Why is there so much stigma attached to Pokemon?

[L3m0n_L1m3]

I don't play Pokemon anymore, but I will certainly buy the new soul silver version, and I'm 18, yet I wouldn't dare tell any of my peers because I woud be ridiculed.

Here's what you do...

Buy the game, bring it to school, start playing it. When your friends ask about it, just joke around, be like "HELL YEAH MAN I TOTALLY CAUGHT A PIKACHU". They'll all laugh, but eventually come to accept it.

That's what I did at least.

 

[Mr. Fister]

My whole floor is into Pokemon. It really makes me wish that Soul Silver would come out sooner.

And Pokemon is ridiculed because it is kid-friendly, and everything that is kid-friendly must be shunned.

 

[Pinstar]

It's a game, like all other games. I was 25 and a sub teacher and played it since the kids did.
They thought adults didn't get it, hell I grew up with games in your rock paper pikachu game. And it wasn't bad, it's like any other DND, RPG game, you have a fighter, mage, ect you level them up, fight them against others, and hope your tactics win.

And there is always the Beer and football subculture that will make fun of everything not beer and football.

Little did they realize that fantasy football is merely another form of Pokemon, except less fun and with less strategy and interaction.

 

[silentsentinel]

Stigma? What stigma?

 

[Carlston]

It's a game, like all other games. I was 25 and a sub teacher and played it since the kids did.
They thought adults didn't get it, hell I grew up with games in your rock paper pikachu game. And it wasn't bad, it's like any other DND, RPG game, you have a fighter, mage, ect you level them up, fight them against others, and hope your tactics win.

And there is always the Beer and football subculture that will make fun of everything not beer and football.

Little did they realize that fantasy football is merely another form of Pokemon, except less fun and with less strategy and interaction.

Brilliant. I didn't even think of that. Matter of fact they also crossed into the world of role playing as a manager...

I would admit...NFl would be more intresting if they shot lightning at each other.

Troy Akins I chose you! Lightning bolt Now!

 

[DarkRyter]

Well, i also played the games, and i disagree when you say that the game is «Deep». I actually think its the complete opposite.
The mechanics are solid, but deeply flawed too.
THe game is all about grinding and having an army of mindless drones (called pokemons) following you around. And the world.. the plot.. everything doesnt make sense. No coherency. Villians are almost always insultingly dumb.
Pokemon can only know 4 moves? Are their brains that small?
Some powers and combos are so broken you can make a lvl 1 magikarp kill 8 legendaries in one attack each.
And i strongly dislike the turn-based combat system. Its boring.
And i could go on and on..

Oh, there IS potential in the game, i can imagine how the game could be actually «deep» and coherent and FUN.. but Nintendo doesnt use it. ITs cheaper to make and remake the same grinding games. Play one, you played them all.

Not, an army, a team. And they don't follow you around (save for Yellow and HGSS), you carry them around in your balls.

And Game Freak works hard on making sure there is continuity within the games. They even remake games and update stories, just to maintain the timeline. Even the seemingly ridiculous pokedex entries make sense, once you realize they are being written by kids who exaggerate alot.

And these villians are only as good as the allows them to be. To achieve their goals (whether to increase the sea or land, remake the universe, or make a quick buck), they have to capture their world's most important resource, pokemon. You'd think that they'd use some kind of other weapon (guns, bombs, that kind of thing) but within the pokemon mythos, it is likely that such things were never invented because of the existence of the pokemon.

Pokemon know 4 moves for the sake of balance. Having pokemon with more than that would require a great deal more work to be put into balancing the game. With 4 moves, there are already plenty of possible strategic options, and the game is still kept simple enough to enjoy.

That combo is technically impossible. Magikarp can't learn a damaging move until level 15, not even by breeding or tms. And you can't kill 8 legendaries, cause you can only carry 6 pokemon. Not to mention how pitifully easy it is to predict and counter a baton pass chain, especially with the prevalence of stealth rock completely crippling Ninjask.

Have you even played the games?

 

[DarkRyter]

Pokemon is deep?

Of course it is... you can dive now cant you?!

Well, actually they took that out in generation 4. It was weird anyway, how can one breath whilst diving?

 

[Pinstar]

It's a game, like all other games. I was 25 and a sub teacher and played it since the kids did.
They thought adults didn't get it, hell I grew up with games in your rock paper pikachu game. And it wasn't bad, it's like any other DND, RPG game, you have a fighter, mage, ect you level them up, fight them against others, and hope your tactics win.

And there is always the Beer and football subculture that will make fun of everything not beer and football.

Little did they realize that fantasy football is merely another form of Pokemon, except less fun and with less strategy and interaction.

Brilliant. I didn't even think of that. Matter of fact they also crossed into the world of role playing as a manager...

I would admit...NFl would be more intresting if they shot lightning at each other.

Troy Akins I chose you! Lightning bolt Now!

I think that's what they had in mind when they tried to make the XFL.

 

[Carlston]

It's a game, like all other games. I was 25 and a sub teacher and played it since the kids did.
They thought adults didn't get it, hell I grew up with games in your rock paper pikachu game. And it wasn't bad, it's like any other DND, RPG game, you have a fighter, mage, ect you level them up, fight them against others, and hope your tactics win.

