Pokemon used Nostalgia! It’s super effective.
[Photo by Matt Baume]
Pokemon was once thought of as a series designed for kids. Going forward, it may be seen more as a series designed for adults who want to feel like kids again. The game moved nearly 2 million units in its first week in Japan, with the majority of those sales going to young adults in college.
One thought is that younger consumers are too busy with exams for Pokemon at the moment. My guess is it’s more because Pokemon X/Y seems specifically designed for people who “grew out” of Pokemon ten or so years ago. The heavy inclusion of Gen 1 Pokemon (complete with anime-style voice acting for Pikachu), the effort to make the world feel “more real” than prior games, the ability to go shopping for your avatar and take Vine-like “selfy” videos all seem tailor made for young adults that Pokemon to appeal to both their childhood dreams and adult preferences.
It’ll be interesting to see if Pokemon X/Y goes on to draw in a whole new generation of fans in the way that Street Fighter 4 and J.J. Abrams’s Star Trek did, or if it will continue to find most of its audience among 90s kids.
Pokémon X And Y Sold Mainly To College Students In Japan [Siliconera]
