Analysis of Pokémon's Positive Impact on the Economy and Society - Essay

Oct 12, 2026

Uploaded by Hazel

Pokémon, the world’s best-known media franchise, generates notable economic and social effects, yet its financial performance and value-creation mechanisms are not widely quantified. This essay examines objective revenue indicators—overall revenue, first-month revenue, annual revenue, and live-event revenues—alongside social outcomes from Pokémon GO. Player behavior data such as physical activity, average steps per day, and reflections on mental health are analyzed to assess the franchise’s economic and social value.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryGeneral

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Pages5

Reading Time2 min

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Introduction

Data Analysis: Pokémon’s positive effects on the economy and society

Analysis of Pokémon's Positive Impact on the Economy and Society Ning Xie * Department of Economics, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana-Champaign, America * Corresponding Author Email: [ningxie2@illinois.edu](ningxie2@illinois.edu) Abstract. Pokémon is the world’s most well-known media franchise which makes a great contribution to the economy and society, most people do not know how exactly Pokémon is performing on financial outcomes, how it can create economic and social value, and to what extent Pokémon can reach on the value. As a result, this essay focuses on the questions listed above, analyzing objective data and information listed and collected by professional data websites and studies. The economic data includes the overall revenue, the first month's revenue, the annual revenue, and the revenues of live events, and the social data includes Pokémon GO’s effects on the physical activities of players, average steps per day for players, and reflections on mental health. Based on the data, it is found that Pokémon can create tremendous economic and social value by its ability to bring revenues and influence people’s activities. More details can be added to the analysis in the future to facilitate studies about the economic and social impact of Pokémon indifferent specific fields. Keywords: Pokémon , economy and society , analysis of positive impact. 1. Introduction: As one of the most successful media franchises around the world, Pokémon has brought huge changes to the world, especially to the economy and society. Pokémon describes stories in a specific universe where unique creatures, known as Pokémon, coexist with humans. It was released by its founder Satoshi Tajiri on February 27, 1996, and later exported to the whole world [1] . Within several years, Pokémon became an outstanding fixture in popular culture, and the release of Pokémon Go in 2016 made it an extremely hot global trend again [1]. Pokémon GO is a free augmented reality mobile game that offers players chances to catch Pokémon, the virtual creatures, in real-world locations, train them, and battle with others via mobile phones. There have been over ten million downloads of Pokémon Go by people around the world. Under the craze, the enormous popularity of Pokémon has created huge economic and social value for areas around the world. The public only knows and feels that it can indeed produce value, but they do not know the exact details. What is the commercial success and performance of Pokémon? How specifically does it help create economic and social value? What are the values? It is very meaningful to discuss these issues. This essay is based on data and information shown or collected by specific data websites and studies, attempting to place questions related to the economic and social health value of Pokémon under the test of objective data. First, this essay lists the value of the Pokémon brand, revenue data of Pokémon Go, and live events to analyze its economic value. In addition, the data from surveys and studies on players of Pokémon Go is shown to analyze its social value. 2. Data Analysis: Pokémon’s positive effects on the economy and society Based on the data from Katharina, among the ten most valuable media franchises in the world, Pokémon had been far ahead of the others by 2021 (Table 1) [2] . Even though Pokémon was created in 1996, which is later than many other media franchises, it is the first brand to achieve a revenue of 100 billion U.S. dollars, with an average revenue of 4 billion dollars per year. Such an amazing business result proves that it has developed into a veritable gold mine and become the world’s most well-known and successful brand with a broad audience around the world. Table 1. Most valuable media franchises in the world [2] . | Most valuable media franchises in the world | Billion U. S. dollars | | --- | --- | | Pokémon (1996) | 100.0 | | Hello Kitty (1974) | 84.5 | | Winnie the

FAQs

What economic indicators does the essay use to evaluate Pokémon’s impact?

It uses overall revenue, first-month revenue, annual revenue, and revenues from live events connected to Pokémon GO and related activities.

How does the essay measure Pokémon’s social impact?

It analyzes Pokémon GO players’ physical activity effects, average steps per day, and reflections on mental health reported in surveys and studies.

What does the data suggest about Pokémon’s ability to create value?

The findings indicate Pokémon can create substantial economic and social value by generating significant revenues and influencing players’ everyday activities.

Oct 12, 2026

Uploaded by Hazel