Pokemon land / New region discovered;)

lebeau

Well-Known Member
Haha funny. I’m not a big Pokémon fan, so that really doesn’t bug me. But back to your point. A lot of people have no interest in Star Wars, or Mickey Mouse, or Disney Princesses. But, a lot of people do. Being within top 10 largest media franchises is nothing to sneeze at, and being the number 1 media franchise is REALLY nothing to sneeze at.

You're basing that on video game sales I assume? What I am saying is you can't compare gross sales in video games against box office receipts. They are apples and oranges. There is no accurate way to assess the popularity of an intellectual property. You can look at polls, sales figures, Googles searches, but there isn't one metric much less one that works across different media.

I believe you when you say Pokemon is popular. It obviously is. More popular than Star Wars or Harry Potter? You have to back that up with some solid data.
 

TwilightZone

Well-Known Member
You're basing that on video game sales I assume? What I am saying is you can't compare gross sales in video games against box office receipts. They are apples and oranges. There is no accurate way to assess the popularity of an intellectual property. You can look at polls, sales figures, Googles searches, but there isn't one metric much less one that works across different media.

I believe you when you say Pokemon is popular. It obviously is. More popular than Star Wars or Harry Potter? You have to back that up with some solid data.
Here's an article about it.
 

lebeau

Well-Known Member
Here's an article about it.

I read that. It makes my point about comparisons:

's renewed popularity is now starting to tell financially according to a list recently published on Wikipedia, which draws from a variety of sources. The list takes into account a franchise's total revenue from all streams since the year it began and judges Pokémon to come out on top with $59.1 billion. The rest of the top five reads, in order: Hello Kitty, Star Wars, Mickey Mouse & Friends and Mario.

As with any Wikipedia entry, the information shouldn't be accepted at face value and the list does admit to making some educated estimates where actual revenue figures haven't been reported. With that said, the list pulls from a number of different articles on the site which themselves are based on figures from reputable and trustworthy sources. There's undoubtedly an element of guesswork going on but the comprehensive research here does, at the very least, provide a solid overview of the world's highest grossing media franchises.

Many will still be surprised, however, that Pokémon has managed to come out on top over Star Wars, Harry Potter and the Marvel Cinematic Universe and this could be at least partly due to two factors. First, although the Pokémon franchise certainly suffered a dip in popularity with Western and European audiences, it has remained a financial juggernaut in its native Japan for the past 20 years and indeed many of the list's entries are better known in the East than the West, demonstrating the influence of the Asian market. Secondly, Pokémon is one of the most consistent franchises on the list in terms of output frequency, regularly releasing new video games, trading card sets and hitting an impressive movie rate of one per year. Although other franchises may have been more popular during their best years, few have been as prolific as Pokémon.

A few things to note here. One, all of this is based on a Wikipedia entry so...

Even if it's accurate, most of the revenue has been generated in Japan where Pokemon has been consistently successful for 20 years. It's popularity in the West has fluctuated.

Also, the 2nd highest grossing media franchise is Hello Kitty. And we all know how Universal has been dominating the Orlando theme park market since they put that Hello Kitty store in...

According to the list, something call Anpanman outgrosses the Disney Princesses. And Mario as well. And Harry Potter. Harry Potter is bigger than Marvel but trails Shonen Jump whatever that is.
 

Brer Oswald

Well-Known Member
I read that. It makes my point about comparisons:



A few things to note here. One, all of this is based on a Wikipedia entry so...

Even if it's accurate, most of the revenue has been generated in Japan where Pokemon has been consistently successful for 20 years. It's popularity in the West has fluctuated.

Also, the 2nd highest grossing media franchise is Hello Kitty. And we all know how Universal has been dominating the Orlando theme park market since they put that Hello Kitty store in...

