Get this. Pokémon is the highest-grossing entertainment media franchise of all time.
Since the debut of the first game in 1995, the total revenue the creators of the video game series has made is a whopping US$90 billion.
To put things into perspective, the franchise is worth more than Disney's Star Wars, Mickey Mouse, and Marvel.
To date, 340 million units of the games have been sold, making Pokémon the second best-selling video game franchise after Mario - another popular title created for Nintendo.
So it's no surprise why many hardcore fans of the series are fuming at the new direction that the creators of the game are taking.
The recently announced Generation 8 titles, Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield, will no longer have the National Dex. This means, players no longer need to collect more than 800 of the critters.
To add salt to the injury, fans will no longer be able to transfer several of their Pokémon from older generations on to the Nintendo Switch, which the new titles were made for.
In short: Gotta catch 'em all is over.
Now, fans will only be able to "park" their older Pokémon on Pokémon Home and wait for future titles which hopefully would come with codes that would allow them within the game.
The decision, alas, has split die hard fans of the series.
On one hand, there are the sympathizers of the developer of the games, Game Freak. Echoing the words of series producer Junichi Masuda, these group of fans empathize that the developer require more time to create the sprites for the series.
With over 800 Pokémon since the series began 24 years ago, many fans are understanding and forgiving with Game Freak's direction.
Yet, there are the critics who are not buying the excuse. How can a franchise, which has profited billions provide an excuse that they lack time?
It sounds downright atrociously silly. Furthermore, majority of the critics also point out that there's minimum upgrade where graphics of the latest games are concern.
The graphics appear similar to the Generation 6 and 7 games with only slight upgrade in terms of quality.
While both divides are digesting (and celebrating) the decision, curiously, many have oddly left out the Pokémon Company in their scathing criticisms. Instead, the onus is on the developer of the games, Game Freak, who possibly has been made the scapegoat.
In recent years, there have also been rumours of the developer possibly parting ways with The Pokémon Company and going on their own separate ways.
The signs are already there. The reason Game Freak lacked the time to focus on the quality of the upcoming games and including the sprites was because they were focused on developing a brand new original game, TOWN.
Yet, why did The Pokémon Company decide on a radical, earth shattering decision?
The answer lies in Pokémon GO.
Way back when the first Pokémon games were released on the Game Boy, many of the older demographics were never familiar let alone interested in the franchise.
This changed when Niantic's ground and record breaking app was launched in 2016 for mobile devices. Pokémon GO went on to chart a whopping US$207 million revenue in its first month alone that year.
With a total of 550 million downloads as of June 26, 2019, the AR game has made a whopping US$2.6 billion.
Monthly, the app has an average of 126 million active users. Some 5 million users spend approximately 26 minutes daily on the app.
78% of them are folks aged between 18 - 34. If my calculations are right, an estimated 121 million downloads came from people above the age of 34. The very same people who did not give two shits about the franchise 24 years ago.
Which is bigger and profitable? 340 million units sold or 550 million downloads? In the eyes of The Pokémon Company, there is already an obvious winner here.
Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield aren't the first game of the series to be released on the Nintendo Switch though.
The makers of the series had already released Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu and Pokémon Let's Go Eevee in an obvious attempt to entice Pokémon GO players to switch to the Switch. Pardon the pun.
As a gimmick to bridge the divide, a Steel-type mythical Pokémon, Meltan, was introduced.
While hardcore fans are looking forward to more video games for the Nintendo Switch, the future for Pokémon is clear. It's going to go mobile.
There is huge money to be made while it is also cost effective to produce an app.
In fact, The Pokémon Company is so serious about this pivot that it had held a Pokémon Direct exclusively to announce its latest mobile game, Pokémon Masters.
While many fans were critical of the exclusion of the National Dex, a huge chunk of them are surprisingly excited about this game which will feature the player battling gym leaders from the previous games.
For older fans of the video game series, they can be forgiven for looking at Pokémon from the lens of a gamer alone.
Alas, Pokémon has become much more than just a game. It has become a lifestyle. A brand. For some, a way of life even.
The Pokémon Company has the capacity to possibly overtake Disney in terms of global appeal and popularity. Personally, I feel it already has.
All it's doing now is bolstering its market capitalization of new found set of fans - young and old - by introducing more mobile-based games and building lifestyle elements around the franchise.
In order to make the franchise much more appealing and accessible, The Pokémon Company has no choice but to shed its exclusive image. This means it would need to start over.
The idea of no longer having to complete the Pokédex by collecting every single 800 or more Pokémon - including the hard to get mythicals and legendaries - is much more appealing to a brand new convert of the franchise than to an older nostalgic fan.
Just as Japan enters the brand new Reiwa era, Pokémon too, as a franchise, will enter a brand new chapter when the new games are released later this year.
Whether the franchise would stand the test of time and patience of fans for another 24 years remains to be seen.
