It’s a franchise fans all over the world recognize, but why has the famous Pokemon logo never evolved or changed? The Pokemon franchise has been around for over two decades now, with Pokemon Red Version and Pokemon Blue Version for the Game Boy launching the franchise. The game series finds human trainers trying to catch creatures called Pokemon and training them to battle one another.
This simple but addictive concept soon blossomed into a sprawling transmedia franchise that is running strong to this very day. The franchise spawned a popular anime series, animated features, toys, comics and much more. The series is finally receiving a live-action movie version too with Pokemon: Detective Pikachu, where Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool) voices the title character. If the movie is a hit - which it almost certainly will be - sequels and spinoffs are already being planned.
The gaming side of the series is still going strong, with Nintendo Switch titles Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu and Let’s Go, Eevee! quickly becoming one of the platforms best-selling titles. One thing longtime fans may have noticed about the franchise is that the colorful Pokemon logo font has never really been changed or upgraded, outside of superficial changes.
Where other best-selling game franchises like Resident Evil or Call Of Duty have altered recognizable logos to mark a shift in tone or direction, the Pokemon logo has remained ever present - even 20 years after the series launched. It’s gotten to the point where fans are joking about it, so the question is why hasn’t it ever changed?
The answer seems to lie in the approach Pokemon developers Game Freak take to the series, which is that while certain elements will be upgraded or become more complex, the core elements and gameplay will stay the same. In a Gamasutra interview from 2012, franchise producer and director Junichi Masuda stated that like soccer or basketball, Pokemon fans come to the games expecting a certain formula each time.
This is why they’ve never experienced a drastic shake-up in gameplay, and presumably why the Pokemon logo has also stayed essentially the exact same. The logo also invokes a certain warmth and nostalgia in fans now, and while they might make fun of it, they’d probably be upset if the classic font ever did get a makeover. Someday the franchise will undergo a dramatic change in style and direction, so for now, followers of the series should take comfort in the franchise sticking with tradition.
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- detective pikachu Release Date: 2019-05-10
