The Pokemon fad may be dead, but the games live on
By: Neiteio, known elsewhere as "HMS"

Howdy,

After reading an article at this site about the Pokemon phenomenon dying out, I'd like to respectfully disagree, and with good reasoning too. Before anything else, I'd like to mention that I'm not even a Pokemon fanatic, but rather, just a run-of-the-mill, well-balanced videogame advocate. Knowing that, don't regard my thoughts and opinions as Pokemon positive from a fan's perspective --- what I'm about to say is unbiased and based on what is happening now, what has happened in the past, and what will happen in the future. Simple enough, right? Now then, let's get straight to the point.

Pokemon isn't dying. Just the fad is. Look at it this way. Back when Mario first showed up on the scene (if you can remember back that far), the hit franchise ignited a wildly popular fad that spawned millions upon millions of non-videogame items branded with the Mario license. Everybody who was anybody played with Mario action figures, wore Mario clothing, ran around in Mario sneakers, ate Mario spaghetti o's in a Mario thermos out of a Mario lunchbox, ect, ect, and meanwhile, the store's could hardly keep his merchandise on the shelves. His fad was just too powerful, like the Pokemon fad was not too long ago. But then, a certain fighter called Mortal Kombat came along and killed off the Mario fad --- suddenly, everybody was just too cool to be a Mario fan, and favored tearing out spinal cords instead. The fad was dead, but as we all very well know, Mario was not. The games wer! e still there, and in the end, that's all that matters --- the games.

And that's exactly where Pokemon excels --- in its games. With solid gameplay, infinite replay value, and an addictive premise, the Pokemon games have scored perfect tens and good reviews with critics of all ages time and time again. Like Mario, Pokemon has won over the hearts of millions of fans who, though they may not talk about it as much with the fad now dead, are still mesmerized by the deep and magnificent world Nintendo has established through their handheld RPGs. In other words, the Pokemon videogame franchise, like Mario, is still going strong, and with two brand new installments in the works --- namely a whole new adventure for the 32-bit Game Boy Advance and an ambitious new project for the 128-bit Nintendo Gamecube --- it's only beginning to warm up. Who ever said nobody likes Pokemon anymore? Most of the younger gamers, who'll be the hardcore gamers of tomor! row, still like it today like they did yesterday. Many teenagers still talk about it in the school cafeteria at lunch and play the handheld games on their way home from school. Heck, I even know some tough seventeen and eighteen-year-old gym rats who still play the originals when they're not body-building. The fans haven't disappeared --- they just need a new Pokemon experience to embrace and enjoy. And you know what? That's exactly what Nintendo will give them. It's only a matter of time.

As for those of you who call yourselves Nintendo devotees but hate Pokemon, you haven't the slightest clue as to how beneficial Pokemon was to the life force of Nintendo in the midst of its heated competition. Without Pokemon, which breathed life into the once dormant handheld market and revitalized a dwindling N64 market in both Japan and the West, many analysts speculate that Nintendo would've long ago went the way of Sega and the Dreamcast. Pikachu and friends earned Nintendo billions and billions of dollars on a yearly basis, something I'm sure Mario and Link sure appreciated --- and I think you should too. I honestly think --- no, know --- that we all owe a very special thanks to the gaming miracle that is Pokemon, so stop slamming it and start appreciating it for what it is --- great games that have supported our beloved Nintendo when the first-party was most vulnerable, and that have scored the company many, many vi! ctories in such a short time.

Kudos to Pokemon, and peace to all.