Rising (3+)
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FANTASTIC! Yeah I remember trading like 20 some odd pokemon cards for a kakuna (WHAT THE HELL) and I played with it, how do you play with a kakuna? I do not know....
But Digimon did it right with the 2 inchers, they had some slick poses and sold them in like a 6 pack. I use to make my hole house into a digital world and tromp about with my favorites beating up the badies. I must of spent sooo much because I'm sure I have the first 2 seasons in full and some oftheother seanons too.
But Digimon did it right with the 2 inchers, they had some slick poses and sold them in like a 6 pack. I use to make my hole house into a digital world and tromp about with my favorites beating up the badies. I must of spent sooo much because I'm sure I have the first 2 seasons in full and some oftheother seanons too.
To be fair, even at the time these were coming out there were articulated figures available at a larger size which, given that it was mostly for fully evolved Pokemon, did kind of work with the smaller figures as it around the whole non-scaling issue that plagued the smaller ones (Charizard the same height as Pikachu? Puh-lease!).
They were available in 2 and 3packs >_> (I think only the 3packs had the launchers) The imported versions were 1packs for $5 at a lot of retailers, which was bogus.
All the Mewtwos that've come out have pretty much sucked. At the time (because Mewtwo wasn't immediately available), I imported a model kit with a wind-up feature that was in that same lame pose.
Uhhhh, not sure if it was because they were pencil toppers. They had a series of Pokeballs with Pokemon inside (again, imports) where they would peg into a piece inside the physical Pokemon (to avoid paint scrapes or somethign maybe?). I guess they could have also been pencil toppers but I don't recall ever seeing them sold like that.
The stupidest thing was they almost never released trainers, despite them being the stars of the show (of course, those were available as imports). They also had these really terrible articulate trainers, iirc.
Pokemon was basically what got me into ebay and importing.
===="To set the brief stage, I am a silly little 5th-grader keen on this new "Pokemon" thing my cousin has just told me about. I'm cruising through Blue Version and my spirits couldn't be higher."
I thought you were at least in your 30s >_< Is all the staff fairly young?
They were available in 2 and 3packs >_> (I think only the 3packs had the launchers) The imported versions were 1packs for $5 at a lot of retailers, which was bogus.
All the Mewtwos that've come out have pretty much sucked. At the time (because Mewtwo wasn't immediately available), I imported a model kit with a wind-up feature that was in that same lame pose.
Uhhhh, not sure if it was because they were pencil toppers. They had a series of Pokeballs with Pokemon inside (again, imports) where they would peg into a piece inside the physical Pokemon (to avoid paint scrapes or somethign maybe?). I guess they could have also been pencil toppers but I don't recall ever seeing them sold like that.
The stupidest thing was they almost never released trainers, despite them being the stars of the show (of course, those were available as imports). They also had these really terrible articulate trainers, iirc.
Pokemon was basically what got me into ebay and importing.
===="To set the brief stage, I am a silly little 5th-grader keen on this new "Pokemon" thing my cousin has just told me about. I'm cruising through Blue Version and my spirits couldn't be higher."
I thought you were at least in your 30s >_< Is all the staff fairly young?
I thought you were at least in your 30s >_< Is all the staff fairly young?
Nah, I turn 25 this year. Not sure how old everyone else is.
And I should have snapped some pictures of the pencils I have, but I can't find them at the moment. Rest assured, they were definitely pencil toppers.
The whole Pokemon merchandising phenomenon is very fascinating, especially how it's evolved (no pun intended) from generation to generation (well, in Japan at least).
Incoming pokemon collecting nerd, be prepared.
The first 151 in Japan follows a very basic principle: MERCH EVERYTHING. Every Pokemon got something, from fan favorites like Eevee to 'What where they thinking' Koffing. The Tomy figures are probably the most famous example, since every Pokemon got one. But there were many lines like this, including small finger puppets briefly sold in the US, stampers, even pins. Most Pokemon of that generation got at least a plush toy, but safe to say no matter who you liked, it got something awesome.
