Pokemon Welcome & Contents_v8_NEW LSB 2008 GRID 19/08/2016 16:28 Page 3
WELCOME It is astonishing to think that 20 years have passed since Pokémon first burst onto the video game scene in Japan. The original premise was the vision to create something that would capture the childhood wonder of discovering new creatures, collecting them and sharing the experience with friends.
Twenty years on, that vision remains and it’s at the heart of Pokémon’s appeal to the global market—discovering, collecting, battling, trading and sharing. Today, Pokémon stands as a worldwide phenomenon, a globally successful brand with a business spanning video games, trading card games, animated TV series and films and much, much more. The Pokémon Company International continues to innovate: launching exciting new products such as the forthcoming Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems; delighting audiences around Europe with Season 19 of the popular animation; finding ground-breaking new ways to connect with its loyal audience, such as our animation studio at KidZania in London; and working with best-in-class partners across
licensing and retail to continue to grow the brand across the globe. The hugely loyal fan base—from all walks of life, children through to adults—stand at the heart of Pokémon’s success. They continue to engage with, share and talk about Pokémon products across the world. With a year-long programme of activity and events in place to celebrate 20 years of Pokémon, the brand has never been in better shape. Twenty years? It’s just the beginning!
Gaku Susai, Vice President of London Operations, The Pokémon Company International
CONTENTS
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Introducing… Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon The Essence of Pokémon Taking Pokémon to the Fans Celebrating 20 Years Of Pokémon Pokémon Today and Tomorrow Meet the Team Consumer Products Approach Licensee Lowdown Celebrating With TOMY Retail Outlook
This special Pokémon publication was produced by Max Publishing. Editor: Michelle Board. Editor in chief: Jakki Brown. The advertising was handled by Ian Hyder. The designer was Mark Grayson. While every effort has been made to ensure that the information in this publication was correct at the time of going to press, the publishers cannot accept legal liability for any errors, missions, nor can they accept responsibility for the standing of advertisers, not any organisations mentioned in the text. ©2016 The Pokémon Company International. ©1995-2016 Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK inc. TM, ®, and character names are trademarks of Nintendo.
A SPECIAL POKÉMON PUBLICATION
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