According to the list, something call Anpanman outgrosses the Disney Princesses. And Mario as well. And Harry Potter. Harry Potter is bigger than Marvel but trails Shonen Jump whatever that is.
Pokémon has always been popular. Between the card game, the video games, the toys, the tv shows, the movies, it is undoubtedly the biggest multi media franchise. Nearly every kid from ‘98 to today has grown up with at least one generation of Pokémon. I’m assuming it’s a generational gap in which you have a hard time understanding why it’s so popular, and I get that, I really do. But those kids from ‘98 and onward are always going to have a fondness for the franchise, and after 20 years and counting, its showing no signs of stopping. Coming from a major Mario fan, I find it silly from a business perspective to choose that franchise over Pokémon. The only reason they probably didn’t pick Pokémon first is because of the weird split ownership it has.
 

lebeau

Well-Known Member
Pokémon has always been popular. Between the card game, the video games, the toys, the tv shows, the movies, it is undoubtedly the biggest multi media franchise. Nearly every kid from ‘98 to today has grown up with at least one generation of Pokémon. I’m assuming it’s a generational gap in which you have a hard time understanding why it’s so popular, and I get that, I really do. But those kids from ‘98 and onward are always going to have a fondness for the franchise, and after 20 years and counting, its showing no signs of stopping. Coming from a major Mario fan, I find it silly from a business perspective to choose that franchise over Pokémon. The only reason they probably didn’t pick Pokémon first is because of the weird split ownership it has.

I am just quoting what the article said. It said that in the West, Pokemon had a recent resurgence in popularity and that it has fluctuated in the US over the years. "Popular" is a very relative term. I'm sure it maintained a baseline level of popularity which has risen at times when a successful game or app was on the market.

But my point remains that you shouldn't apply the claim that Pokemon is the biggest media franchise in the world to the success or popularity of a themed land at Universal. It just doesn't work that way or people would be flocking to Universal for the Hello Kitty content.

And of course there's the whole IP discussion to be had. The go-to example will always be Splash Mountain which is based on a movie Disney disowned decades ago. Most kids riding it probably have no idea that Song of the South even exists, but they like Splash Mountain because it's a great attraction.
 

Jimdalva

Active Member
Maybe Im to old for this , I am a big fan of ALL the parks, and have been for 30 years, BUT I have No excitement for Pokeman. However if they build it I will come.
 

matt78

Well-Known Member
According to the list, something call Anpanman outgrosses the Disney Princesses. And Mario as well. And Harry Potter. Harry Potter is bigger than Marvel but trails Shonen Jump whatever that is.

Shonen Jump is a manga magazine. Over the years it has been home to Dragon Ball, One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, Yu GI Oh and many more. Various countries around the world print their own version of it. In NA it is printed by Viz Media.
 

JoeCamel

Well-Known Member
Maybe Im to old for this , I am a big fan of ALL the parks, and have been for 30 years, BUT I have No excitement for Pokeman. However if they build it I will come.
I'm with you, never cared for that type of thing. I didn't ever Star Wars either. Guess I am going to save a bunch of money and not stand in lines for hours :happy:
 

lebeau

Well-Known Member
I'm with you, never cared for that type of thing. I didn't ever Star Wars either. Guess I am going to save a bunch of money and not stand in lines for hours :happy:

I was a big Star Wars fan as a kid. It was my favorite thing in the world from age 7-13. I still have a great deal of fondness for Star Wars mostly based on nostalgia, but I am nowhere near as big of a fan as I used to be. I never imagined there would come a time when Disney World would open a Star Wars themed expansion and I wouldn't want to go, but here we are. It's happening and I'm looking into renewing my Universal passes instead.
 

BubbaQuest

Well-Known Member
1. Mario Land is opening later, in the third theme park. It would be weird to open pokemon land earlier, especially since kidzone is closing so early (presumably spring next year).
2. Alicia Stella has heard nothing so far about a pokemon land, let alone in Kidzone. I trust her some since she has been spot on about the potter coaster so far.

I could see them split Nintendo across the parks, just to maintain interest in all parks.

Whatever happened to the rumors of an Academy of Magic in the old Beetlejuice location? I'm assuming Universal is reevaluating all their plans right now with the potential third park. It seems like they ended up with enough additional land for 2 new parks. How best to create a new park with highly desirable IP without cannibalizing their existing attendance. Could we see Potter at the new Park and parts of Nintendo at the old parks?
 

Jon81uk

Well-Known Member
I could see them split Nintendo across the parks, just to maintain interest in all parks.

Whatever happened to the rumors of an Academy of Magic in the old Beetlejuice location? I'm assuming Universal is reevaluating all their plans right now with the potential third park. It seems like they ended up with enough additional land for 2 new parks. How best to create a new park with highly desirable IP without cannibalizing their existing attendance. Could we see Potter at the new Park and parts of Nintendo at the old parks?

