Here’s The First Seventy Minutes Of Pokemon X & Y

Pokémon

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For other uses, see Pokémon (disambiguation).

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The official logo of Pokémon for its international release; “Pokémon” is short for the original Japanese title of “Pocket Monsters”.

Pokémon (ポケモン Pokemon?, /ˈpoʊkeɪmɒn/ POH-kay-mon[1][2]) is a media franchise published and owned by Japanese video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, Pokémon has since become the second-most successful and lucrative video game-based media franchise in the world, behind only Nintendo’s own Mario franchise.[3] Pokémon properties have since been merchandised into anime, manga, trading cards, toys, books, and other media. The franchise celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2006,[4] and as of 28 May 2010, cumulative sales of the video games (including home console versions, such as the “Pikachu” Nintendo 64) have reached more than 200 million copies.[5] In November 2005, 4Kids Entertainment, which had managed the non-game related licensing of Pokémon, announced that it had agreed not to renew the Pokémon representation agreement. Pokémon USA Inc. (now The Pokémon Company International), a subsidiary of Japan’s Pokémon Co., now oversees all Pokémon licensing outside of Asia.[6]

The name Pokémon is the romanized contraction of the Japanese brand Pocket Monsters (ポケットモンスター Poketto Monsutā?).[7] The term Pokémon, in addition to referring to the Pokémon franchise itself, also collectively refers to the 649 fictional species that have made appearances in Pokémon media as of the release of the fifth generation titles Pokémon Black 2 and White 2. With the upcoming releases of Pokémon X and Y, 29 new Pokémon have been featured in promotions for the games as of July 12, 2013. “Pokémon” is identical in both the singular and plural, as is each individual species name; it is grammatically correct to say “one Pokémon” and “many Pokémon”, as well as “one Pikachu” and “many Pikachu”.[8]

Contents
[hide] 1 Concept
2 List of Pokémon
3 Video games 3.1 Generations
3.2 Game mechanics 3.2.1 Starter Pokémon
3.2.2 Pokédex

4 In other media 4.1 Anime series
4.2 Films
4.3 Soundtracks
4.4 Pokémon Trading Card Game
4.5 Manga

5 Criticism and controversy 5.1 Morality and religious beliefs
5.2 Health
5.3 Monster in My Pocket

6 Cultural influence
7 See also
8 References
9 External links

Concept

The concept of the Pokémon universe, in both the video games and the general fictional world of Pokémon, stems from the hobby of insect collecting, a popular pastime which Pokémon executive director Satoshi Tajiri enjoyed as a child.[9][dead link] Players of the games are designated as Pokémon Trainers, and the two general goals (in most Pokémon games) for such Trainers are: to complete the Pokédex by collecting all of the available Pokémon species found in the fictional region where that game takes place; and to train a team of powerful Pokémon from those they have caught to compete against teams owned by other Trainers, and eventually become the strongest Trainer: the Pokémon Master. These themes of collecting, training, and battling are present in almost every version of the Pokémon franchise, including the video games, the anime and manga series, and the Pokémon Trading Card Game.

In most incarnations of the fictional Pokémon universe, a Trainer that encounters a wild Pokémon is able to capture that Pokémon by throwing a specially designed, mass-producible spherical tool called a Poké Ball at it. If the Pokémon is unable to escape the confines of the Poké Ball, it is officially considered to be under the ownership of that Trainer. Afterwards, it will obey whatever its new master commands, unless the Trainer demonstrates such a lack of experience that the Pokémon would rather act on its own accord. Trainers can send out any of their Pokémon to wage non-lethal battles against other Pokémon; if the opposing Pokémon is wild, the Trainer can capture that Pokémon with a Poké Ball, increasing his or her collection of creatures. Pokémon already owned by other Trainers cannot be captured, except under special circumstances in certain games. If a Pokémon fully defeats an opponent in battle so that the opponent is knocked out (i.e., “faints”), the winning Pokémon gains experience and may level up. When leveling up, the Pokémon’s statistics (“stats”) of battling aptitude increase, such as Attack and Speed. From time to time the Pokémon may also learn new moves, which are techniques used in battle. In addition, many species of Pokémon possess the ability to undergo a form of metamorphosis and transform into a similar but stronger species of Pokémon, a process called evolution.

In the main series, each game’s single-player mode requires the Trainer to raise a team of Pokémon to defeat many non-player character (NPC) Trainers and their Pokémon. Each game lays out a somewhat linear path through a specific region of the Pokémon world for the Trainer to journey through, completing events and battling opponents along the way. Each game features eight especially powerful Trainers, referred to as Gym Leaders, that the Trainer must defeat in order to progress. As a reward, the Trainer receives a Gym Badge, and once all eight badges are collected, that Trainer is eligible to challenge the region’s Pokémon League, where four immensely talented trainers (referred to collectively as the “Elite Four”) challenge the Trainer to four Pokémon battles in succession. If the trainer can overcome this gauntlet, he or she must then challenge the Regional Champion, the master Trainer who had previously defeated the Elite Four. Any Trainer who wins this last battle becomes the new champion and gains the title of Pokémon Master.

List of Pokémon

Main article: List of Pokémon

Video games

Main article: Pokémon (video game series)

Generations

The original Pokémon games were role-playing games (RPGs) with an element of strategy, and were created by Satoshi Tajiri for the Game Boy. These RPGs, and their sequels, remakes, and English language translations, are still considered the “main” Pokémon games, and the games which most fans of the series are referring to when they use the term “Pokémon games”. All of the licensed Pokémon properties overseen by The Pokémon Company International are divided roughly by generation. These generations are roughly chronological divisions by release; every several years, when an official sequel in the main RPG series is released that features new Pokémon, characters, and gameplay concepts, that sequel is considered the start of a new generation of the franchise. The main games and their spin-offs, the anime, manga, and trading card game are all updated with the new Pokémon properties each time a new generation begins. The franchise began the fifth generation on September 18, 2010, in Japan.