And there is always the Beer and football subculture that will make fun of everything not beer and football.

Little did they realize that fantasy football is merely another form of Pokemon, except less fun and with less strategy and interaction.

Brilliant. I didn't even think of that. Matter of fact they also crossed into the world of role playing as a manager...

I would admit...NFl would be more intresting if they shot lightning at each other.

Troy Akins I chose you! Lightning bolt Now!

I think that's what they had in mind when they tried to make the XFL.

I enjoyed the XFL, brutal, no wuss rules and least 8 people carried out of games. Shame the NFL slandered the hell out of them because of MccMahon. Least Vince gave the NFL's old players one last shot at the grid iron.

 

[nothingdeletemeplease]

everybody used to love it so much but now it is a kiddie game to most of us so we are embarassed to say we ever liked it so we bash it.

 

[jonnosferatu]

...perhaps it has something to do with the fact that a game in which the primary objective is "Catch 'em All" and the entire story utterly contrived?

 

[BentNeatly]

Im 20 years old, mr fancy pants 18 year old.

I've played pokemon openly without giving a "toss" since Red and Blue, and you know what? I'm still playing the ROMs, even today i played silver.

However, and someone else pointed this out earlier, the whole thing ends at gold and silver, and then just becomes stupid.

 

[Chummychanga]

I like Pokemon, but that's because I grew up with it throught my yonger days. See, in the late `90s, you were not cool if you didn't have a Nintendo 64 or atleast a GBC. I grew up with a GBC and a Yellow handed own to me by my sister. All I can say was it kicked ass and I'm still playing today. c:

I like Mystery Dungeon alot more now though.

 

[stonethered]

Because it's something you should have gotten over by the age of 12, along with sesame street

You mean modern 'Elmo's world' sesame street(bleh); or good old Big Bird and Grover sesame street?
Because old sesame street is still one of my top five childhood TV shows. Up there with winnie the pooh and Bill Nye the science guy.



I had a really cheap streak last summer and picked up sapphire; it may not be the most amazing game in the world but it's still pretty decent. Perfect for road trips, doctors appointments, and as has already been mentioned; boring lectures with innatentive teachers. It's about the only thing I use my old gameboy for.

 

[TransMando]

Because it's Pokemon?

 

[Geekmaster K]

I still remember how crazy everything was when Pokemon was first introduced. I remember my friends at school LOVED the game at the time, and were constantly asking me how many different kinds of Pokemon I had caught in the game. Then, when I entered middle school, no one would be caught dead playing Pokemon. That's when I first saw the stigma attached to it. I understand that the TV show hasn't helped. It started out okay, but has gone downhill, and I can't wait until it ends. However, even though I don't always openly admit it, I always get a feeling of nostalgia when I play any of the classic Pokemon games. They were a part of my childhood, and personally, the only reason I don't play the newer games is because they keep adding at least 100 more Pokemon every time a new game comes out. Then they have to add a new season of the TV series to accommodate it. It's really become more of a gimmick than anything else, and maybe if they had stuck to what made the games great without relying on the marketing, there might not be as much of a stigma attached to it.

As a side note, my favorite generation of Pokemon was Gold/Silver. While I did enjoy the classic Red/Blue game, the addition of the PokeGear and the real-time day/night feature enhanced the experience for me. I also loved going back to the original Kanto region from the first game. Despite fond memories, I'm probably not going to pick up Soul Silver. While I might have done it years ago, I'm 19 years old now, and it would be too awkward for me walking into the store to buy it. That's what the stigma has done. I guess I always have the original Gold/Silver to fall back on, though.

 

[Nautical Honors Society]

I have been thinking a lot about this lately. Why is a pokemon ridiculed like it is? If you're over the age of 12 and were caught playing it by a buddy, you would basically be classed as a no hope loser. Yet if that same guy caught you playing FF on the DS. (A game which is no less childish than Pokemon), then he'd more than likely not give a toss.

I don't play Pokemon anymore, but I will certainly buy the new soul silver version, and I'm 18, yet I wouldn't dare tell any of my peers because I woud be ridiculed. I still don't know why this is. Pokemon is essentialy, quite a deep RPG, which requires a fair amount of skill to master. I'd hardly say it's a proper kids game, even if it is aimed at them.

Please, your thoughts and opinions.

I will buy every pokemon version (I mean one color per generation) for the rest of my life.

My friends all grew up in the 90's so even if they don't play pokemon anymore (most of them do) they still understand the fascination.

 

[Lt. Vinciti]

Pokemon is your childhood....

Do not deny it!

 

[Space Spoons]

Seems to me that the only kind of people who'd dismiss the Pokemon games are people who don't game to begin with. After all, even a gamer who hates the series with a passion has to admit that it's got quite a bit of staying power and many unique elements.

Which begs the question, what's the point in hanging out with people who don't game, anyway? It's like hanging out with a dude that doesn't read. To me, anyway.

Pokemon is deep?

Of course it is... you can dive now cant you?!

Can't believe I laughed at that. I must facepalm now.