The Pokémon Company
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Native name | 株式会社ポケモン |
---|---|
Type | Joint venture Kabushiki gaisha |
Founded | 23 April 1998 Nihonbashi, Tokyo, Japan | (as The Pokémon Center Company)
Headquarters | Minato, Tokyo, Japan |
Key people | Tsunekazu Ishihara (President and CEO) |
Products | Pokémon franchise |
Services | Brand management |
JPY 15.37 billion (2019)[1] | |
Owner | Nintendo Game Freak Creatures |
Subsidiaries | The Pokémon Company International The Pokémon Company International Ireland Pokémon Korea, Inc Pokemon Singapore Pte. Ltd. Pokémon Shanghai Pokémon Center Co., Ltd. |
Website | www |
Footnotes / references [2] |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/The_Pok%C3%A9mon_Company_International_logo.svg/255px-The_Pok%C3%A9mon_Company_International_logo.svg.png)
The Pokémon Company (株式会社ポケモン, Kabushiki gaisha Pokemon) is a Japanese company responsible for brand management, production, marketing and licensing of the Pokémon franchise, which consists of video game software, a trading card game, anime television series, films, manga, home entertainment products, merchandise, and other ventures. It was established through a joint investment by the three businesses holding the copyright of Pokémon: Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures. It began operating in 1998 and adopted the moniker Pokémon Ltd. in October 2000. The company is headquartered in the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo.[3]
The company has separate subsidiaries that handle operations in different parts of the world, with The Pokémon Company International supporting the territories outside of Asia and being responsible for brand management, licensing, marketing, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, the animated TV series, home entertainment, and the official Pokémon website on the territories outside of Asia. In South Korea, the operations are handled by Pokémon Korea, Inc.[3]
The Pokémon Company also handles publishing of all Pokémon video games since 2001 as its main publisher. The Pokémon Company is mostly responsible for marketing and funding, while Nintendo handles distribution of the titles in Japan and outside of it. Both companies work together in localization, production, QA, and other aspects. The company is solely responsible for publishing and licensing mobile Pokémon titles, unlike console titles where it divides publishing responsibilities with Nintendo.[4]
History[]
In 1998, Nintendo, Creatures, and Game Freak established The Pokemon Center Company (ポケモンセンター株式会社, Pokemon Sentā Kabushiki gaisha) in order to effectively manage the Pokémon Center stores in Japan. After the popularity of Pokémon Gold and Silver, they received many merchandising proposals from around the world. Companies were interested in working with the Pokémon brand. At that time, Tsunekazu Ishihara of Creatures was the person in charge of approving licensed products. Because of the sheer volume of products, Ishihara thought it was too much work for one person to handle. At the same time, in order for the franchise to continue, Ishihara wished to further expand the franchise with long-term goals, such as continuing the anime series, and releasing a movie every year. It was then decided that a new organization was needed in order to gather together all the strands of brand management.
This led the three companies to turn The Pokémon Center Company into The Pokémon Company in order to further expand its scope, responsibilities, and areas of business. According to Satoru Iwata, establishing The Pokémon Company was one of his first projects at Nintendo.[5]
Managing the Pokémon Center stores is still a pillar for the company. In total, there are stores in 11 locations: Sapporo, Tohoku (Sendai), Tokyo, Skytree Town (Oshiage), Tokyo-Bay (Chiba), Yokohama, Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima and Fukuoka.[6]
The United States branch (Pokémon USA, Inc.) opened in 2001 to handle licensing overseas in the Americas. Nintendo Australia is responsible for some licensing and marketing of Pokémon products in Australia and New Zealand because The Pokémon Company does not have an Australian branch.[3]
Since 2001, nearly all Pokémon products are represented as "©Pokémon" in the copyright acknowledgments with the usual three of "©Nintendo", "©GAME FREAK inc." and "©Creatures Inc." The three companies also have ownership of all of the Pokémon-related trademarks in Japan[7] while Nintendo is the sole owner of Pokémon-related trademarks in other countries.[8] Licensed toys are made by third- and second-party companies such as Tomy and Jazwares.
In October 2001, 4Kids Entertainment acquired a 3% stake in The Pokémon Company for an undisclosed sum.[9][10] They liquidated this stake 4 years later for US$960,000.[11]
In 2006, Pokémon Korea, Inc. was founded to manage the company's operations in South Korea. Its headquarters is located in Seoul.
In 2009, Pokémon USA and Pokémon UK merged to become The Pokémon Company International, which handles American and European Pokémon operations under the administration of Kenji Okubo.[12] The company's office in the United States is located in Bellevue, Washington[13] and its office in the United Kingdom is located in London.[3] Some Australian operations are controlled by Nintendo Australia.