I thought the Ministry of Magic would use the old Fear Factor area. But that was only ever a rumour and I think the Dragon Challenge replacement is the Potter attraction they went with for now.

I would be almost certain we will see Wizarding World attractions and Nintendo attractions at the new park. Current rumours are of a Fantastic Beasts (New York) Wizarding World area, a Super Mario Mushroom Kingdom area (Mario Kart probably the main attraction), a Universal Classic Monsters area (probably a Van Helsing ride as main attraction) and two other lands.

Then in the existing parks there were rumours of Zelda in IoA, Pokémon in Studios park and Ministry of Magic. I think these will happen eventually, but the ministry of magic going in studios is probably very low priority.
 

Bill Cipher

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
Yes
Earlier in this thread there was a concern over a lack of ideas over what type of attractions could go into a Pokémon area besides a Pokémon Snap ride. This prodded my armchair imagineering side and I thought about a pretty solid way to layout the land. What if they themed the land to Goldenrod city from Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal/HeartGold/SoulSilver? They could recreate many of the establishments seen in the games, such as the 5 story department store, the bike shop, florist, name rater, underground tunnels, Pokémon barber, Pokémon photographer, Whitney’s gym, and if they wanted to go a little outside of the city limits, the Pokémon daycare, national park bug contests, and the Pokéathalon. Rides could include a C/D ticket simulator based on the magnet train, and an E ticket based around a tour of the radio tower that gets interrupted by a Team Rocket takeover, potentially featuring some characters jumping in to intervene, whether that being some gym leaders, Gold, Silver, and Crystal, or Ash and the gang. You could even still have the Pokémon Snap ride and put it in the city’s global terminal, with the explanation that Professor Oak has moved his teleportation center there. And that’s all just one city. There are plenty more interesting cities and locales in the Pokémon mainseries games alone, let alone spinoff games and other media.

Regardless of whatever land they create, I think they could also create some kind of special integration with Pokémon Go within it. Even though it’s not as hyped as it was during it’s initial release, the game still has a massive player base as it is still fun for many and a huge financial success. They could provide exclusive in-game rewards such as avatar cosmetics or maybe even more spawns of rare Pokémon.

The only discrepancy I have with a Pokémon land is what kind of eateries it could have. Slowpoke tail, anyone?
 

Sped2424

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Earlier in this thread there was a concern over a lack of ideas over what type of attractions could go into a Pokémon area besides a Pokémon Snap ride. This prodded my armchair imagineering side and I thought about a pretty solid way to layout the land. What if they themed the land to Goldenrod city from Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal/HeartGold/SoulSilver? They could recreate many of the establishments seen in the games, such as the 5 story department store, the bike shop, florist, name rater, underground tunnels, Pokémon barber, Pokémon photographer, Whitney’s gym, and if they wanted to go a little outside of the city limits, the Pokémon daycare, national park bug contests, and the Pokéathalon. Rides could include a C/D ticket simulator based on the magnet train, and an E ticket based around a tour of the radio tower that gets interrupted by a Team Rocket takeover, potentially featuring some characters jumping in to intervene, whether that being some gym leaders, Gold, Silver, and Crystal, or Ash and the gang. You could even still have the Pokémon Snap ride and put it in the city’s global terminal, with the explanation that Professor Oak has moved his teleportation center there. And that’s all just one city. There are plenty more interesting cities and locales in the Pokémon mainseries games alone, let alone spinoff games and other media.

Regardless of whatever land they create, I think they could also create some kind of special integration with Pokémon Go within it. Even though it’s not as hyped as it was during it’s initial release, the game still has a massive player base as it is still fun for many and a huge financial success. They could provide exclusive in-game rewards such as avatar cosmetics or maybe even more spawns of rare Pokémon.

The only discrepancy I have with a Pokémon land is what kind of eateries it could have. Slowpoke tail, anyone?
Tons of food they can do, beans from sun and moon, giant Berry's from all the region's, malasada doughnuts from sun and moon, poffins, poke block, and pokepuffs! And those are just sweets/snacks!!
 

Timothy_Q

Well-Known Member
There's a decent chance that this and/or Zelda got moved to the new park, just like Super Nintendo World has done. It might go there, it might go into KZ, idk. But don't be surprised if it moves.
Universal continually moving the lands in development between the 3 parks

tumblr_mkrefmsoQu1rytgrro1_500.gif
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom