Wednesday December 1, 4:29 am Eastern Time
Pokemon creators see frenzy continuing
By Kiyoshi Takenaka
TOKYO, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Will the Year of the Dragon become the Year of the Pokemon?
Some film and video game makers expect next year to a see an acceleration in the near-fanatical frenzy for goods related to the
Japanese pocket monsters known as Pokemon, making the Year of the Dragon on China's zodiac calendar a year of Pokemon
profits.
``We believe that we haven't really touched the surface of the success of Pokemon in the United States,' Alfred Kahn, Chief Executive at 4Kids Entertainment Inc
(NasdaqNM:KIDE - news), told reporters.
4Kids has exclusive licensing rights of Pokemon for Nintendo and the television and film distribution rights outside Asia, a business which landed the New
York-based company with record earnings in the latest quarter to September 30.
``We believe definitely next year will be much greater in terms of revenues for Pokemon than this year,' Kahn said.
POKEMAN HITS NERVE
Pokemon, or pocket monsters, were born in 1996 as part of a Nintendo Co Ltd video game in which players collect pet creatures with various powers and ``train'
them for competitive battles.
The game has struck a nerve with children, spawning Pokemon toys, trading cards, a television series and feature films, and turning a simple cartoon character into a
business worth 600 billion yen ($5.87 billion) in Japan.
A feature film, ``Pokemon: The First Movie,' raked in more than $10 million when it opened on a Wednesday in the United States, a Hollywood record for a
mid-week film debut.
The second in the feature film series, which opened last summer in Japan, is expected to hit U.S. theatres next summer through the Warner Brothers (NYSE:TWX -
news) distribution network, said Gail Tilden, Vice President at Nintendo of America Inc.
Kahn and Tilden were among executives at a news conference on Wednesday announcing the Japanese release next summer of the third in the feature film series.
EXECUTIVES HOPE FOR GLOBAL CRAZE
The executives were optimistic that Pokemon could work its charms across the world in the way it has entranced children in Japan and the United States.
They pointed out that the Pokemon television series is now aired in 15 different languages, and the first Pokemon movie is scheduled to open this month in Latin
America, Australia and New Zealand. It will hit Europe theatres sometime next year.
``Pokemon will truly be the global phenomenon,' enthused Kahn.
On the video game front, Nintendo expects its latest versions of Pokemon software -- ``Pokemon Gold' and ``Pokemon Silver' -- to sell eight million units by
March next year in Japan, making the series one of Nintendo's most popular game software.
The two latest versions are planned to be in store in time for the year-end shopping season in the United States next year.
``That will be the hottest Christmas shopping item next year (in the United States),' said Takashi Kawaguchi, general manager of advertising at Nintendo. |
