'Pokemon' collectable marble pouch with marbles
Dublin Core
Title
'Pokemon' collectable marble pouch with marbles
Subject
Pokemon, Marble Toy
Description
'Pokémon' collectable marble pouch with marbles was a product of the Pokémon craze of the late 90s. The Pokémon Collector Marble Pouches series was produced and distributed by ToyBiz in 2000, and divided into two series basing on the different creature in Pokémon. The series 1 of Collector Marble Pouches used popular characters from Pokémon Generation I, such as Pikachu, Poliwhirl, Machamp and Charmander, while series 2 giving people more options outside of popular characters. This #45 one belongs to the second series of Pokémon Collector Marble Pouches, the character of this toy is Vileplume. The main items of this toy are a small cloth bag made of fabric and ten marble marbles. The cloth bag is green with an anime image of Vileplume on it, the number and name of character marked near the mouth of the bag and the logo Pokémon was under the image. On the left side of the cloth bag displays a translucent green marble, inside the marble are painted with anime character and individual number and name. The outer shell of the toy is made of yellow transparent plastic, while inside is a red and green cardboard. The front of the cardboard has the Pokémon slogan’ Gota catch’ em all!’, the anime images of characters Ash and Pikachu are near the slogan. The back of the package includes all Pokemons in two series with the basic information, there is an advertisement of Poke Ball Collector Marble Shooters at the same time.
The phenomenal success of the Pokémon multimedia products has brought Japan unprecedented profits and acclaim in a domain of cultural production long dominated by Hollywood. The media have proclaimed Pokémon a “global character”and a sign of Japan’s “cultural power” in a marketplace where, as the New York Times reported, Japan is becoming the new “superpower of superheroes.” (Allison, 2006). As one of the represents of Japan cultural exports, Pokémon became an important part of a generation’s memories in childhood after it entered the American market in 1998. Pokémon gradually broke the monopoly of American superheroes on the market through the anime, card games, video games, toys and books, and people began to come into contact with superhero themes that were from different country and culture. As the partner of Marvel Comics, Toy Biz started to search for cross branding opportunities due to the Pokémon craze in the late of 1990s, and collaborated with Pokémon and launched the Pokémon Collector Marble Pouches series, which catered to the growing diversity requirements of the international toy market. Beyond the market, Pokémon also had a tremendous impact on the younger generation in the America. It helped to promote American children’s interest in Japanese culture, stimulated their desire to explore and learn about Japan through the story in anime, related games and toys, this built a bridge for cultural communication between Japan and America. Meanwhile, by adapting to different demands, Pokémon constantly launch products which related to local cultures and overcome language and cultural barriers through cooperation with global brands. Pokémon is not only a commercial phenomenon, but also a symbol of culture, its success in the Japanese and American markets strengthened its global position and given it the ability to maintain a tremendous influence in the future. In this way, Japan has turned away from manufacturing trades to cultural products and because these products are cultural products they function not only as “soft power” (as Joseph S. Nye would suggest) but also as networks (Bainbridge, 2014).
Compared with electronic toys and video games, Collector Marble Pouches series are more accessible to families due to the low price and it is healthier to children. Marble games allow kids to get away from electronic products and get out of the house to socialize with different kids and improve their social skills. At the same time, kids may get more competitive through the game which has a benefit for developing their wining spirt and confidence. They can collect different marbles through the game, which with different information of Pokémon, this will make kids to research relevant information actively. which could develop the independent learning ability and stimulate their imagination and desire to explore. Pokémon has stimulated their kid’s reading, motivated them to study and learn a minutia of facts, helped create a cooperative play atmosphere between the two children, encouraged creativity and strategy building, and fed interest in something they approach as active rather than passive consumers. (Allison, 2003).
The character of this toy is Vileplume. Vileplume’s design is inspired by the real-world creature Rafflesia arnoldii, which is a tropical plant known for its huge flowers and strong, putrid odour. Rafflesia arnoldii grows mainly in the rainforests of Southeast Asia, echoing the herbaceous properties of Vileplume. One of the basic themes of Pokémon is the coexistence between humans and nature. Each region in Pokémon universe presents a unique ecosystem (e.g. forests, deserts, oceans), and different areas have unique Pokémon species, most Pokémon designs come from real-world flora and fauna or weather systems, this is a reflection of biological diversity in real-world. These setting could draw our attention to real-world situations and reflect the environmental issues like the logging of rainforests, overfishing and global warming. With the development of technology and urbanization, the environment on the earth is damaged in an inevitable way. Meanwhile, the development of the Internet has also made people less likely to go outdoors to explore the natural world, which makes their interest in species and environment has gradually diminished. The Pokémon Collector Marble Pouches series allows people to increase their interest in the related species by putting different Pokémons in marbles, attracting their attention to the animals and the environment in a way of integrating education with entertainment. The marble game makes people to go outdoors and away from the Internet, they can get closer to nature in this way. At the same time, as a player, people are more able to substitute their identity as a Pokémon trainer through the marble game, who is responsible for the care and protection of Pokémons and resists the threat from dark forces and environmental impacts. This makes people to take a similar attitude towards environmental protection in reality, and take responsibility for the protection of the environment.
Works Cited
Allison, A. (2003) ‘Portable monsters and commodity cuteness: Poke´mon as Japan’s new global power’, Postcolonial Studies, 6(3), pp. 381–395. doi: 10.1080/1368879032000162220.
