Persuasive Essay On Cheskemon

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“The monster a child knows best and is most concerned with is the monster he feels or fears himself to be.” – Satoshi Tajiri creator of Pokémon. The Pokémon franchise is all about monsters, though not in the typical sense of the word. From cute and cuddly to fierce and intimidating, the cast of Pokémon monsters is unique in its approach to entice children. Pokémon holds the title of second highest grossing gaming franchise of all time along with the world record of “Most Photosensitive Epileptic Seizures Caused by a Television Show” (Bulbapedia, 2002). Though hugely popular, Pokémon has had its fair share of controversies and been critiqued more than any other video game. It’s been blamed for violent behavior in kids, corruption of instilled …show more content…

Kids are lined up outside of stores with their parents as they eagerly await the release of a game that is all the rave in Japan and is now being released into the United States. The children don’t’ know much about it besides the limited information they’ve seen in commercials. These kids and parents don’t know what they’re getting themselves into when they purchase Pokémon for the first time. Pokémon Red, Blue & Yellow versions combined sold 46.01 million units at $30 each when they were released in the late 90’s (Pokémon, 2012). This is a good representation of just how crazed the world was with Pokémon at the time. Beginning with the video games, Pokémon quickly took control of childhood culture in America. It spread from the Gameboy to the television, to the computer, and even to the classroom through the Pokémon Trading Card Game. Though hard to calculate, Pokémon card sales are easily estimated in the billions, with every kid owning at least a few (Pokémon, 2012). The term “Pokémania” was given to the insane obsession with the …show more content…

These core aspects are shared with social media. Games like Pokémon support personalization with kids being able to choose their own areas of interest (Ito, 2010). Children can become a master ground type trainer or choose to get a step ahead by using cheats codes. The variety of ways that kids can express themselves lends the Pokémon games a personal feel and leaves the child with a sense of accomplishment when they trounce their friends in battle after weeks of raising their Pokémon team. It also encourages kids to do something with their game; collecting, strategizing, and trading with friends is included. As this Pokémon generation grows up, they bring experiences from Pokémon into their social lives. Specific effects of Pokémon are hard to pinpoint, but the promoting of interaction among peers has given video games a much better reputation. Parents need to learn about the new ways their kids are learning and processing information. Much of this is done through video games and social networking in this technology-saturated world (Ito, 2010). A generation of Pokémon enthusiasts is now entering the work force and their unique up bringing in a culture obsessed with Pokémon is already creating some interesting

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