Then the second generation came around, and for a while it seems like they attempted the same thing. But the whole merchandise 'records' from this period are hazy at best. The Tomy and finger puppet lines continued, and they tried to continue with the stamps and some other lines, but after a while it seems they gave up.
And then the third gen, oh god the third gen. The games almost sank the franchise, and merch ranged from pretty cool to 'what are you doing'. A lot of unpopular pokemon got a lot of attention for some reason.
Fourth generation was a return to form, and was largely successful. I fell out of the fandom shortly before the 5th gen came out but it seems they continued the same pattern of actually doing market research to see what Pokemon were popular.
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So uh, yeah. I remember Pokemon very fondly from my childhood and really my first big push into internet fandoms XD I still need to pick up the new game though...
Incoming pokemon collecting nerd, be prepared.
The first 151 in Japan follows a very basic principle: MERCH EVERYTHING. Every Pokemon got something, from fan favorites like Eevee to 'What where they thinking' Koffing. The Tomy figures are probably the most famous example, since every Pokemon got one. But there were many lines like this, including small finger puppets briefly sold in the US, stampers, even pins. Most Pokemon of that generation got at least a plush toy, but safe to say no matter who you liked, it got something awesome.
Then the second generation came around, and for a while it seems like they attempted the same thing. But the whole merchandise 'records' from this period are hazy at best. The Tomy and finger puppet lines continued, and they tried to continue with the stamps and some other lines, but after a while it seems they gave up.
And then the third gen, oh god the third gen. The games almost sank the franchise, and merch ranged from pretty cool to 'what are you doing'. A lot of unpopular pokemon got a lot of attention for some reason.
Fourth generation was a return to form, and was largely successful. I fell out of the fandom shortly before the 5th gen came out but it seems they continued the same pattern of actually doing market research to see what Pokemon were popular.
---
So uh, yeah. I remember Pokemon very fondly from my childhood and really my first big push into internet fandoms XD I still need to pick up the new game though...
======="The first 151 in Japan follows a very basic principle: MERCH EVERYTHING. Every Pokemon got something, from fan favorites like Eevee to 'What where they thinking' Koffing. The Tomy figures are probably the most famous example, since every Pokemon got one. But there were many lines like this, including small finger puppets briefly sold in the US, stampers, even pins. Most Pokemon of that generation got at least a plush toy, but safe to say no matter who you liked, it got something awesome. "
Koffing was definitely not a wtf, especially compared with blackface Jynx and fryguy Tangela =x
idk, a lot of the characters didn't receive much (or any merch) in the US at first. They had a very staggered merchandising start. I didn't see any toys in my area until a month or two after the games had launched in the US and even then they weren't doing a ton of variety.
===="And then the third gen, oh god the third gen. The games almost sank the franchise, and merch ranged from pretty cool to 'what are you doing'. A lot of unpopular pokemon got a lot of attention for some reason. "
....yet the third gen designs were an improvement on the second gen (like the dildo-esque Dunsparce they somehow felt the need to add in GS). Actually, almost everything about GSC I wish I could go back and forget. We're just lucky that they didn't follow GSC's trend and add 2 new Pokemon types each gen.
And game-wise, gen3 was incredible. They revised the backend exp systems, fixed a massive number of rulings, added abilities, etc. My only major gripe was 2v2 battling, which didn't feel like a good fit.
If merchandise flagged in gen3, it was only because the franchise took such a beating during the incorporation of gen2 tbh.
======="Fourth generation was a return to form, and was largely successful. I fell out of the fandom shortly before the 5th gen came out but it seems they continued the same pattern of actually doing market research to see what Pokemon were popular. "
I honestly didn't see a lot of gen4 stuff in stores. Sometime during Gen2 there was a massive shift where the merch just dried up. Even the latest stuff isn't widely seen in stores.