Pokémon Center Co., Ltd. was established in August 2011 to manage the Pokémon Center brand and stores in Japan. Its operations include operating the Pokémon Store and Pokémon Center stores, maintaining the Pokémon Stand vending machines and operating the Pokémon Center Online, as well as overseeing the design and manufacture of Japanese Pokémon Center brand merchandise. Yomiomi Uego is currently the president and CEO.[14][15]
List of works[]
Games[]
Anime[]
Books[]
Films[]
- Pokémon anime film series
- Pokémon Detective Pikachu (live-action film)
Licensed merchandise[]
Year(s) | Region(s) | Sales (million US$) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1999 | Worldwide[16] | 7,000 | ¥350.28 billion ($3.075 billion) in Japan.[17][18] |
2001 | Outside Asia[19] | 2,000 | |
2002 | Americas[20] | 1,100 | |
2003 | Americas[21] | 1,300 | |
1996–2003 | Worldwide[22] | 30,000 | |
2004 | Americas[23] | 1,300 | |
2005 | Japan + Americas | 1,892 | ¥65.21 billion ($592 million) in Japan.[24][25] $1.3 billion in the Americas.[26] |
2006 | Americas[27] | 1,300 | |
2007 | Japan + Americas | 2,543 | ¥134.56 billion ($1.143 billion) in Japan.[28][29] $1.4 billion in the Americas.[30] |
2008 | Japan + Americas | 2,512 | ¥114.929 billion ($1,112 million) in Japan.[31] $1.4 billion in the Americas.[32] |
2009 | Japan + Outside Asia | 2,595 | ¥111.809 billion ($1,195 million) in Japan.[33] $1.4 billion outside of Asia.[34] |
2010 | Japan + Outside Asia | 3,804 | ¥114.484 billion ($1.304 billion) in Japan.[35][36] $2.5 billion outside of Asia.[37] |
2011 | Japan + Outside Asia | 2,848 | ¥107.602 billion ($1,348 million) in Japan.[38] $1.5 billion outside of Asia.[39] |
2012 | Japan + Outside Asia | 2,754 | ¥92.04 billion ($1,154 million) in Japan.[40] $1.6 billion outside of Asia.[41] |
2013 | Japan + Outside Asia | 2,393 | ¥86.978 billion ($891 million) in Japan.[42] $1.5 billion outside of Asia.[43] |
2014 | Japan + Outside Asia | 2,678 | ¥71.825 billion ($678 million) in Japan.[44] $2 billion outside of Asia.[45] Pokémon TCG sales increased by 51% in the UK market,[46] and by 34% in North America.[47] |
2014–2015 | India | There was a resurgence of the Pokémon brand in India.[48] | |
2015 | Japan + Outside Asia | 2,608 | ¥55.257 billion ($457 million) in Japan.[49] $2.1 billion outside of Asia.[50] Pokémon TCG sales increased by 56%.[47] |
2016 | Japan + Outside Asia | 3,884 | ¥63.52 billion ($584 million) in Japan.[51] $3.3 billion outside of Asia.[52] The brand's 20th anniversary coincided with a Super Bowl 50 commercial, launch of Pokémon Go and Sun & Moon video games and Sun & Moon anime series, and Pokémon TCG becoming the top-selling collectible card game.[52] |
2017 | Japan + Outside Asia | 4,081 | ¥64.584 billion ($576 million) in Japan.[53] $3.5 billion outside of Asia.[54][55] Pokémon toys increased in sales,[56] and is the top-selling toy brand.[54] Sun & Moon expansion of Pokémon TCG released, continued success of Pokémon Go, and global launch of Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon and Pokkén Tournament DX games, I Choose You film and Sun & Moon anime series.[54] |
2018 | Japan + Outside Asia | 3,681 | ¥77.417 billion ($701 million) in Japan.[57][58] $2.98 billion outside of Asia.[59] |
2019 | Japan + Outside Asia | 5,127 | ¥101.06 billion ($927 million) in Japan.[60][58] $4.2 billion outside of Asia.[61] Substantial growth driven by global launch of live-action film Pokémon: Detective Pikachu, video game Pokémon Sword & Shield, and anime season Sun & Moon: Ultra Legends, while Pokémon Go crossed 1 billion downloads.[61] |
2020 | Outside Asia | 5,100[62] | |
Total known sales | Worldwide | 81,100 |
See also[]
References[]
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- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "会社概要" [Company Profile] (in Japanese). The Pokémon Company. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
- ^ "ゲームを探す". ポケットモンスターオフィシャルサイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 20 March 2019.
- ^ "Iwata Asks". Retrieved 11 December 2016.
- ^ "ポケモンセンター English". ポケットモンスターオフィシャルサイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 13 November 2017.
- ^ "会社情報". The Pokémon Company. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
ポケットモンスター・ポケモン・Pokémonは任天堂・クリーチャーズ・ゲームフリークの登録商標です
- ^ "Legal Information". The Pokémon Company. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
Pokémon, Pokémon character names, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo DS, Wii, Wii U, and WiiWare are trademarks of Nintendo.
- ^ "4Kids Entertainment Signs New Five-Year Agreement With Pokemon USA/Leading Children's Entertainment Company Acquires 3% Interest In The Pokemon Company". TheFreeDictionary.com. 10 October 2001. Archived from the original on 24 November 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
- ^ "4Kids Entertainment Signs New Five-Year Agreement With Pokémon USA" (PDF). 4kidsentertainment.com. 10 October 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 October 2005. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
- ^ "Form 10K". EdgarOnline.com. 16 March 2006. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
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- ^ "Contact Us". The Pokémon Company International. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
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External links[]
- Pokémon
- Anime companies
- Anime industry
- Nintendo
- Japanese companies established in 1998
- Video game companies of Japan
- Mass media companies based in Tokyo
- Minato, Tokyo
- Nintendo divisions and subsidiaries
- Video game companies established in 1998
- Joint ventures
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