Many Pokémon fans are excited to know that the popular Japanese series has been going strong for 25 years. Since its start, the franchise has had many fans thinking they “gotta catch ’em all,” bringing people of all ages into the Pokemania craze. From collecting trading cards, to playing video games or watching the animated series, Pokémon offers several entertainment options.
Pokémon was developed in 1996 in Japan, but wasn’t released to the United States until 1998. According to the BBC, “Nintendo had feared that Pokémon characters were too cute for the U.S. audience.”
This year, McDonald’s hopped on the trend to celebrate the anniversary, adding a Pikachu face to the classic happy meal box and a pack of 4 trading cards as the toy.
“They know who their target audience is – they know they are going to get the 20 plus and older generations buying these kids meals,” said Cordy Durbin, a Pokémon card collector.
Durbin said that opening up these packs takes fans back to their childhood. It brings back the nostalgia.
There was some controversy when these meals went on sale the first week, with unopened boxes popping up on eBay for sale. People were outraged that McDonald’s would allow these to be sold.
The Omaha News reached out to McDonald’s, but they did not want to comment on the scalper situation.
“It’s a symptom of the enormous popularity Pokémon has … in any type of hobby of you have that much demand it’s going to open up room for anyone to capitalize on that,” said Thane Cutler, a Pokémon expert.
Pokémon trading cards where really big in the U.S. in late ’90s and early 2000s. Many schools banned the cards to keep students focused on school.
Pokémon trading cards came back into the public eye when infamous YouTuber Logan Paul went on a shopping spree for them and started opening the packets up on his channel. This inspired many people to go the stores and buy them out, forcing stores like Target and Walmart put a limit on how many could be purchased.
Many consumers say that since Logan Paul’s videos the trading cards are difficult to find.
Some of these cards can be worth more than six figures, depending on the card conditions and rarity of the card. The first-generation cards are selling for big bucks online.
“Have kids from the generation that have grown up and have a job now, they can purchase what they couldn’t of when they were kids and now you have them competing to purchase something from their past which drives up the value,” Cutler said.
Ryan Sams, a customer at Game Shoppe in Bellevue, said “Pokémon has changed [his] life” and “made him into who [he is] today.”
Pokémon Day was Feb. 27, and Post Malone kicked the event off with a virtual animated concert.
Celebrations will continue throughout 2021 with more special marked products.