Allison, A. (2006). Pokémon: Getting Monsters and Communicating Capitalism. In Millennial Monsters: Japanese Toys and the Global Imagination. 1st ed. University of California Press.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctt1ppk4p.12
Bainbridge, J. (2014). “Gotta Catch ‘Em All!”: Pokémon, Cultural Practice and Object Networks. IAFOR Journal of Asian Studies, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.22492/ijas.1.1.04
The phenomenal success of the Pokémon multimedia products has brought Japan unprecedented profits and acclaim in a domain of cultural production long dominated by Hollywood. The media have proclaimed Pokémon a “global character”and a sign of Japan’s “cultural power” in a marketplace where, as the New York Times reported, Japan is becoming the new “superpower of superheroes.” (Allison, 2006). As one of the represents of Japan cultural exports, Pokémon became an important part of a generation’s memories in childhood after it entered the American market in 1998. Pokémon gradually broke the monopoly of American superheroes on the market through the anime, card games, video games, toys and books, and people began to come into contact with superhero themes that were from different country and culture. As the partner of Marvel Comics, Toy Biz started to search for cross branding opportunities due to the Pokémon craze in the late of 1990s, and collaborated with Pokémon and launched the Pokémon Collector Marble Pouches series, which catered to the growing diversity requirements of the international toy market. Beyond the market, Pokémon also had a tremendous impact on the younger generation in the America. It helped to promote American children’s interest in Japanese culture, stimulated their desire to explore and learn about Japan through the story in anime, related games and toys, this built a bridge for cultural communication between Japan and America. Meanwhile, by adapting to different demands, Pokémon constantly launch products which related to local cultures and overcome language and cultural barriers through cooperation with global brands. Pokémon is not only a commercial phenomenon, but also a symbol of culture, its success in the Japanese and American markets strengthened its global position and given it the ability to maintain a tremendous influence in the future. In this way, Japan has turned away from manufacturing trades to cultural products and because these products are cultural products they function not only as “soft power” (as Joseph S. Nye would suggest) but also as networks (Bainbridge, 2014).
Compared with electronic toys and video games, Collector Marble Pouches series are more accessible to families due to the low price and it is healthier to children. Marble games allow kids to get away from electronic products and get out of the house to socialize with different kids and improve their social skills. At the same time, kids may get more competitive through the game which has a benefit for developing their wining spirt and confidence. They can collect different marbles through the game, which with different information of Pokémon, this will make kids to research relevant information actively. which could develop the independent learning ability and stimulate their imagination and desire to explore. Pokémon has stimulated their kid’s reading, motivated them to study and learn a minutia of facts, helped create a cooperative play atmosphere between the two children, encouraged creativity and strategy building, and fed interest in something they approach as active rather than passive consumers. (Allison, 2003).
The character of this toy is Vileplume. Vileplume’s design is inspired by the real-world creature Rafflesia arnoldii, which is a tropical plant known for its huge flowers and strong, putrid odour. Rafflesia arnoldii grows mainly in the rainforests of Southeast Asia, echoing the herbaceous properties of Vileplume. One of the basic themes of Pokémon is the coexistence between humans and nature. Each region in Pokémon universe presents a unique ecosystem (e.g. forests, deserts, oceans), and different areas have unique Pokémon species, most Pokémon designs come from real-world flora and fauna or weather systems, this is a reflection of biological diversity in real-world. These setting could draw our attention to real-world situations and reflect the environmental issues like the logging of rainforests, overfishing and global warming. With the development of technology and urbanization, the environment on the earth is damaged in an inevitable way. Meanwhile, the development of the Internet has also made people less likely to go outdoors to explore the natural world, which makes their interest in species and environment has gradually diminished. The Pokémon Collector Marble Pouches series allows people to increase their interest in the related species by putting different Pokémons in marbles, attracting their attention to the animals and the environment in a way of integrating education with entertainment. The marble game makes people to go outdoors and away from the Internet, they can get closer to nature in this way. At the same time, as a player, people are more able to substitute their identity as a Pokémon trainer through the marble game, who is responsible for the care and protection of Pokémons and resists the threat from dark forces and environmental impacts. This makes people to take a similar attitude towards environmental protection in reality, and take responsibility for the protection of the environment.
Works Cited
Allison, A. (2003) ‘Portable monsters and commodity cuteness: Poke´mon as Japan’s new global power’, Postcolonial Studies, 6(3), pp. 381–395. doi: 10.1080/1368879032000162220.
Allison, A. (2006). Pokémon: Getting Monsters and Communicating Capitalism. In Millennial Monsters: Japanese Toys and the Global Imagination. 1st ed. University of California Press.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctt1ppk4p.12
Bainbridge, J. (2014). “Gotta Catch ‘Em All!”: Pokémon, Cultural Practice and Object Networks. IAFOR Journal of Asian Studies, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.22492/ijas.1.1.04
Creator
Tajiri Satoshi, GAME FREAK, Creatures, Nintendo
Publisher
Toy Biz, NYC 10017
Date
2000
Contributor
Atsuko Nishida
Rights
©1995, 1996, 1998 Nintendo, CREATURES, GAME FREAK. TM & ® are trademarks of Nintendo.
©2000 Nintendo.
Toy Biz, a division of Marvel Enterprises, Inc.
TM and © 2000 Marvel Enterprises, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
©2000 Nintendo.
Toy Biz, a division of Marvel Enterprises, Inc.
TM and © 2000 Marvel Enterprises, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
Format
27 x 19 cm
Language
English
Type
Marble Toy
Identifier
BDCM 93067
Coverage
The United States of America
Files
Collection
Citation
Tajiri Satoshi, GAME FREAK, Creatures, Nintendo, “'Pokemon' collectable marble pouch with marbles,” Archival Encounters: Digital Exhibitions form the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum, accessed January 22, 2025, https://humanities-research.exeter.ac.uk/archivalencounters/items/show/48.