Pokemon "will go downhill" if "we become complacent and go with the flow" says CEO, who hopes the series could last another 70 years
It's Pokemon Day which means we have a Pokemon Presents coming up, and the CEO of the Pokemon Company shares some thoughts about what makes the franchise so special.
"Pokemon is the only thing we do at the Pokemon Company," CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara tells the BBC. It's a private company, which means it doesn't have any shareholders to appease with dividends or rising stock prices. "Whatever profit we make from Pokemon gets reinvested in Pokemon."
Pokemon has been going strong for almost 30 years, and Ishihara believes it can keep going for far longer: "If we continue focusing on our mission, Pokemon can probably continue to its 50th or 100th anniversary [...] We'll go bust when Pokemon is no longer popular."
50 years of Pokemon doesn't seem Farfetch'd (see what I did there?) at all. After 29 years, it seems like the franchise is still figuring out new ways to engage audiences with shows like Pokemon Concierge and games like TCG Pocket.
This is essential because, "If we become complacent and go with the flow, that's when Pokemon will go downhill," says Ishihara. Pokemon has always found new ways to integrate new hardware into its games, from the touchpad of the DS, and turning your console upside down to evolve Inkay, to AR in Pokemon Go.
100 years may be more difficult, though. Who knows what gaming will look like then? We might look back at today's AR like we look back at the NES, there's no telling what Pokemon will look like 100 years in the future. Maybe they'll be like Digimon and have more weapons.
I'm hoping we get some Pokemon Legends Z-A news today. What are you excited to see?
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