The folks at 1up.com take a look at how the Pokemon franchise is so popular and why people keep coming back for more. They also speculate on what the future might hold for ever popular franchise.

The Science of Collecting

The Pokémon games have some cute, original creature designs, but beyond their cuddly forms (and the hulking monsters many of them grow into) there are a lot of them -- 493 at last count. And, like with any repetitive game that offers rewards directly related to time spent in the game (see also World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time) the capacity for endless grinding to raise a character's level by even a fraction is an almost primal desire, one particularly well suited to games. For casual collectors, it might be enough to make it through the story with the bare minimum requirements. But countless hours can be spent exploring the game world to find every last, rare pokémon -- then even more time spent leveling them up. From the outside, it can seem like a grueling task, but, there's a great deal of comfort in familiarity and repetition.

And unlike many other games that make the player start over with each new iteration, Pokémon (with one exception) allows players to transfer their previously caught creatures to the next title in the series. The exception occurred when the Game Boy transitioned to the Game Boy Advance -- the original cartridges were incompatible with the redesigned system, leaving no way to transfer Pokémon between Red/Blue and Gold/Silver over to Ruby/Sapphire. But Game Freak rectified its mistake with the fourth generation of DS titles: Diamond/Pearl provided the ability to transfer Pokémon from GBA to DS. But it's all another way to maintain the audience; when players feel that the Pokémon they catch today will still be viable party members in the next iteration of games, it encourages loyalty to the franchise.

phowell23 via 1up.com »