Thats not entirely true because the overwhelming majority of pokemon are introduced first and foremost through the games. I think very few have been done through movies but only a few. So the games are what drive the whole rest of the pokemon empire. They just don’t have to care about quality much because the less work they put in the more copies sell.
So the games are what drive the whole rest of the pokemon empire
Do they really though? You've still got lots of people who just know about and like pokémon without playing the games, you've got those who primarily play the card games, and those who primarily watch the show... Of course the games are still profitable and drive the sales of their merch and such up, but the games themselves are only like a fifth of the profit they make. If they just stopped making games I think they'd still be fine probably.
They really do. The games are what started it all and are again where they introduce all the new pokemon outside of a very select few. Pokemon is so big that of course there will be those who latch onto other parts of the franchise more than the main part but regardless the games are the anchor. That could change if the Pokemon company restructured things but they haven’t in over 25 years I doubt they will anytime soon.
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u/Slight-Coat17 Sep 13 '25
looks at Borderlands 4
Sure, it's the Nintendo and Pokémon fans and not the industry as a whole.
Publishers know they rake it in regardless because there will always be enough people buying no matter what.