As Pikachu Turns 30, a Gaming Professional Says Pokémon’s Longevity is About Characters, Not Competitors

Newswise — The Pokémon universe celebrates its thirtieth anniversary on Friday (Feb. 27). According to a West Virginia University skilled on sport design and interactive media, over these three many years, the Nintendo franchise has eternally modified collectibles, augmented actuality gaming and online game character growth.

Heather Cole, educating affiliate professor within the WVU College of Creative Arts and Media School of Art and Design, is out there to debate Pokémon’s roots, its persistence throughout generations of players, the mechanics of its video games and the way it continues to drive innovation within the gaming trade.

Quotes:

“Pokémon was born from creator Satoshi Tajiri’s love for bugs. Over the past 30 years, the franchise has spawned over 100 games, some so impactful they’ve changed the gaming space forever. But as someone who teaches game design and interactive media to WVU students — and a lifelong Pokémon fan myself — I believe the games were never the point. It’s the creatures we care about.

“As a child, Tajiri was obsessed with collecting insects, and his treasured specimens inspired the concept for the creatures that would win over the world. The gaming industry, however, didn’t always share his enthusiasm, and Tajiri almost went bankrupt putting in unpaid hours trying to get Pokémon off the ground. But he kept at it, and his belief in his concept inspires game design students today. Thanks to Tajiri’s relentless efforts, Pokémon was released for Nintendo Game Boy on Feb. 27, 1996. Later the same year, the trading card game came out.

“In my youth, I collected all the Pokémon cards, but I almost never played with them. I just loved the creatures. Evoking both nature and magic, Pokémon represent one man’s obsession, but they have kindled obsessions like mine for two generations. Their overwhelming appeal stems not only from their roots in the animal kingdom, but from their associations with the powerfully mythic elements of earth, water, fire and air. They launch off from the real world into a space of imagination.

“In the nuts and bolts of its game mechanics, Pokémon is not revolutionary. There are games with concepts and mapping systems very similar to Pokémon including Digimon and Ingress. Those games, however, have never inspired comparable fandom. That’s because people don’t connect to them with the intensity that the Pokémon characters inspire.

“Many of the students in my game design classes at WVU love Pokémon as much as I do. It’s curious — when I learn one of my students is into Pokémon, I usually also find that the games they design focus on strong character design and development. It’s my responsibility to ensure that students go beyond the games they know and love, but tapping into the shared appreciation of collecting fantastical Pokémon is an excellent place for a new generation of designers to start learning game mechanics. And it’s a gateway that leads fans to the worlds of anime and manga.

“February 2026 isn’t just the 30th anniversary of Tajiri’s achievement. It also marks the release of Pokopia, a brand-new foray for Pokémon into non-competition-based lifestyle simulation games, similar to The Sims. Pokopia demonstrates that the universe that started with Game Boy, then changed card games and collectibles forever before pioneering popular immersive augmented reality gameplay, continues to be relevant and to evolve. There are over 1,000 Pokémon now, and people still want more.” — Heather Cole, educating affiliate professor for sport design and interactive media, WVU College of Creative Arts and Media