Nintendo Fans' Stance on Pokemon

[Pinkie-Dawn]

I don't know if anyone has noticed this, but it's something I need to address. It appears that old-school Nintendo fans don't really seem to care about Pokemon despite being part of the Nintendo family and within the same league as Mario and Zelda. You hear them talking about the latest entries of these classic Nintendo franchises and remembering the new faces like Rosalina or Midna, but when it comes to Pokemon, they usually mention how they haven't played any of their games since the Gen 1 days and can't remember what a Gardevoir or a Chandelure is. You even have old-school Nintendo fans who flat out despise Pokemon such as the Nostalgia Critic (see his review of the first movie). Why do you think this has happened? It can't be because they didn't grow up with it because the old-school Nintendo fans ended up liking other new Nintendo IPs that came out after Pokemon such as Splatoon. Was it because of the anime, the fad, or something entirely different?

 

[Jessie]

I have noticed this as well with friends in my age range. Honestly, I can't really understand it myself.

Perhaps it has something to do with the perception that you have to be super informed, do math, lots of reading, etc in order to be competitive in battling with Pokemon (IV's and whatnot). Of course you don't have to do any of those things, but people think Pokemon is too "complicated" now.

ETA: Plus there are now more than 700 Pokemon, so maybe that adds to it.

 

[Esper]

As a guess, it might be because Pokemon games keep to the same format with the story and gameplay. Something like Mario or Zelda has had a variety of games with different styles and as long as one of them was someone's favorite they'll remember the series favorably. Plus these have relatively few recurring characters which makes it easy to remember. Pokemon has no recurring characters unless you count the Pokemon themselves, and of them Pikachu is the mascot, and because of the anime being, well, what it is probably a lot of people think of the anime as much as they think of the games if they think of Pokemon at all.

 

[Minun172]

Typically those who no longer like Pokemon after gen 1 are in their 20's or 30's which they possibly have grown up with Pokemon Red/Blue/TCG/Yellow. It's basically a sense of nostalgia and the fact that they have no time to do anything else that makes them not want to go anywhere further from the original 151 and the fans of other Nintendo products that dislike/don't care about Pokemon probably just have a differing taste in games. Nintendo has a wide variety of games that people can play. From platformers to RPGS to puzzle adventures. Not everyone would be interested in catching cute and cuddly animals and the reason it was so big back in the day was because people wanted to jump on the bandwagon so they can be hip and cool with the latest things. Also not to be one of those guys (I don't like generation 1) it's hard to keep up with all these new Pokemon. 151? Fine. I'll try to remember all of them. 761? I can't even remember how many there are and neither their names or what they do. What was that cactus thing called again?

As for Mario, they introduced two new major characters and the many enemies they introduced don't need to be remembered about since you don't play as them like all 700+ Pokemon.

 

[Hikamaru]

I think the likeliness on why people who grew up playing the 1st Gen don't keep up with Pokemon these days is due to being blinded by nostalgia, to the point that they can't even keep track of how many Pokemon exist these days. Another factor could be Mario and Legend of Zelda games trying new concepts and different storylines, something which we rarely see in Pokemon.

 

[Adam Levine]

With all these good points, here comes a potentially terrible one, though just an attempt.

Perhaps they decide not to look at ANY of the good points of Pokémon at ALL. Sure, there are "too many characters and Pokémon", but I'm sure this has to at least compensate a little for the fact that the core series games have the same mechanics and plot. Also, they probably haven't even heard of the spin-off games, where there's more to Pokémon they'd have though of. Maybe it's because those fans decide to not look at any of the bad points of their beloved franchise. Look at me: I love Pokémon and even I point out its flaws. I'm not entirely sure why they hate it, though.

EDIT: I just asked my brother (who despises Pokémon) why he hates Pokémon, and he answers with "It's, like, for kids."

I'm pretty many of them are like this, but they don't wanna hear that their beloved franchise is aimed at a younger audience as well.

 

[Pinkie-Dawn]

EDIT: I just asked my brother (who despises Pokémon) why he hates Pokémon, and he answers with "It's, like, for kids."

I'm pretty many of them are like this, but they don't wanna hear that their beloved franchise is aimed at a younger audience as well.

Does your brother like any other Nintendo products that aren't Pokemon? Have you asked him what makes them less "kiddy" than Pokemon?

 

[Adam Levine]

Does your brother like any other Nintendo products that aren't Pokemon? Have you asked him what makes them less "kiddy" than Pokemon?

My brother LOVES Legend of Zelda. He says it isn't for kids because it actually has a T-rated game, though Pokémon doesn't. He even tries to point out that Mario isn't for kids because he believed Mario was the main franchise in Super Smash Brothers. I try to tell him that Pokémon is actually the most heavily represented franchise in said game, but he wouldn't listen.

