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| Are you guilty of collecting Pokémon trading cards? |
Adding onto the game genre of Pokémon, they also produce trading cards. These cards are very sacred to fans out there which I will explain thoroughly in this post. The trading card has the same intention as the video game, which is to battle with one and another's Pokémon. The main purpose of the cards is to enable fans to experience a similar situation of battling Pokémon in reality by having a physical copy of Pokémon(cards) instead of being digitalised. Moreover, with trading cards, players are also unable to cheat their way through to easily win a game using cheat codes. However, they are able to socialise and form a friendship between one and another; spreading the love of Pokémon.
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| Collecting Pokémon cards and keeping them in good condition |
Besides that, it is also known as a collectable as the Pokémon Company International updates 4 sets of cards every year which leads to an expansion of collections for fans to collect (which is why it's a never ending process of purchasing and collecting)(Pokemon, n.d.). Pokémon fanatics out there try to have a complete set of cards(which is seemingly impossible) and hopefully be lucky to get rare Pokémon cards which varies from evolved Pokémon to the material of the card.
What makes it so rare is that the manufacture restrict the amount of certain Pokémon cards to guarantee competition and trade between players(and sales) (Lister et al. 2009:293).
" The exploitation of the established children's culture of collecting has been widely criticised: 'the result is a particularly pure form of kiddie capitalism, in which acquisition is no longer just a means to further play, but the very essence of play itself " (Burkeman 2000:2) (Lister et al. 2009:293).
What makes it so rare is that the manufacture restrict the amount of certain Pokémon cards to guarantee competition and trade between players(and sales) (Lister et al. 2009:293).
" The exploitation of the established children's culture of collecting has been widely criticised: 'the result is a particularly pure form of kiddie capitalism, in which acquisition is no longer just a means to further play, but the very essence of play itself " (Burkeman 2000:2) (Lister et al. 2009:293).
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| Pikachu Illustrator Card recently sold for $100,000 on eBay |
Bringing back to my main point, trans-media storytelling in Pokémon. How does Pokémon trading cards can be included into trans-media storytelling instead of the obvious, brand marketing? The experience of Pokémon fans and the trading card gives them a different sense of narratives; giving them a bigger opportunity to expand their imagination as trading card is considered as an old media(static). As a result, it is one of the media which contributes to fan-fiction (I will be posting more about fan-fiction in my later blog post).
On my next blog post, I'll be branching into the next media involved which is the Pokémon television programme and films.
Reference
Beck, K. (2016) Here's What your Pokémon Cards are Worth Today. Mashable Asia [online]. Available at: http://mashable.com/2017/06/22/movie-lists-tension/ (Accessed on 28 June 2017)
Lister, M., Dovey, J., Giddings, S., Grant, I., Kelly, K. (2009) New Media: A Critical Introduction Second Edition. Great Britain: MPG Books Group (Accessed on 28 June 2017)
Pokémon (n.d.) Parents' Guide to Pokémon. Available at: http://www.pokemon.com/us/parents-guide/
Pokémon (n.d.) Parents' Guide to Pokémon. Available at: http://www.pokemon.com/us/parents-guide/
(Accessed on 29 June 2017)
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