For Youths and Parents Alike, the Hunt Is On for Pokemon
David Greenspan, 9, plops down on the floor of his bedroom in suburban Annandale, Va., and pulls out his most prized possessions: 122 glossy trading cards in a small, clear box. The cards feature exotic-looking creatures, some with wings, some with talons, some resembling bigeyed lizards.
With the ease born of constant repetition, he flips through the pile, rattling off the name of each. Here is Dragonair, he says, and Charmander and Blastoise.
David holds out his favorite: a fire-snorting dragon with green wings, Charizard. “He has 120 hit points, and he can do 100 damage,” he says excitedly.
If this sounds faintly familiar yet utterly indecipherable, you are the parent of a child caught up in the latest toy craze: Pokemon, a Japanese game featuring 151 “pocket monsters” that children do battle with, capture and trade by using the cards or playing one of two Pokemon video games.
Undetected by most adults, Pokemon (pronounced POH-keh-mahn) hit U.S. shores last fall, sweeping over America’s preteens with the force of a tsunami.
What’s not new about Pokemon is the frenzied pursuit fueling the craze. Remember Cabbage Patch Kids, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Pogs, Tickle-Me Elmos, Tamagotchis, Beanie Babies, Furbies? And, now, Pokemon.
Industry followers note that toy fads are getting bigger and spreading faster than ever. Manufacturers are more savvy about marketing to children: Why put out just one Power Ranger when you can make five different ones? The Internet and e-mail instantaneously disseminate the word on must-have toys, and baby-boomer parents appear more eager than ever to find them for their children.
“We live in a very competitive society, and nobody wants to feel that their child is going to be left out or, worse, left behind,” said New York City educational psychologist Istar Schwager, a consultant on children’s educational products.
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With Pokemon, all the now-familiar indicators of another toy frenzy are in place: Schools are banning the trading cards and video games. More than 13,000 parents and children attended a Pokemon trading card show in Woodbridge, N.J., in May. Stores report selling out within hours, and the $9 price of the 60-card “starter” set has tripled at some outlets. Rarer cards go for as much as $70 each.
The object of the game is to capture and train all 151 Pokemon creatures. Each can absorb a certain number of “hit points” before it is knocked out, and each has certain “damage” power it can use to attack others.
The rules of the game are so intricate that few adults dare wade in, said Cliff Annicelli, associate editor of Playthings magazine. Which could be the point: It’s the “feeling of having something all your own that your parents either don’t like or don’t understand. That has always appealed to young people.”
The genius--or blame--behind Pokemon lies with Nintendo, the Japanese video game behemoth. After runaway sales in Japan, it released two Pokemon games for its popular Game Boy in the United States last September. The 2.8 million Pokemon copies sold here make it Nintendo’s top-selling hand-held video game.
Nintendo has now licensed 45 other Pokemon products, including the popular trading cards, lunch boxes, T-shirts, key chains and posters. The animated television show, which first aired here last fall, is now top-ranked among children’s shows in the United States. Coming soon: a line of Pokemon beenbag toys and a feature-length movie.
Some parents feel that aspects of the game can assist child development. As with chess, children must memorize each Pokemon’s skills and powers, think ahead and strategize in sophisticated ways. Younger children just learning to read can practice that skill, and math also comes into play.
“It’s a strategy game,” said sixth-grader Joshua Dunietz of Rockville, Md. “You actually have to think about where to go and stuff like that. And the names are kind of magical.”
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His mother, Barbara Gesumaria, admits to mixed feelings about Pokemon but says she is trying to be objective.
“It’s not a kill-’em-and-shoot-’em game,” she said. “So maybe it’s a good thing, [maybe] it promotes higher-order thinking. Just because I don’t understand it doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing.”
David Walsh, founder of the National Institute on Media and the Family, said that if parents participate in the game--for example, by helping their child collect the cards--it can develop a common interest or shared hobby. But the advantages evaporate if parents simply rush out to buy all the Pokemon paraphernalia they can find, or allow children to play the game constantly.
“To buy into the ‘gotta-have-it’ doesn’t do kids any good,” Walsh said. “Instead of teaching them lessons about delayed gratification and patience, we become part of the machine that fuels the instant gratification.”