It’s commonly believed that Nintendo owns the Pokémon franchise, which generated stock problems when Pokémon Go got popular because investors weren’t aware of The Pokémon Company’s existence. So, the question is, who really owns Pokemon?
For starters, Nintendo owns a portion of the Pokemon brand collectively. The “Pokémon Company” is the official Pokémon trademark and operating license owner. It is made up of the following three companies: Nintendo, Creatures, and Game Freak. Each of them is in charge of a particular division of The Pokémon Company.
Meanwhile, Pokémon video games were previously limited to Nintendo gaming systems.
But despite this being partially accurate, the Pokémon Company is more than just Nintendo’s share ownership of it.
So let’s review all there is to know about Pokémon’s creators.
Who Owns Pokemon: Overview
As previously stated, Nintendo is not the sole proprietor of Pokémon. The Pokémon Center Company was formed in 1998 by Nintendo and its subsidiary firms. It was initially designed to handle/manage all of the retailers internationally.
The Pokémon Center Company later evolved into The Pokémon Company and increased its services. While they continue to manage all of the stores around the world, they also handle everything Pokémon-related. Let’s take a closer look at what the corporation and its subsidiaries do.
To Begin With
Satoshi Tajiri devised Pocket Monsters (the original name of Pokémon) and attempted to pitch the idea to Nintendo but was rejected down. They tried again after making a few tweaks and asking Shigeru Miyamoto (creator of Super Mario and Zelda) to present the idea.
Nintendo eventually agreed to take on what became known as Pokémon, and it was a wise decision. Pokémon is one of the most successful video game franchises. The video game is worth approximately $90 billion.
The Pokémon card game was developed in the late 1990s. Simultaneously, the cards themselves had been created, but only for the real game. Following that, the game took off on both the card and video platforms.
The Pokémon Company Is Made up of Companies
The Pokémon Company’s three organizations each handle distinct areas of the business. It was founded in the early 2000s by Nintendo, Creatures, and Game Freak. Most people are surprised to learn that Nintendo is not the exclusive owner of Pokémon.
The Pokémon Company is in charge of the brand, the licensing, and the game publishing. They also run all of the stores that sell the products you know and love.
They may have rights to the Pokémon brand, but the firms that comprise The Pokémon Company are reported to be evenly shared.
Determining how much stock each individual owns in the company is difficult. Each entity is reported to control 33% of The Pokémon Company. And because Nintendo owns a portion of Creatures, it is possible that their piece of technology will give them majority ownership.
The Pokémon Company manufactures a wide range of products, including:
- Blankets Trading Card Game
- Home decor (lighting, rugs, and other items)
- Kitchen utensils
- Animal stuffed toys
- Computer games and much, much more.
The Pokemon Company
Again, the Pokemon Company does not own Pokemon. The Company was formed as a joint investment by Pokemon’s three IP holders in order to manage the brand and ensure its long-term success. They collaborate with game developers, toy makers, and anime companies like OLM to create Pokemon items and keep the brand fresh.
This means that The Pokemon Company is theoretically subject to Nintendo, Gamefreak, and Creatures’ wishes. Nintendo owns 32% of The Pokemon Company, with the other two likely holding the remainder. Despite this, The Pokemon Company has a lot of freedom to serve the franchise’s interests, including doing things that Nintendo would normally not do.
Pokemon’s Evolution
The origins of these three firms’ involvement with Pokemon can be traced back to the original games Pokemon Red and Green.
Satoshi Tajiri of Gamefreak created Pokemon, which he pitched to Nintendo for release on the original Gameboy. While Nintendo agreed to publish the game, it soon became clear that Gamefreak was having difficulty fitting such a large game onto the tiny GameBoy cartridges and was running out of funds.
According to Toucharcade, Creatures stepped in, providing Gamefreak with more funds to complete the game in exchange for a stake in the franchise. Pocket Monsters: Red and Green would take six years to develop before hitting shops in 1996. Needless to say, the investment was well worth it for all parties involved.
Creatures
Let’s start with Creatures, the lesser-known organization that makes up The Pokémon Company. Creatures, formerly Ape Nintendo Inc., was founded in late 1995. Creatures is a game developer responsible for several Pokémon video games. They also handle The Pokémon Company’s card games and goods.
Creatures has created a wide range of games for the Pokémon brand.
They also create and co-create several Pokémon-related games that benefit the Pokémon brand more than video games. They assist with trading card games and do much more than that.
Game Freak
Despite its lesser-known status, Game Freak has been around since the late 1980s and was established by Satoshi Tajiri (the man behind the aforementioned Pokémon). They are a game developer responsible for several successful games; they have created over 50 of them. They are the developers of Yoshi, Drill Dozer, and many Pokémon games. Their games can be found on a variety of platforms, including:
- 3DS
- 3DSE
- Android
- IPAD
- iPhone
- Nintendo Switch
- PC
- PlayStation 4
- XBOX ONE
Every entry in the Pokémon game series is developed and co-developed by Game Freak. They collaborate with Nintendo on practically every Pokémon game development, from gaming software planning to development and sales.
Interesting facts about the author:
Satoshi is the main character of the Japanese Pokémon series.
The version starring Ash, which you are more familiar with, is mostly found outside of Japan and North America.
Satoshi used to manage a magazine called Game Freak before turning it into a game development company.
Nintendo
Last but not least, consider the most well-known and popular company. They own not only a portion of Pokémon but also an entire range of games. They were frequently behind many other organizations and game systems, such as:
- Mario Club Company
- 1-Up Studio Inc.
- Monolith Software Inc.
- Nintendo Sales
- Many Sega Games
- WII
- Super Nintendo
- Game Cube
- Nintendo 64
- Nintendo Switch
Most of the names on the list are well-known, although many more companies, organizations, game systems, and series are associated with the Nintendo brand. After being formed in Japan in 1889 and generating outstanding games for nearly a century, the list is bound to grow.
Nintendo is claimed to own Creatures and Game Freaks stock. Because Nintendo is a part of The Pokémon Company and is reported to own shares in each of its partner companies, they will undoubtedly have a majority influence in anything that arises. It is difficult to determine how much stock Nintendo has in each company on the internet.
How Do Other Companies Make Pokémon Items?
You can buy the rights to license the product, just like you do with many other well-known companies. For example, Disney allows businesses and people to purchase rights to use names, movies, phrases, and everything in between. Pokémon is no exception.
Different aspects of the Pokémon brand are run and controlled by other firms that have purchased the license rights to do so. For example, the Pokémon Company does not own Pokémon Go. Niantic is the company that owns Pokémon Go. Nintendo does, however, own a small portion of the company Niantic.
Some companies create Pokémon clones. They do not own or own any rights to the license, instead creating things that are comparable to Pokémon. Bakugan and Yu-Gi-Oh are comparable to Pokémon but do not violate any licensing laws.
Everyone sees a wonderful idea and wants a piece of it, just like any well-known game or product. For decades, firms have developed items that are as close to a successful product as possible.
Conclusion
To conclude, three firms own Pokemon: Nintendo, Gamefreak, and Creatures Inc. Nintendo, of the three, certainly owns most of the Pokemon IP, including the copyright to the franchise and all of its characters.
The three proprietors founded the Pokemon Company to oversee the brand and create new items and content for it. It’s an odd method, yet the popularity of Pokemon demonstrates that it works. If I had to guess, I’d say Nintendo has the ability to pull the plug if they don’t like something (like Pokemon coming to Playstation), but for the most part, The Pokemon Company appears to be left to their own ways.
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Who Owns Pokemon: References
