Essence of Pokemon grid_v8_NEW LSB 2008 GRID 19/08/2016 15:11 Page 7
Left: The fans are central to everything The Pokémon Company does.
POKÉMON BY THE NUMBERS
GOTTA CATCH 'EM ALL! TM
Netflix and Amazon, and our very own Pokémon TV app. On the social side, we see You Tube as a key channel to announce news and share videos with our community.” The fans are central to everything The Pokémon Company International does, as it continually strives to delight them wherever they are in the world. “The whole company feels a strong sense of responsibility to our fans and a strong sense of responsibility to the Pokémon themselves. Our fans consider these Pokémon as dear friends, so we have to treat them in the exact same way. We put a lot of energy into creating events that let fans get together and share their love for all things Pokémon,” says Peter. This is a big year for Pokémon, with the arrival of the next generation of content, including the new Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon video games, the release of the mobile game Pokémon GO, as well as all the celebrations around 20 years of Pokémon. It’s also an exciting time for the licensed consumer goods programme, with new toys coming out from TOMY and several new partners coming on board spanning multiple categories across Europe.
“Pokémon” is the collective name for the more than 720 known Pokémon creatures that live in the wild or alongside humans. Pokémon are caught, raised and instructed by their Trainers. During their adventures, Pokémon grow and become more experienced, and many evolve into stronger Pokémon.
VIDEO GAMES One of the most successful video game franchises of all time, with more than 275 million titles sold worldwide. Pokémon is the highest-selling game for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems.
TRADING CARD GAME Esdevium Games enjoyed record UK sales for the Pokémon Trading Card Game in 2015. NPD sales data shows the Pokémon TCG has made significant gains for the past two years, with growth of 34% in 2014, followed by a further 56% growth in 2015. Globally, over 21.5 billion cards have been shipped to 74 countries in 11 languages (The Pokémon Company, through March 2015). And so far in 2016, sales are continuing to soar, with a further 75% increase over 2015.
ANIMATION Pokémon animation is broadcast in more than 160 countries, and there are more than 800 episodes spanning 18 series of the animated TV show. Series 19 will be televised across Europe by the end of 2016.
LICENSING Pokémon was ranked as the number one single-IP entertainment company in the world (Source: License Global Magazine’s Top 150 Licensors 2015).
ONLINE Pokémon’s official website has more than 3 million unique visitors per month. Total traffic across Pokémon’s global websites and mobile apps is more than 18 million visits per month (The Pokémon Company, August 2015). Videos on the Pokémon YouTube channel have garnered more than 114 million views, and Pokémon’s Facebook page has more than 6 million Likes. Above: The next generation Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon video games are due out November 2016.
“The whole company feels a strong sense of responsibility to our fans and a strong sense of responsibility to the Pokémon themselves." — Peter Murphy
Above: TOMY’s Pokémon range is very popular with fans.
A SPECIAL POKÉMON PUBLICATION
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