leave with the generation it was introduced too, with few exceptions. Pokémon is that exception
and while it’s original popularity and growth never saw a decline, Pokémon didn’t actually peak in terms
of popularity until 2016 with Pokémon GO, the mobile video game.
This saw an explosion of interest in physical Pokémon cards with a secondary boost in popularity
occurring around 2022, this time surrounding the collector side of things as many early sets and
expansions entered the age of antiquity.
Pokémon GO 2018 credit to https://pokemongolive.com/
A New Era: Pokémon GO
Pokémon GO exploded on the scene in 2016, I think to even the creators surprise. This game was
downloaded over 1 billion times and still sees revenue figures of around $700 million from in app
purchases according to 2022 reports. The more amazing part is that Pokémon, whose popularity lie with
the younger generation, a game that captured the imagination of children was now being played by
adults. In fact, over 50% of Pokémon GO players are over 35!
And while Pokémon GO has come and gone, recent baseline Pokémon game releases such as ‘Sword and
Shield (2019),’ and ‘Scarlet and Violet (2022),’ continue to top the charts and keep a fresh bit of content
for old players to enjoy and new players to join in on the fun. With the amazing journey and success of
Pokémon, it’s safe to say future installments will be met with the praise and popularity as the ladder.
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*Technically Tetris sold more copies than Super Mario Land at 35,000,000 copies, however Tetris was
sold as a bundle for both Game Boy and Game Boy Color.
Thanks for reading, from your friends at Booster Crate!
Pokemon is ALL about the nostalgia for me.
I have been very happy with my subscription and the cards I receive from booster crate.
I remember getting so excited whenever I got a new card/deck!
Pokemon go was fun and very addictive!
trading with schoolmates was a fun memory