Pokemon What are the views on Pokémon in your country?

Jungletoad

Jungletoad

Aspiring Trainer
Member
What are the views on Pokemon in your country?

-Does your country have a big or small fanbase?
-How does people in general view Pokemon players/collectors where you live?
-Is Pokemon and its fanbase dying or growing where you live?

Interesting subject :p
 
RE: What are the views on Pokemon in your country?

Small. I think it's growing, but very slow, like the Speed of A Shuckle...

Well, I told my friends in school that I liked Pokémon, they told me: REALLY! Man, that's a kids game. And more things, in another school, a guy said he liked Pokémon, he got bullied.... Some people accept it, some other don't, and they (as many people) have a stereotype (I think it's worldwide) for us: Fat, Dumb, geek, with no social life.
That's not the case of any of my friends and me , I went to the Antigravity Con (a convention once many months,but it's really cool) and we had a tournament, we were at the corner of the place, next to the food, people passed they just asked: What is this? What are you playing? (In a good way) My organizer was playing and explaining.
I go to my place all saturdays, since 4:30 PM, until around 10:30 - 11:00 pm
:D
 
RE: What are the views on Pokemon in your country?

I'm sure America has a really big fan base. Pokemon video games are always stocked on shelves, and there are isles (or part of them) dedicated to Pokemon trading cards. The TV shows still run occasionally (perhaps on Saturdays on Cartoon Network?). Everyone and their moms know who Pikachu is.

Being a college student, there is not much talk about Pokemon. Perhaps younger kids can get away with talking about Pokemon. I don't tell people that I play Pokemon. I've only heard whispers of people talking about Pokemon. I always feel kinda awkward buying a Pokemon video game. My family thinks its weird that I still play it and thinks I should have grown out of it by now.

Down here in Houston, Texas, I am unsure how Pokemon is doing. But, I know I've seen kids buying Pokemon cards and the Pokemon 3DS XL was sold out all over the area within a few days. The games are definitely being bought here. But, I think the growth is coming from children and pre-teens and perhaps children whose parents played Pokemon. I doubt too many my age are STILL playing Pokemon. Those that do play probably play secretly and don't tell anyone about it.
 
RE: What are the views on Pokemon in your country?

England has a tiny fan base for Pokémon and Nintendo consoles in general. In fact, a lot of Brits hate Animé and Manga.
 
RE: What are the views on Pokemon in your country?

Same as momoxmomo, I live in America.

- I'd say we have a huge fanbase :p
- The view on Pokémon: It all depends on who's the viewer and who's being viewed.
For me being 19, someone else my age or older will either say:
  • You play Pokémon? That's cool, I respect that.
  • Wait what, Pokémon? Ha, are you kidding me, I stopped playing that when I was five!
  • OMG, I love Pokémon to! Go Axew!
But if it's anyone above the age of 50, they'll usually say, "How old are you again?"
Almost everyone knows what Pokémon is, but depending on the age and what kind of person they are, varies on their view.
- I believe the fanbase is growing everyday! My little brother has always been the, I'm to cool to like that, type. But when he saw the new 3D world and battle animations of XY, he caved into buying a 3DS XL and Y Version!
 
RE: What are the views on Pokemon in your country?

I live near Sacramento, California so i'm in a good enough area with plenty of clubs and leagues.
 
RE: What are the views on Pokemon in your country?

Jungletoad said:
What are the views on Pokemon in your country?

-Does your country have a big or small fanbase?
-How does people in general view Pokemon players/collectors where you live?
-Is Pokemon and its fanbase dying or growing where you live?

Interesting subject :p
Click to expand...

