Pokemon Paratexts

Over the past decade we have seen a leap in technology accelerating more than ever before commercially and publicly, allowing anyone with the relevant know how to produce media texts of their own form the comfort of their own bedroom. Most notable would be in the gaming world of Pokemon, although there are well over twenty official games for the Gameboy console franchise alone there are hundreds more unofficial games or paratexts created by fans of the series. This takes user control to the next this takes user control to the next level in gaming. By taking an official base game these users are able to alter it into their own game in a completely new world with a new story and in some cases even new characters and Pokemon. This combined with the easy availability of the web 2.0 to majority of all nationalities these would be creators can share their own paratexts with thousands of other fans and consumers. This control almost creates a Frankenstein’s monster effect to the gaming franchise derived by Nintendo. With games having a level of evolution without the original creators input it takes all power away from the creator and gives it all to the user making it their game, offering a deeper sense of ownership.