10 Reasons Pokemon Is The Greatest Franchise In Video Game History
3. The Variety Of Gaming Experiences Outside The Core Franchise
As is the usual drill with Nintendo, when they've got a good thing going on they explore every dirty nook and cranny with it. From original games that build on the established premise, right the way out to seemingly unconnected ideas that merely feature some familiar faces, only with the possible exception of Mario himself have Nintendo built so repeatedly on one game.
Since Pocket Monsters: Red and Green debuted in Japan in 1996, there have been a subsequent 57 video games in the franchise; incorporating puzzle games, card games, RPGs, racers, and even a Sherlock Holmes mystery where Pikachu wears a little deerstalker hat.
That might just sound like a big faceless company knowing they've got a cash cow on their hands and throwing absolutely everything at the wall to see what sticks... and, well, it is... but the sheer variation and longevity of the titles should tell you something. Namely, that the very concept of the game is so universally appealing, you can transplant it into virtually any other experience and it'll still work.
If you think that's not very impressive, consider the following: if any other developer thought they could have similar results with their various intellectual properties, they'd do it. But they don't, because nobody would pay money for a Grand Theft Auto card game, or a racer starring the better players from FIFA 14.
I'll say it again, friends. They put a Pikachu in a deerstalker and sold it for actual money. If you think the teams at Zelda or Sonic would ever have the balls to pull a stunt like that with any modicum of confidence, then we've been talking at cross purposes for the last 1,000 words.