Transcript of Pokémon's CEO and fans reveal why they think the franchise is still so popular | BBC News

Pokémon Day is celebrated on February 27th every year to commemorate the release of the first two Pokémon games back in 1996. We're here at the Pokémon International Championships to ask fans, what's kept you so engaged for almost 30 years?

I love the fun.

I love the social side. I love watching the games.

It's just such a good atmosphere, I think.

Well, it started round about 2006, probably 2005, when I was in primary.

I first started watching the anime in around maybe 2003, 2004. On the second season, the Joto Journeys, I just loved all the different Pokémon, all the designs. They were just really, really, really cute.

1998. I was about seven or eight years old. I remember watching Pokémon on TV, which made me become a fan, and I bought the first game, Pokémon Blue.

How long have you been a Pokémon fan? I was about five years old when I first started collecting the cards. It's been a few years after they came out, but I started probably around Gen 2.

When I was young, I always had a sense of longing, like FOMO. I used to always see conventions like this that was similar, and I always wanted to go to these events. Being able to be here and network and make friends has been such a blessing.

I've been a Pokémon fan since it came out back in 1996, so almost 30 years. So you're talking 29 years.

Pokémon is the biggest in the world with millions of fans all over the globe. Thousands of them have descended upon the XL to celebrate the Pokémon International Championships. At the event, we not only have the Pokémon Center, but also the Pokémon Museum, Cosplay events, as well as obviously card trading. Card trading is big business and a huge part of this event. Logan Paul recently spent over $5 million on a Pokémon card that he wore to a WW match. Coming to events like these, you may be surprised by the age demographic of the people that are here. People who grew up with these games when they were younger, traded the Pokémon cards in a playground, even if we didn't quite know how to do it, are now passing on that love of Pokémon to their own kids. So Pokémon, 29 years. How do you think it's remained so relevant and so popular over all that time?

We're a family-family entertainment property, and I think part of its popularity relates back to, if you go back to the very, very first game, it was about trading with your friends. And so you make friends through playing Pokémon. And over the years, we've had Pokémon Go in 2016. That brought more people into the brand, partly because now millennials, they're adults, they have their own kids. They're teaching their kids to play, spreading the love of Pokémon. And I think through families, through friendship, is really what's been sustaining the brand. Our mission as a company is to bring people together through Pokémon, and I think that's the secret. That's high.

We haven't seen a lot of steel-type Pokémon yet.

For Pokémon, this This event has over 5,000 attendees. We have 50 different countries and regions participating at this show. Most others are much smaller events and more exclusive. We're running an open tournament that allows people from all over the world to compete. So this is one of the largest esport events in the world as a result.

Bbc journalist Mariko Oi recently managed to get an interview with the CEO of the Pokémon Company, where they spoke about lots of different things. But most importantly, what's Ash up to I believe the original game was ground-breaking because it allowed users to exchange Pokémon that you catch with your friends and other players.

So it wasn't an introverted activity, but it became a tool to actively communicate with others. The number of Pokémon which started at 151 has increased to more than 1,000 today, and their fans also grew and now span across several generations. Our mission statement is to enrich both the real world and the virtual world with the Pokémon characters. Pokémon Go is the perfect example because you can look for Pokémon in the real world.

What about counterfeits and patent infringement? You recently sued the maker of the hit survival adventure game, Pal World. What are you doing about those fake Pokémon?

We've been fighting fakes since the beginning. The more popular Pokémon became, the worse the problem. It affects our creativity, and our customers get disappointed when they receive products that aren't authentic.

But that's not their only challenge. I'm one of two dozen Pokémon centers where they sell toys, stationeries, cars, you name it. But there's a separate reseal market where Pokémon cars change hands at astronomical price tags. Influencer, Logan Paul, currently holds the world's Guinness records for the most expensive Pokémon trading card, which he bought for more than $5 million.

If the cards are rare or seen as vintage, their value goes up. But it's not our place to say that they are not valuable. To us, the true value of Pokémon is to play, have fun, and communicate with friends.

Along with Hello Kitty and Super Mario, Pokémon is one of Japan's three big soft power, and the Pokémon company is the only one that remains priced it despite its huge revenue.

Hello Kitty is one of the characters for Sanrio, and Super Mario is one of the characters for Nintendo. But Pokémon is the only thing we do at the Pokémon Company. So whatever profit we make from gets reinvested in Pokémon. If we go public, we have to focus on growing our profitability, and investors might ask, What are you going to do when the popularity of Pokémon dies down? Our answer will be, We'll go bust when Pokémon is no longer popular.

I've got some questions from my kids who are big Pokémon fans. There have been some controversies over the decision to retire Ash or Satoshi in Japanese. They want to know what happened to him in his retirement.

That's the hardest This question you asked today. Well, Ash and Pikachu's journey might have ended on camera, but it's only what you see on TV. Even though the TV camera might not be following them, as journey is continuing and his partner Pikachu is right next to him.

We asked a few as players, if they had any ideas about what Ash is up to now.

I think he's chilling, honestly, because he's got on the highest grade. He's up there. Maybe he's chilling, or perhaps he's training the younger generation because I'd love to see him in the new anime because I'm I'm watching that now on BBC iPlayer, actually, Pokémon Horizons. So make sure you watch that because it's-Shout out. Obviously.

I think Ash is living the quiet life. I think he's taking retirement to heart, and he's using these Pokémon just helping with household chores Maybe if he pops to his shop, he jumps on Dragonite's back, or he uses Gengar to maybe help him do shopping, things like that.

I think he still wants to aim to be the best Pokémon Master, but obviously going on his own journey with Pikachu.

I think I can see him helping out Professor Oak, being an assistant to him. That would be really nice, going back to the roots of things. That would be really cool.

I imagine he's still probably adventuring around the world. I just hope he started aging up a little bit.

Well, my personal hopes is that he went on. If I'm honest, I'd like to say he went back to Callos for Serena. I know people online might get a little upset about that, but that's what I would hope, maybe settle down and grow up to bring out a new generation of champions.

Speaking to Pokémon fans today, you really start to realize this isn't just about nostalgia, this is about community. Whether you're here for the Pokémon Museum, Pokémon Center, or the cosplay, or the Championships, or the Championships, or any other aspect of this amazing event, you're here together. Everyone here has a common interest, and everyone feels part of something. Ash may have moved Pokémon, but these fans haven't, and I don't think they ever will.