(Slovenia)
-Basically none
as far as I know, only a handful of good friends who i grew up enjoying pokemon with, and like 1 person I found on the internet in the past 10 years or so xD
-the only time you would ever hear of pokemon is in some ridiculing context and obviously only with knowledge of the existence of the anime, not the games (which I don't find bad as the ridicule for the anime is more than justified in my view, it just makes me pissed that the anime is making the franchise look like crap xD).
-Long ago I went to a national TCG event with friends, which had less than 20 participants when the thing was at its peak with great organisation and pre-release events and whatnot, but that has died out many years ago for some reason.
 
RE: What are the views on Pokemon in your country?

momoxmomo said:
Being a college student, there is not much talk about Pokemon. Perhaps younger kids can get away with talking about Pokemon. I don't tell people that I play Pokemon. I've only heard whispers of people talking about Pokemon. I always feel kinda awkward buying a Pokemon video game. My family thinks its weird that I still play it and thinks I should have grown out of it by now.

Down here in Houston, Texas, I am unsure how Pokemon is doing. But, I know I've seen kids buying Pokemon cards and the Pokemon 3DS XL was sold out all over the area within a few days. The games are definitely being bought here. But, I think the growth is coming from children and pre-teens and perhaps children whose parents played Pokemon. I doubt too many my age are STILL playing Pokemon. Those that do play probably play secretly and don't tell anyone about it.
Click to expand...
Maybe its just the circles I run in, but Pokemon is still fairly popular where I'm at (Michigan, United States). And it isn't just among kids: my close adult friends tend to like Pokemon, or at least the first 151. Most of the people I know at least tolerate it without being insulting about it. And I believe one of my friends made some friends by playing Pokemon on the Game Boy Color in a college classroom before class.

My older relatives don't seem to think its weird, that or they haven't said it to my face. But I think it also helps that I got my nieces (and by extension, their brother) into Pokemon years ago. =P

I'm sure there are people who don't care for Pokemon, but I think as I get older its easier to avoid those types of people. And with the internet being so common, its easier than ever to talk to people with similar interests. With the exception of some truly awful main Pokemon game coming out (and I doubt that'll happen), I don't see Pokemon becoming less popular over time. Sorry if that's a little off topic!
 
RE: What are the views on Pokemon in your country?

^ I am remembered of an episode when I went to Germany with some classmates: most brought their gameboys and Pokemon games (except for me, who at the last moment decided it would be looked down upon T.T). They played them while we were at school and on the trains. Someone even bought German versions of Sapphire and Ruby. This was in 2008.
 
RE: What are the views on Pokemon in your country?

Nowadays, the anime is only broadcasted in one premium channel (it used to be in a free channel) and with much delay in comparison to the american broadcast.
I know a couple of websites dedicated to the franchise but they aren't that big nor with much interaction. Portugal is a small country; if one goes to the neighboring Spain, then the population increases drastically and so does the Pokémon fandom (I used to watch a spanish cartoon show and I also watched the numbers from the GTS).

From what I can tell, the general view isn't that much positive. People like to play casual games but if you say that you play Pokémon, a far more complex game, they readily say it's a kids game or ask "Do you still play that?". Here you have to know or be friends with more...I wouldn't say nerds or geeks because I don't like those names and I don't see my friends like that... with more accepting people that usually like to know a bit about everything and are not afraid to give a try to something new.

Only the other day have I found a person that plays Pokémon and only because her cousin offered her the games in one of those "XXX in 1" cartridges, but I do hope that I can make her delve deeper into the world of Pokémon. :D
I remember that when I was in high school some kids (my high school also had kids from "lower years") were playing cards and I even found a couple of kids playing Pokémon Emerald ROM in a computer (they weren't supposed to be doing that :p) and so I was happy to see that Pokémon hadn't died but I don't know how many of those kids will stay with Pokémon.
We finally have access to Pokémon events (since the release of HG I think) and that might help get people aboard by knowing that we aren't in some Arceus-forsaken country.
 
RE: What are the views on Pokemon in your country?

momoxmomo said:
^ I am remembered of an episode when I went to Germany with some classmates: most brought their gameboys and Pokemon games (except for me, who at the last moment decided it would be looked down upon T.T). They played them while we were at school and on the trains. Someone even bought German versions of Sapphire and Ruby. This was in 2008.
Click to expand...

