Pokemon’s COO expects ‘hundreds of years’ of Pocket Monsters

There's no doubt that Pokemon has stood the test of time. The video game franchise has spanned anime, merchandise, trading cards, and culture like no other has been able to. It's immensely impressive that the series has remained one of the biggest in the gaming world since it was brought to the market.

Pokemon might've changed shape over the years, but it's held its own in response to the changing tides in the interactive medium, and it shows no signs of slowing. Now, the COO of The Pokemon Company has outlined plans for Pokemon to continue going...for hundreds of years.

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Pokemon COO expects Pokemon to go for hundreds of years

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We can't really disagree, but blimey, it's a big statement. In a new interview with LadBible, COO Takato Utsunomiya has revealed that he expects the Pokemon franchise to endure for a very long time indeed.

"Our goal is to keep passing on Pokemon to the next generation, over the span of hundreds of hundreds of years, for example," Utsunomiya says. "And in order to do that, to do that, of course, we need to make sure that we are still keeping the younger generations, the kids interested."

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Pokemon will continue catering to children

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Even though there are many grown-ups fuelled by excitement for beating Pokedexes and their own nostalgia, it's easy to lose track of the fact that the Pokemon series is, in fact, designed for children. Thankfully, it looks like Utsonomiya hasn't forgotten this.

"One thing I can say, kids are very, very honest, they, they don't play things that they're not interested," he says. "So if you, if your brand feels like it's something that's old or boring, they will immediately dismiss it. Utsonomiya says the challenge is to make Pokemon feel "new and exciting" for a younger audience. 

"It's easy to focus on adults, they have a lot of disposable income, you can see their reactions in real time on social media, for example, but on the other hand, kids, they have, maybe just a little bit of money they can spend so they really focus on the things that they are only interested in and they're very honest in that regard."

These are big claims, but we're in no place to presume that the Pokemon series won't last so long. The future of Pokemon might be laden with so many beasties that we'll simply lose track - and frankly, that sounds pretty great if you ask us.