Trading Cards and Hardcore Fandom

As a product of all the global hype created by the Pokemon games and animated series it was undoubtedly inevitable that the franchise would burst strongly into the merchandising world with everyone looking to cash in on the phenomenon officially and unofficially. Most notable would be the trading card series, which in itself offers a treasure trove of media texts. Whilst allowing for a competitive rule based game the real appeal to a majority child audience was the collectability towards them. With cares of varying rarity they allowed for an in playground trading currency with everyone wanting to get their hands on their favorite or most sought after cards. The franchise used this new found love of trading cards to cross converge and promotes other aspects of the ever growing Pokemon empire. With the release of the first Pokemon Movie (1998) fans were offered the chance to get their hands on limited edition Pokemon cards by attending special cinema screenings or buying limited edition copies of the VHS. Whilst meaningless to the battling aspect of the trading card game, this idea of limited rarity brings fans together in a desire to collect them all. This is an idea utilized throughout the life span of Pokemon and one that has been borrowed by similar franchise such as Yu-Gi-Oh (1996 – 2004). Stopping not just at trading cards Pokemon has hands in nearly every aspect of media platforms and the merchandising worlds. With its own magazines and websites fans are able to read about the latest Pokemon news and connect with other like-minded people all caught up in this fandom world that has become a cultural lifestyle in itself for so many thousands of people. The cult like mind state those most hardcore fans is what drives the franchise to still excel twenty years down the line, even if not to the level it once did. This world created for and also by fans acts as a family for some with Pokemon specific conventions and events still taking place commonly all over the world. This community primarily consists in the current day of adults who fell in love with the franchise as a child and still hold onto that love, using their new found adulthood wealth to purchase the newest games and consoles required to enjoy this bit of a lost childhood.