 

[Pinkie-Dawn]

My brother LOVES Legend of Zelda. He says it isn't for kids because it actually has a T-rated game, though Pokémon doesn't. He even tries to point out that Mario isn't for kids because he believed Mario was the main franchise in Super Smash Brothers. I try to tell him that Pokémon is actually the most heavily represented franchise in said game, but he wouldn't listen.

By that logic, Zelda, Fire Emblem, and Pokemon are also the main franchise in Super Smash Bros. for having the most characters, and Zelda only has one T-rated game (Twilight Princess). The rest of the games are either E or E 10+. Your brother sounds like my former best friend, who is a major OoT/MM fanboy who hates anything that looks kiddy, with minor exceptions.

 

[donavannj]

My brother LOVES Legend of Zelda. He says it isn't for kids because it actually has a T-rated game, though Pokémon doesn't. He even tries to point out that Mario isn't for kids because he believed Mario was the main franchise in Super Smash Brothers. I try to tell him that Pokémon is actually the most heavily represented franchise in said game, but he wouldn't listen.

That reason he gives just sounds like your standard rationale that many teens and young adults have, really, as a result of caring too much about what might think of you for being into something widely perceived as being "for kids" since it's primarily marketed at kids.

 

[VisualJae]

You know, I just can't relate to any of this. Maybe I'm just in a completely isolated bubble. An anomaly. I don't know.

I'm 27 and most of my friends are all within +/- 4 years from me. So early/mid 20s and early 30s. Only a handful of us have played the majority of the core series games. Most people stopped at the end of Gen I or Gen II.

But none of us look at the new installments with cynical eyes. In fact, a couple of months ago I showed a good buddy of mine that I've known for close to 15 years what I was doing in ORAS. He stopped in Gen I like many us who grew up in the 90s. He had no idea what a Volcarona was. He had no idea Pokémon handheld games had 3D features. He couldn't even identify Hyper Beam.

But he was fascinated. It was even better when he saw me send out a Gengar and he said, "Oh, shoot! I recognize that! That's so cool how they still have the original ones here."

That's the general response I get from my extended circle of friends. "That's so cool." "That's awesome!" and the occasional "I wish I kept playing."

We all play other Nintendo games, too. We get together and trash talk each other over Mario Party and Super Smash. We get stoked when new Legend of Zelda titles are announced. I just don't think we're the type of people to complain about good things in our lives. Maybe because we're more concerned about other things like paying bills, food shopping, car maintenance, significant others, etc.

 

[Wings Don't Cry]

I've heard a lot of the older Nintendo fans just say that Pokemon came out when they were in High School so they didn't get into it since the original games were marketed for kids. So while they have nostalgia from other series they never had any experience with Pokemon but games like Splatoon and Fire Emblem(in english) came out after they stopped caring what other people thought about them playing video games.

 

[Pyrax]

As a guess, it might be because Pokemon games keep to the same format with the story and gameplay. Something like Mario or Zelda has had a variety of games with different styles and as long as one of them was someone's favorite they'll remember the series favorably. Plus these have relatively few recurring characters which makes it easy to remember.

I don't know if anyone has noticed this, but it's something I need to address. It appears that old-school Nintendo fans don't really seem to care about Pokemon despite being part of the Nintendo family and within the same league as Mario and Zelda. You hear them talking about the latest entries of these classic Nintendo franchises and remembering the new faces like Rosalina or Midna, but when it comes to Pokemon, they usually mention how they haven't played any of their games since the Gen 1 days and can't remember what a Gardevoir or a Chandelure is.

Zelda isn't any better plotwise by a large margin. Skyward Sword, while being praised for its soundtrack and innovation with mechanics, suffered from holding the player's hand too much. And despite being the big 25th Anniversary title, didn't try hard enough to distance itself (again, plotwise) from the previous titles, at least in my opinion. I can't deny the addition of new fresh characters with every entry, but I can't deny the aforementioned hand-holding either.

 

[Pinkie-Dawn]

Zelda isn't any better plotwise by a large margin. Skyward Sword, while being praised for its soundtrack and innovation with mechanics, suffered from holding the player's hand too much. And despite being the big 25th Anniversary title, didn't try hard enough to distance itself (again, plotwise) from the previous titles, at least in my opinion. I can't deny the addition of new fresh characters with every entry, but I can't deny the aforementioned hand-holding either.

I wouldn't trust what Zelda fans think either, because once Zelda U is released, they'll start praising Skyward Sword and forgive its hand-holding. Besides, weren't recent Pokemon games also criticized for their hand-holding according to Etika, even though those who've played ORAS would tell you that it's not entirely true?

 

[Jetfire]

Growing up, the goal was to "catch'em all". In my class, only one was able to fully complete their Pokedex and I remember him saying, "it took a long time".

It was tough. Spending hours looking for Pokemon in certain locations, training them to evolve, trading with others that had the other version and etc. We know the deal. 151 was no joke.