Koffing was definitely not a wtf, especially compared with blackface Jynx and fryguy Tangela =x
idk, a lot of the characters didn't receive much (or any merch) in the US at first. They had a very staggered merchandising start. I didn't see any toys in my area until a month or two after the games had launched in the US and even then they weren't doing a ton of variety.
===="And then the third gen, oh god the third gen. The games almost sank the franchise, and merch ranged from pretty cool to 'what are you doing'. A lot of unpopular pokemon got a lot of attention for some reason. "
....yet the third gen designs were an improvement on the second gen (like the dildo-esque Dunsparce they somehow felt the need to add in GS). Actually, almost everything about GSC I wish I could go back and forget. We're just lucky that they didn't follow GSC's trend and add 2 new Pokemon types each gen.
And game-wise, gen3 was incredible. They revised the backend exp systems, fixed a massive number of rulings, added abilities, etc. My only major gripe was 2v2 battling, which didn't feel like a good fit.
If merchandise flagged in gen3, it was only because the franchise took such a beating during the incorporation of gen2 tbh.
======="Fourth generation was a return to form, and was largely successful. I fell out of the fandom shortly before the 5th gen came out but it seems they continued the same pattern of actually doing market research to see what Pokemon were popular. "
I honestly didn't see a lot of gen4 stuff in stores. Sometime during Gen2 there was a massive shift where the merch just dried up. Even the latest stuff isn't widely seen in stores.
My Team Rocket Tomys will forever be my favorite figures. Despite their age the sculpts still hold up well and they're overall fine pieces of PVC. Wish they'd release more human figures or Revoltechs even, but oh well.
Scarcroodle - I'm mostly talking about the Japan side of the merchandising (I should have made that more clear) XD The US kind of dwindled after the first gen after the hype died, although it took a bit of an upturn during the 4th gen when the US toy company Jakks began to make its own figures, as opposed to just importing the Tomy figures.
Makes sense, since I didn't remember there being a US finger puppet line but I owned a few of the Nip ones. Also, the neat thing was back in gen 1 you'd see massive amounts of stuff imported to like fairgrounds and stuff for their games of chance.
Hard to notice a downturn over there, though, considering they've always had so much for it.
Hard to notice a downturn over there, though, considering they've always had so much for it.
Wow, I have a bunch of these residing in drawer dedicated to old Pokemon stuff. I should check them out and see if I have any you're missing, or if they're worth anything.
Please keep making these videos.
Please keep making these videos.
I have blastoise pencil topper, and the charmander set from Tomy. And a few burger king/macdonalds toys
Wow, flood of memories back there, I'd totally forgotten about those pogs, the balls, and that game of knock down the pokémon with a gameboy.
I used to have sandshrew, sandslash, gengar, the poliwag line, gods knows what else, or where they are anymore :(
I used to have sandshrew, sandslash, gengar, the poliwag line, gods knows what else, or where they are anymore :(
I remember seeing so many knock-offs begin sold on the cheap to try to cash in on the craze by smaller vendors at malls and such.
I loved the little Gengar, but never saw a Haunter or Gastly, I wonder if they ever got made?
I loved the little Gengar, but never saw a Haunter or Gastly, I wonder if they ever got made?
[quote]I remember seeing so many knock-offs begin sold on the cheap to try to cash in on the craze by smaller vendors at malls and such.
I loved the little Gengar, but never saw a Haunter or Gastly, I wonder if they ever got made?[/quote]
I want to say I saw a Haunter/Gastly set late in the 1st Generation cycle, but I could be entirely mistaken. The two definitely existed in the Japanese Tomy line though.
I loved the little Gengar, but never saw a Haunter or Gastly, I wonder if they ever got made?[/quote]
I want to say I saw a Haunter/Gastly set late in the 1st Generation cycle, but I could be entirely mistaken. The two definitely existed in the Japanese Tomy line though.
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