The year 1995 marked a turning point in media culture. Japanese video game designer Satoshi Tajiri created the Pokémon franchise centered on fictional creatures called “Pokémon,” which humans capture and train to fight each other for sport.
Bowling Green Pokémon Scene, or BGPS, is a new student organization on campus devoted to students’ interest in the franchise. While the original idea for the organization was put into place nearly a year and a half ago, the group has only been official for two months.
The Pokémon franchise began as a pair of video games for the original Game Boy developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo. The franchise now spans video games, trading card games, animated television shows and movies, comic books and toys. Pokémon is the second-most successful and lucrative video game-based media franchise in the world, only second to Nintendo’s Mario franchise.
Currently, BGPS has 25 members and continues to grow. BGPS’ president Devin McDonald credits the versatility and continuous evolution of the game as the reason why it attracts people of all ages.
“For those who’ve grown up with it,” he says, “in college, they’re finally old enough to understand how to play. I think the fact that the community is very friendly and accepting adds to that.”
For those who may stereotype the game or its players, a study done by lancerlink.com shows that people’s opinions towards such fantasy genres have become dramatically more positive in the past several years.
McDonald said, “We love the game, so who really cares what people think?”
According to the official Pokémon website, the U.S. is in fact the primary country in terms of popularity, surpassing Canada and even Japan in numbers. Tournaments are held at regional and national levels with players of all ages participating. The winner of the national orgs tournament also gets the opportunity to receive a $25,000 scholarship with up to $5,000 in additional prizes to go toward expenses such as tuition. An increasing focus on education plays a large part in the amount the winner receives; as the competition has grown, so has the scholarship.
For those interested in learning more about BGPS, contact their Facebook page at BG Pokemon Scene or drop by one of their meetings, Thursdays from 6-10 p.m. in Math Science 304.
BGPS will have a Winter Holiday Pokémon Tournament on Dec. 10.