Then Gen2 came out. Another whopping 100 pokemon were added and it made the goal that much harder. By that point, most of my friends were just concentrated on beating the game. However, as a gamer, we know how it feels not fully completing a game.

I'm the only one from my class that kept playing. After Gen2, the game mechanics became that much harder. It wasn't just leveling up from 5-100, completing the pokedex and becoming champion. In between of all that, there was breeding and ev training.

I believe that's one of the main reasons why Nintendo fans haven't kept up with Pokemon as much as Zelda or Mario. Those games are simple. Follow the story, beat the game. Not much too it. We all know Pokemon is a lot more complex than that.

Plus, It's been 20 years since Ash started his journey. He's still struggling. lol.

 

[Lucario]

I think it's just complexity. Mario you just do the levels. Zelda has a very strong storyline. Pokemon has a story, but the opportunity to do about a million voluntary side quests (catching em' all etc) make it so much more open-world, and harder to "win".

 

[drfaustfaustus]

Well, here's my take. Sorry if it's rambly, I don't organize my thoughts well, haha.

My guess is that it's because Pokemon is a community game. Zelda and Mario, however, aren't. They're strictly solo adventures that you can do by yourself, and you can accomplish everything by yourself. Pokemon is, in contrast, focused a bit more on interaction, whether it be trading to complete the Pokedex, or the competitive scene.

Plus, Pokemon has evolved a bit less than some other franchises, ironically.

Pokemon releases a lot of new different Pokemon, but the formula is always the same. Defeat gym leaders, collect Pokemon, beat the baddies on the side, and become Champ. Sure, there have been added Contests and customization and whatnot. But the end and the means to the end are always the same. Mario's games have him doing everything from regular platforming, to racing, to exploring the galaxy. Again, the goal is almost always the same, but the means to do so are varied and can attract almost anyone.

As for Zelda, I don't think it's so much as the formula changing, since it's always relatively standard. Generally just defeat the dark wizard and save the princess. But it's a simple and attractive premise. Everyone wants to feel like the knight in shining armor, riding their stallion over the horizon with the sword of evil's bane. It's a pretty sweet feeling. Pokemon makes you a hero too, but it just doesn't feel as rewarding. The general commentary from the villains is, "I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling kids!" (except for Pokemon Black/White, which had a very intense villain).

The reward in Pokemon comes from the growing power of the team that YOU picked up, and that YOU chose to raise. Or, maybe, just the concept of collecting this vast variety of creatures. It's a different experience for everyone, and maybe not everyone knows exactly what to look for.

 

[Arylett Charnoa]

I think it's because of that huge fad back in the 90's in addition to other factors people have stated. We're facing a kind of backlash from that nowadays. Mario and Zelda never had a period like that, where all children everywhere were talking about it and taking the games to school like they did Pokemon. It was everywhere, the advertising made it clear it was for children and was very grating. That may have left a bad taste in the mouths of those who weren't interested in Pokemon in the first place. They can't get over the 90's.

This also applies to people who LIKED it in the 90's. The fad's over, and there's nothing encouraging you from playing it anymore. Pokemon just isn't "cool" like it was back then. It's just something that should die already because it's time is done. I think those people see Pokemon as old hat, like disco.

Because other Nintendo series never had a "fad" period, they don't have to face the stigma and eventual backlash that such popularity brings.

 

[JohnnyGolduck]

Interesting topic. Pokemon, Mario and Zelda are probably my three favorite game franchises, but I grew up with an NES after it was popular, like when Playstation had already come out. I mostly like side scrollers. RPGs usually bore me to tears but for some reason I love Pokemon.

But I have to agree with Arylett Charnoa. The Mario and Zelda fans can't get past the "fad" thing, and don't see what an interesting game Pokemon really is.

 

[OuterTsuchinoko]

A lot of people I used to know still played Pokemon even up to now too. My old friends kept getting the games on day one like me and we always got hyped for their announcements. We also loved practically every other Nintendo series as well.

And on the other side of the coin the roommates I have now don't play anything Nintendo. They all only have PS4 and one of them plans to buy and Xbox soon. They mostly play shooters and other things I'm not interested in. One of them used to play Nintendo up until the N64 and he has fond memories on the first three gens, but now he can really care less whether he plays them. They've heard me talk about the new things in the games and such like shinies and EVs, but they never care simply because they don't play them so you can't really blame them. I think for people like that they would be able to get back into Pokemon and love it a lot if they could justify the time for it. From what I see they want to use time wisely by jumping into something and having fun instead of jumping into something and having a set plan to do this and that so I can get this one awesome Pokemon. To be honest Pokemon is a time consuming game especially when you have the type of players who hunt for shinies or do competitive battling. I also think the amount of Pokemon is a turnoff too, people get overwhelmed knowing how many there are.