>>36994466I'm not sure what this dude was trying to get to, since there are like 3 different arguments for different things in this paragraph, but it's not really accurate IMHO.
800 unique monsters with a "fuckton of forms and variants" isn't that special when you look at all the copycat games shitting out half as many monsters without issue.
The anime, TCG, and manga come with the territory and success. Pikachu may have been the most recognizable mascot at one point, and may still be, but I'd argue it's not amongst the demographic it's trying to target-- kids.
There's no such thing as too big to fail, but pokemon isn't a company that's immune. Right now, it's failing at what it's trying to do. It's trying really hard to market to kids, and outside Japan, it's not really working as far as I can personally tell. Star Wars shit the bed quick for such a massive franchise; but Pokemon is an even bigger franchise. It's hard to believe if you live in the states, but Pokemon is worth way more as a franchise than Star Wars. And so, obviously, it will take a lot longer for failure to set in.
But failure can. When I went to the gas station today, a kid who looked like he was in his single digits was playing Fortnite on his phone. In the corner of the gas station's cafe, a woman who looked to be in her late 20s was playing LGP on her switch. I think that's what it boils down to; Pokemon is losing its target market, and has been for a long time. It's trying so hard to market to kids, when kids seem like they only take up half as much of their customer base as they used to, and that number is slowly dwindling. Nostaligafags, however, are flocking back to re-live their pokemania days, and that's keeping TCPI's pockets as fat as ever; which causes them to do stupid shit.
