The Pokemon hype machine

Pokemon's sixth generation of games, X version and Y version, are coming out this October, and I could not be more excited. And it's looking like I'm not alone. Pokemon came out in 1996 and captured the imagination of an entire generation of kids. Well, those kids are older now, but there remains a huge, rabid fanbase of Pokemon fans, and the franchise continues to attract newcomers. Capitalizing on this, Nintendo is doing a great job keeping their fans excited for the next batch of games.

This sixth generation of games was announced on January 8, and the announcement included three starting Pokemon and the two flagship Pokemon of the games. These five Pokemon became the subject of a staggering amount of fan art, discussion, and speculation. Nintendo announced enough to get people excited but held enough back that there was still a lot to question and talk about.

They followed the initial announcement a month later by announcing another new Pokemon, Sylveon. They announced little more than a name and some gameplay footage. By withholding the typing of the new Pokemon, they got people talking again.

Read more on Pure Nintendo >