In 1996, Game Freak released two versions of their new monster-catching RPG video games for the Game Boy. Despite these games being published by Nintendo, few could have expected the success to be kicked off by Pocket Monsters Red and Pocket Monsters Green.
These Japanese releases were so monstrously successful that the naming was retooled, and an international release was launched two years later as Pokémon Red Version and Pokémon Blue Version. Thus, an international mega-brand was born.
In 1998, Game Freak, the company Creatures, and Nintendo combined to forge The Pokémon Center Company, now known simply as The Pokémon Company. This would steer the 90s hit game on a wildly popular handheld console into all corners of entertainment and merchandising.
Its constant evolution as a brand, particularly in gaming and into the mobile sector with Pokémon Go, has now enabled the company to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with some of the mightiest retail brands in the world despite its single focus.
Over $10 Billion in Retail Sales
In November 2023, License Global released its latest figures to report the retail sales in the licensing business. The Walt Disney Company stood atop the tower, with an estimated $62 billion. Of course, Disney owns the licenses to its portfolio as well as those of Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and more. Next on the list were Authentic Brands Group (owner of over 50 brands), Dotdash Meredith (online content publisher across a huge range of brands), Warner Bros. Discovery, Hasbro, and NBCUniversal/Universal Products & Experiences.
Sitting in seventh, The Pokémon Company International landed as the highest-ranking single-brand global brand licensing company. The $10.8 billion gained in 2023 retail sales for the 2024 rankings may pale in comparison to Disney’s earnings, but it’s predominantly done with the products and creations under a single IP. It goes without saying that the marketing of Pokémon under Nintendo has been a colossal contributor, but so too has the brand’s ability to expand to the far corners of entertainment.
Like the monsters we seek to catch and train, evolution has been key for the Pokémon franchise. It started as a hit game on an innovative gaming system.
From there, it melded into the realms of television, cinema, trading card games, toys, plushies, and just about any other form of merchandising that can be licensed. While the core mechanics are very much intact, the games themselves have also evolved tremendously over the decades, seeking to make the experience better with each installment and make the most of the new hardware made available.
Immediately getting in with Nintendo has enabled Pokémon’s trajectory to run alongside one of the most innovative brands in the gaming industry. These innovations have allowed Nintendo consoles to battle each other as the best-selling of all time, with the Nintendo DS besting the Game Boy in the handheld market, and then the Wii being conquered by the hybrid Nintendo Switch home console system. The Pokémon Company has been pushed to innovate to meet the pace set by one of its primary investors.
Underpinned by Video Game Success
Video gaming has become exceedingly mainstream and isn’t considered a mere pastime for children anymore. What helps to power Pokémon is its legendary status in this arena. It was a colossal hit by the time its second wave of games, Pokémon Silver and Gold, hit the market before the turn of the millennium. Now, those who picked up a handheld console to play have the glut of consumer purchasing power, while the company continues to update live service games and release at least one new game per year – mainline or otherwise.
The release of new mainline games, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, was cited as a driving factor behind The Pokémon Company’s $11.6 billion in licensed goods sales in 2022, according to the same source.
Gaming is a colossal market, and to be successful in it is to earn billions. Newzoo reports that, in 2023, the global games market generated nearly $184 billion. It marked a 0.5 percent year-on-year growth, with $89.9 billion incoming from mobile platforms. It just so happens that Pokémon Go remains among the biggest mobile games in the world, earning over $4 billion in lifetime revenues despite being free-to-play.
The video gaming industry goes far beyond consoles and gaming software, though. It’s become a vast sector with many, many peripheral businesses that all benefit from playing a part. Companies create specialized hardware options, like controllers and headsets, to better the primary branded ones.
Then, there are the websites here to assist players, with the likes of 1337 Games setting its mission to review all things gaming and offer news and insights. Sites like this help to keep those producing games competitive, giving review scores to encourage better development.
Being so reliant on technology, video gaming has been able to develop rapidly where brands, publishers, and developers have had the will to explore each new limit. Pokémon, in gaming alone, has continued to be keen to explore all the latest hardware innovations of Nintendo and go beyond. This includes changing from its base game into new genres, shifting from the small screen to the big screen, and gamifying utility applications – as with Pokémon Sleep, which made $100 million in its first year across 9.8 million downloads.
From Gaming to All Corners of Entertainment
Video gaming is where Pokémon made its name and continues to earn stacks of revenue. From massively popular apps like Pokémon Go, to even the more niche releases like Pokémon Mystery Dungeon and Pokémon Café Mix, gaming is at the heart of the brand. Still, its licensing has spread far and wide. Given the premise of the games, it was a natural step to take the core character or monsters beyond gaming.
Trading cards were a colossal hit in the 1990s and 2000s, and have experienced a resurgence in recent years, alongside the huge sums that the classic collections can summon on the resale market. Also in gaming, there are numerous board game outings, a licensed Monopoly in the Pokémon branding – as with just about any IP now – trivia games, and the classic Pokémon Master Trainer Board Game.
Away from gaming, ever-popular anime TV series continue to air, and it’s long had a place in the increasingly dominant (beyond Japan, that is) world of manga.
On the big screen, Pokémon: The First Movie made over $163 million worldwide in 1999, and in 2019, the live-action Pokémon: Detective Pikachu collected a cool $428 million at the box office.
Pokémon 2000 and Pokémon 3: The Movie were less successful as cinematic outings, but have helped to bring Pokémon’s overall box office earnings to over $1 billion, per The Numbers.
Bundle in the official Pokémon Center stores in Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, and the US, the massive pop-up shop events like those in London, and all the merchandise that these and the online store sell, and you’ve got a colossal brand exploring all corners of entertainment.
The Pokémon Company has done an incredible job over a relatively short time to become such a high-earning entity through its licensing. Truly, it has contributed to the global success of Nintendo’s brand and made the most of the gem of an IP launched in the 1990s.