You hid the most important part of that.Fightgarr said:The reason is that its an "easy to learn, hard to master" type of game that appears to involve a great deal of variety while still maintaining the same dynamics in each game. Its got aspects of nostalgia for older players going back to Red and Blue editions, while still gaining new audience in younger viewers which later becomes nostalgic for them. Its continually adding new features to the game encouraging people to go get the newer editions. The thing is, Pokemon has a pick-up-and-play element that you can work with for either small half-hour segments or gigantic 10-hour play sessions. Why its addictive? Its simple and colorful and you get to see some funny little anime monsters shooting beams at each other. Mostly though, you could ask the same about why any game where grind is necessary is addictive: Its because people want to get the best Pokemon at the highest level.A Pokemon MMORPG would do disturbingly well.
Both of these summaries describe it best. Pokemon is not for everyone. Just because you hate it doesn't mean everyone else has to. I still play the Red version I got on my eighth birthday. That was eleven years ago. Why do I still play it? Nostalgia and fun.nilcypher said:If you've ever collected anything, and I mean anything, then you understand the appeal of Pokemon. It's the same appeal as trying to get all the stars in a Mario game or trying to kill all the pigeons in GTA IV.
Admittedly it's not for everyone, but clearly it's appealing to a sufficient number of people for Nintendo to keep making them.