Call for Chapters:

“Gotta Study ‘Em All: 30 Years of Pokémon”
To be tentatively published by Bloomsbury Academic in 2026
Full CFP (PDF): https://piotrsiuda.com/wp-content/uploads/CFP_Pokemon.pdf

Editors: Samuli Laato, Elina Koskinen, Piotr Siuda

Deadline for submission of initial proposals (Extended Abstracts): June 30, 2025

[NOTE: This volume proposal is to be submitted for review to Bloomsbury as the editors received initial positive feedback from the commissioning editors. Subject to their final decision, this book will go ahead as tentatively scheduled below.]

Today, the Pokémon franchise is considered the world’s most valuable media franchise of all time (Statista, 2021; The editors of TIME, 2024). According to Statista, the lifetime revenue of Pokémon franchise products in 2021 exceeded 105 billion USD, far ahead of competitors such as Star Wars, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or The Wizarding World. Much of these sales come from merchandise, which surpassed 90 billion USD in lifetime revenue in 2024 (Astle, 2024). The longevity and persistent global cultural and economic relevance make the Pokémon franchise an intriguing phenomenon that can teach us not only about successful cross- media franchises, but also about us humans and what appeals to us.

The Pokémon franchise was launched in February 1996 in Japan with the release of Pokémon Red and Green for the GameBoy console, after which it was quickly expanded with an animated TV series, movies, a trading card game, various merchandise, and new games in the series. From the start, Pokémon was never “only a game” or “just a TV show”, but a true cross- media franchise that harnessed multiple channels to build a strong, engaging brand. Pervasive elements such as link cable trading brought players together, as did regularly hosted Pokémon Trading Card Game tournaments. From the early days of 1996 to 1999, the Pokémon franchise kept some elements constant while it experimented with others. For example, the Pokémon video games evolved with various new functions, such as the 2009-released PokéWalker device that let players take their favorite creatures for walks or the 2016-released location-based game Pokémon GO, which transformed the entire physical world into a Pokémon experience.

At the same time, new merchandise, new spin-off games, new anime series seasons, and new trading card game sets, among others, were released at a regular pace. While the original Pokémon games had 151 pokémon creatures for players to discover, the latest Pokémon video games for Nintendo Switch, Scarlet and Violet, have already raised this number to over 1000. (Laato and Rauti, 2021)

In terms of longevity of the franchise, Pokémon has not been in a state of constant boom for the entire 30 years of the franchise’s history. The ‘Pokémon craze’ of 1996-2000, which has been well documented in previous research (see e.g., The editors of TIME, 2024; Tobin, 2004; West, 2008), soon diluted into ‘just a prominent media brand’. However, there has been some resurgence every now and then, such as an almost similar level of global craze at the launch of Pokémon GO in 2016 (see e.g., Alha et al., 2019). However, the Pokémon GO phenomenon as well, only lasted for a brief moment, and after a few months, the monthly player numbers of Pokémon GO had dropped by over 80% (Saed, 2016). Despite these ups and downs, throughout the years, Pokémon has maintained steady popularity, with, for example, all of the nine generations of main series games that have ever launched selling double-digit millions (Statista, 2024). This prevalence has enormous cultural, economic, and educational significance. Scholars have argued that there are many things we could learn from the Pokémon franchise, such as how to engage people in wildlife conservation efforts (Balmford et al., 2002; Dorward et al., 2017) or how nostalgia engages people (Laato et al., 2021). Pokémon games such as Pokémon GO have also been used in research as vehicles to understand, e.g., human behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic (Laato et al., 2024) as well as how family members engage in shared play (Koskinen and Meriläinen, 2021).

Overall, due to the pervasive nature of the Pokémon franchise and its 30 years of global cultural impact, there are numerous research opportunities regarding Pokémon, and also using Pokémon products to understand broader issues such as human behavior. As the Pokémon franchise turns 30 years old in February 2026, in this book, we are looking to gather original scientific studies that in some way or another, explain the popularity, prevalence, and success of the Pokémon franchise.

TOPICS

As stated in the Introduction, the purpose of this book is to provide an academic overview of what has enabled Pokémon to stay relevant in the highly competitive entertainment franchise market throughout the past three decades, and what elements in the franchise are critical for people’s engagement with it. With this approach, the book offers an up-to-date perspective on various elements of the Pokémon franchise and explains its longevity, cultural relevance, and financial success.

We are therefore now looking for new academic perspectives on what has made Pokémon the most valuable media franchise in human history. We particularly welcome contributions that investigate Pokémon through a variety of lenses, including—but not limited to—media studies, cultural studies, psychology, education, game studies, design research, and economics.

Possible topics include:

• Fan cultures and participatory practices.
• AR and pervasive elements in the Pokémon franchise, and the Pokémon GO phenomenon.
• Educational applications and cognitive psychology.
• Globalization and local adaptations.
• Pokémon aesthetics and worldbuilding.
• Comparative analysis with other transmedia franchises.
• Cultural meanings of Pokémon in Japanese and non- Japanese contexts.
• Algorithmic recommendation and franchise longevity.
• Pokémon as an educational and therapeutic tool.
• Intersection of nostalgia, affect, and consumer loyalty.
• The motivational pull of Pokémon.
• The biophilia hypothesis and the potential role of primal   instincts in the success of Pokémon.
• What sets Pokémon apart from its competitors.
• Socialization, social play, and barter in the Pokémon franchise.
• Intergenerational experiences of the Pokémon franchise.

TENATIVE PUBLICATION SCHEDULE

Deadline for initial proposals (Extended Abstracts): June 30, 2025
Notification of acceptance: July 20, 2025
Confirmation of publisher’s interest: August 2025 (tentative)
First drafts due: October 15, 2025
Editor comments: November 1, 2025
Final drafts due: December 31, 2025

Please note that the dates of “Notification of acceptance”; “First drafts due”; “Editor comments”; “Final drafts due” may change due to the publishing process—the authors will be informed in case of any changes happening.

SUBMISSION PROCEDURE

Prospective authors should submit a short chapter proposal as a Word document to pokemon30yearsbook@gmail.com.

The proposal should contain:

• The name and contact information of the author(s), along with a brief bio.
• The title of the proposed chapter.
• Extended abstract of approximately 800–1200 words excluding references. The abstract should indicate the consistency, rigor, and relevance of the work.

Paper submissions should articulate the issue or research question to be discussed, the methodological or critical framework used, and indicate the findings or conclusions and/or the relevance to the general volume. Papers can present any research, analysis, or theoretical framing but should be written so that the importance of the work can be indicated. Please note that empirical chapters should include the research question and data to be analyzed.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Please use the latest edition of the Chicago (author-date) citation style.

Your submission should include all contributors’ names, affiliations, email addresses, postal addresses, and 12 pt. double-spaced Times New Roman.

Please note that chapters not adhering to the guidelines will be returned to the author(s) for revision.

MORE INFORMATION

Full CFP (PDF): https://piotrsiuda.com/wp-content/uploads/CFP_Pokemon.pdf