‘The kids were right’: 30 years of Pokémon, from school-wide bans to multimillion-dollar trading cards
Summary
Pokémon, a Japanese cartoon and game series, celebrated its 30th anniversary this year. It first became popular in Australia in 1998 through a children's TV show and quickly grew into a huge cultural phenomenon, despite initial media concerns and school bans.Key Facts
- Pokémon was created by Satoshi Tajiri and released by Nintendo for the Game Boy.
- The franchise started in Japan and spread worldwide, reaching Australia in 1998 through the show Cheez TV.
- The original Game Boy Pokémon games sold over 400 million copies globally.
- Players explore a world called Kanto to find and battle creatures known as Pokémon.
- Australian media and schools initially reacted with fear, seeing Pokémon as dangerous or harmful to children.
- The Pokémon Trading Card Game, launched in 1999, became extremely popular and changed school recess activities.
- Some media linked Pokémon to negative ideas like witchcraft or violence, though these claims were unfounded.
- Pokémon’s catchphrase is “Gotta catch ’em all,” which symbolized the goal of collecting all Pokémon characters.
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