That reminds me of my trip to Turkey. I had many long bus rides where I wished I had brought my DS Lite! Would've made things a lot more fun on those long rides (not that the trip wasn't fun), that's for sure. I think the reason I didn't bring it was that I already had so much stuff packed that I didn't want to stuff my suitcases by bringing any more. I was already over the weight limit as it was!
 
RE: What are the views on Pokemon in your country?

I think I am one of a kind in my country
There might be other players out there but most likely children
When I was in the army I played Pokemon Diamond on my DS
At first all my friends found it weird but then they got used to it and some of them even played on there phones.
There is no fanbase of course
There is no tcg cards in my country exept a few stores and they are very expensive, so I created Pokemon cards on papers and played with my friends in the base. It was really funny picture to see soldiers with guns playing fake pokemon cards with bullets for damage counters lol
 
RE: What are the views on Pokemon in your country?

Pokemon is generally looked down upon where I live, but it is well known. The games still sell really well, they sometimes still take whole shelves and I see people buy the games from time to time. The card game has seen a drastic decrease in popularity and where I live cards are hardly sold nowadays, which is clearly visible.

There is one time a year I can see people being interested in Pokemon outside of my circle of friends. During King's Day (formerly known as Queen's Day) kids from the age of 10 to sometimes as late as 16 tend to sell their Pokemon cards, because here too Pokemon is seen as something only small children should play. Luckily, I also see a lot of children being interested in the cards. Sometimes I even see adults scanning the cards, mostly for nostalgic old cards, like dutch Fossil cards, but sometimes also for newer cards.

During the rest of the year people tend to hide their interest in Pokemon. When people buy the games or cards it is clearly visible they experience great shame, even some kids clearly show it. Very few people (like me and a few others in my region) tend to be open about Pokemon. When people know you play Pokemon they open up more, but the tension that you should keep it a bit of a secret stays. The fanbase here is large, but mostly hidden.

The size and openness of the fanbase here would also look very different if you look at certain types of fans. The amount of genwunners here is huge and they tend to be more open, the amount of normal Pokemon fans is smaller (but still large) and they tend to hide it as much as possible. The amount of genwunners seems to increase slightly each new gen. The amount of normal fans does seem to be decreasing, but then again, it isn't really visible.

This is the situation as it is in the region of the Netherlands I live in, it might be very different in other regions like the Randstad, but I don't know much about the fanbase there.
 
RE: What are the views on Pokemon in your country?

I would have to say that I disagree with Momo and Dedenne, when it comes to how people our age feel about Pokemon in the US (or at least here in the midwest). Most people my age (18) and within 3 or 4 years either way almost always would think it was cool or at least ok that you play Pokemon. In college, it is one of the most popular things for guys to do. I have not been in a class yet where I haven't seen a couple guys and/or girls playing Pokemon on their iPads or phones. It has made a big comeback recently and noticeably. I would agree that young kids are now getting into it more here as well.

I just love that it's popular again and that if someone asks me what I'm playing, I can say "Pokemon of course!" without any fear of ridicule.
 
RE: What are the views on Pokemon in your country?

Prince Dedenne said:
Same as momoxmomo, I live in America.

- I'd say we have a huge fanbase :p
- The view on Pokémon: It all depends on who's the viewer and who's being viewed.
For me being 19, someone else my age or older will either say:
  • You play Pokémon? That's cool, I respect that.
  • Wait what, Pokémon? Ha, are you kidding me, I stopped playing that when I was five!
  • OMG, I love Pokémon to! Go Axew!
But if it's anyone above the age of 50, they'll usually say, "How old are you again?"
Almost everyone knows what Pokémon is, but depending on the age and what kind of person they are, varies on their view.
- I believe the fanbase is growing everyday! My little brother has always been the, I'm to cool to like that, type. But when he saw the new 3D world and battle animations of XY, he caved into buying a 3DS XL and Y Version!
Click to expand...

