For almost thirty years, Pokémon has been one of the most stable properties in gaming and pop culture. While other franchises rise and fall within the cultural landscape, Pokémon has managed to capture the joy of not just children who have just discovered their first Charmander, but adults who can still hum the anime theme song without missing a beat. The trick is not just the seemingly endless number of new creatures and new mechanics. Rather, it is the exceptionally adept way in which the franchise exploits nostalgia, connecting generations while giving them enough novelty to make the experience enjoyable.
The Emotional Pull of Familiar Creatures
At its essence, Pokémon is about recognition. Pikachu is as recognizable as can be, much like Mickey Mouse or Mario, and that level of recognition is the definition of nostalgia. A player who began their Pokémon experience in the Kanto region on their old Game boys, feels a connection to those same creatures when they appear in another Pokémon game on the Nintendo Switch. This is a connection that is now passed down to fans, typically in a family setting, where parents are introducing their children to Pokémon that they also experienced when they first began playing.
Both Nintendo and Game Freak are aware of how to maintain this engagement. Each new generation of Pokémon will have some callbacks to the classics; be it another regional variant of Meowth or the appearance of a legendary bird in new plotlines. The game mechanics have changed little since the 1990s, when the fundamental tasks of catching Pokémon, earning badges, competing against elite Pokémon trainers, and completing the Pokédex first emerged. Younger players will see this as novel and intriguing, while ones who have been playing since before the 4th generation release will see this as now, but familiar.
Remakes enhance this experience. Games such as Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, or the recent Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, are not simple facelifts. Instead, they are painstakingly curated memory machines designed to stimulate the player into remembering what has been historically loved, now outfitted with a modern visual aesthetic and improved gameplay mechanics. As they traverse a version of a virtual Viridian Forest or as they travel through Sinnoh in HD, players enjoy nostalgia, while being shrouded in a familiar setting with something new. This combination of familiarity and novelty account for fandom spanning decades.
Nostalgia as a Business Model
Nostalgia can be compelling not only in sentiment but in strategy as well. The Pokémon Company is able to leverage the franchise beyond the games themselves. Trading cards, animated shows, and merchandise all utilize that very same feeling of familiarity. A child today might come across Pokémon trading cards, just as their parents have the experience of opening booster packs at age 10 in 1999. Nostalgia in the experience of trading cards creates nostalgia for both the parent and child, enhancing customer loyalty and retention.
The gaming industry generally has also noticed. Whole remaster projects, from The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening to Final Fantasy VII Remake, demonstrates just how effective a nostalgia-based strategy can be. But Pokémon distinguishes itself by never straying too far from its origins. Instead of completely reinventing itself, it hitches its wagon to a solid structure that returns to the familiar stories of Bulbasaur, Eevee, or Charmander.
An interesting comparison can be made with online casinos. Like Pokémon, they have also figured out how to leverage nostalgia for retention. The majority of slot machines are themed on movies, arcade games, and retro aesthetics; the same tactic employed by Pokémon through re-releases or nods to the user’s childhood. A Pikachu sprite can have a player thinking about their childhood; the slot machine can generate good memories for a user on an online gambling site. In both instances, the user can use some familiarity to assist in anchoring the new experience, making it feel safer, entertaining, and intellectually satisfying.
As we look to the future, nostalgia is most likely to be Pokémon’s biggest asset, but it will have to be balanced delicately. Pokémon now appeals to fans across three generations, and each group will have different memories with the franchise. For some, nostalgia is based on the limited pixel art of the Game Boy Color era of Pokémon. For others, it will include their experiences on the DS, and the emergence of online battling. Young players may even experience nostalgia regarding Pokémon GO, recalling the first time they caught Pokémon in local parks.
Ultimately, Pokémon constructs its empire based on not only innovation but memory. By never fully letting go of the past while firmly stepping into the future, it maintains a truly special cycle of emotional engagement. The cycle of emotional engagement ensures that Pokémon is never simply a game. It becomes a touchstone, a cultural ceremony, and in some ways, a personal memory that participants are willing to relive and share. Nostalgia is not a mere gimmick for Pokémon; it is the reason the franchise has been sustained over generation after generation.