Nearly the same in my area of the US, except the older players (40+) seem to be the ones that are really shy about it. Most people that bought the last 6 main games in my area were ones at least 40. I overheard quite a few game store employees talking about how the amount of older people buying the game for themselves were significantly higher than parents buying for their kids or young people. Then again, my area is weird. >.>
 
What are the views on Pokemon in your country?

Pokemon hasn't been popular here (South Wales) for at least 6 or 7 years but the local supermarkets that sell XY have been selling them.

When my boyfriend was growing up (South Africa), pokemon was largely banned because the large Christian community there believed it to have demonic qualities. He recently played Y on my 3DS XL and loved it :)


Sent from my iPhone inside my human vivarium
 
RE: What are the views on Pokemon in your country?

Here in Puerto Rico...
  • ...people still play the games, yet they are pretty much just another game to those who play the 3DS. People tend to use their smartphones a lot more. Even so, if there are DS systems, there are bound to be quite a few Pokémon games, especially if the players are relatively young. They seem to be more popular at schools.
  • ...the cartoon is still on air. A few years ago, the Spanish version of the Diamond/Pearl series was on local television, yet you can get Cartoon Network if you use Dish Network or DirecTV. I do not remember other people watching the programme, though.
  • ...the card game is essentially nonexistent. Cards are still being sold, yet people play Yu-Gi-Oh! and Magic the Gathering.
 
RE: What are the views on Pokemon in your country?

What are the views on Pokemon in your country?
Pokemon is an anime. Before I told them, most of my friends and family members didn't know that pokemon is a video game first, before they came out with their anime.
-Does your country have a big or small fanbase?
I dont know. If there any, will be a small-small fanbase.
-How does people in general view Pokemon players/collectors where you live?
Most of my friends in my circles grew up watching pokemon. So, we are can be really exited when talking about old school anime and story. But not many people really ever played the game *VG*. TGC is sold in some toy stores but really rare, and kinda expensive.
-Is Pokemon and its fanbase dying or growing where you live?
also don't know

I only have few friends that also play handheld games. Pokemon series are our 'must to have' games, but no one really a huge fan that spent most of their time looking for shinies or something like that.
 
RE: What are the views on Pokemon in your country?

Mistryss Nite said:
Down here in Houston, Texas, I am unsure how Pokemon is doing. But, I know I've seen kids buying Pokemon cards and the Pokemon 3DS XL was sold out all over the area within a few days. The games are definitely being bought here. But, I think the growth is coming from children and pre-teens and perhaps children whose parents played Pokemon. I doubt too many my age are STILL playing Pokemon. Those that do play probably play secretly and don't tell anyone about it.
Click to expand...
Oh hey, somebody in my area. I was surprised with the amount of people who not only bought XY, but played it during high school here. I was just expecting the kids who fall under the stereotypical nerd stereotype to play it openly (which I have seen them doing, by the way), but a good number of people I actually talk to did, as well. People who weren't outcasts openly played in public and I never heard anyone get made fun of for it. Sure the general consensus toward Pokemon isn't positive, but it seems to be getting better.


just realized that I said "stereotypical nerd stereotype"
 
RE: What are the views on Pokemon in your country?

I would say that the Netherlands have quite a large fan-base going on. It is not as big as it used to be; when I was younger everyone used to play it and collect cards, but it is still known by almost everyone and played/collected by quite some people.

Generally people consider it to be something for younger people, but it's normal for older fans to play/collect too. It is not weird for people to do that (from what I can see). It might also differ per location within my country. Generally people back home in the Netherlands are quite open minded and don't make a big deal out of what other people like. The popularity of Anime/TCG/VG in general is still growing in the Netherlands. I am not sure what the statistics are for Pokémon specifically.
 
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