A battle between a level 5 Bulbasaur and a level 5 Charmander in the first generation of Pokemon games; Pokémon Red and Blue.[10]
The Pokémon franchise started off in its first generation with its initial release of Pocket Monsters Aka and Midori (“Red” and “Green”, respectively) for the Game Boy in Japan. When these games proved extremely popular, an enhanced Ao (“Blue”) version was released sometime after, and the Ao version was reprogrammed as Pokémon Red and Blue for international release. The games launched in the United States on September 30, 1998. The original Aka and Midori versions were never released outside of Japan.[11] Afterwards, a further enhanced version titled Pokémon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition was released to partially take advantage of the color palette of the Game Boy Color, as well as to feature more elements from the popular Pokémon anime. This first generation of games introduced the original 151 species of Pokémon (in National Pokédex order, encompassing all Pokémon from Bulbasaur to Mew), as well as the basic game concepts of capturing, training, battling, and trading Pokémon with both computer and human players. These versions of the games take place within the fictional Kanto region, inspired by the real world Kantō region of Japan, though the name “Kanto” was not used until the second generation.

The second generation of Pokémon began in 1999 with the release of Pokémon Gold and Silver for Game Boy Color. Like the previous generation, an enhanced version titled Pokémon Crystal was later released. The second generation introduced 100 new species of Pokémon (starting with Chikorita and ending with Celebi), with a total of 251 Pokémon to collect, train, and battle, set in Johto, inspired by Japan’s Kansai region. The Pokémon mini is a handheld game console released in November 2001 in North America, December 2001 in Japan, and 2002 in Europe.

Pokémon entered its third generation with the 2002 release of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire for Game Boy Advance and continued with the Game Boy Advance remakes of Pokémon Red and Blue, Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, and an enhanced version of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire titled Pokémon Emerald. The third generation introduced 135 new Pokémon (starting with Treecko and ending with Deoxys) for a total of 386 species, and set in Hoenn, inspired by Japan’s Kyushu region. However, this generation also garnered some criticism for leaving out several gameplay features, including the day-and-night system introduced in the previous generation, and it was also the first installment that encouraged the player to collect merely a selected assortment of the total number of Pokémon rather than every existing species (202 out of 386 species are catchable in the Ruby and Sapphire versions).

In 2006, Japan began the fourth generation of the franchise with the release of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl for Nintendo DS. The fourth generation introduces another 107 new species of Pokémon (starting with Turtwig and ending with Arceus), bringing the total of Pokémon species to 493.[12] The Nintendo DS “touch screen” allows new features to the game such as cooking poffins with the stylus and using the “Pokétch”. New gameplay concepts include a restructured move-classification system, online multiplayer trading and battling via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, the return (and expansion) of the second generation’s day-and-night system, the expansion of the third generation’s Pokémon Contests into “Super Contests”, and the new region of Sinnoh, inspired by Japan’s Hokkaido region and part of Russia’s Sakhalin, which has an underground component for multiplayer gameplay in addition to the main overworld. Pokémon Platinum, the enhanced version of Diamond and Pearl—much like Pokémon Yellow, Crystal, and Emerald—was released in September 2008 in Japan, March 2009 in North America, and May 2009 in Australia and Europe. Spin-off titles in the fourth generation include the Pokémon Stadium follow-up Pokémon Battle Revolution for Wii, which has Wi-Fi connectivity as well.[13] Nintendo announced in May 2009 that enhanced remakes of Pokémon Gold and Silver, entitled Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, would be released for the Nintendo DS system. HeartGold and SoulSilver are set in the Johto region and were released in September 2009 in Japan.[14]

The fifth generation of Pokémon began on September 18, 2010, with the release of Pokémon Black and White in Japan for Nintendo DS.[15] The games were originally announced by the Pokémon Company on January 29, 2010, with a tentative release later that year.[16][17] The final release date of September 18 was announced on June 27, 2010.[18] This version is set in the Unova region (イッシュ地方 Isshu-chihō?, Isshu region), inspired by New York City, and utilizes the Nintendo DS’s 3-D rendering capabilities to a greater extent than Platinum, HeartGold, and SoulSilver, as shown in game footage of the player walking through the Castelia City (ヒウンシティ Hiun Shiti?) metropolis. A total of 156 new Pokémon were introduced (starting with Victini and ending with Genesect, bringing the franchise’s total to 649),[19] as well as new game mechanics such as the C Gear (Cギア C Gia?) wireless interactivity features[20] and the ability to upload game data to the internet and the player’s computer.[21] Pokémon Black and White was released in Europe on March 4, 2011, in North America on March 6, 2011, and in Australia on March 10, 2011. On June 23, 2012, Nintendo released Pokemon Black 2 and Pokemon White 2 in Japan for Nintendo DS, with early October releases in North America and Europe. Black 2 and White 2 are sequels to Black and White, with several events in the second games referencing events in the first; they also allow players to link their previous Black or White with their Black 2 or White 2, introducing several events based on how they played their previous game.

On January 8, 2013, Nintendo officially announced Pokémon X and Y for the Nintendo 3DS as part of the upcoming sixth generation of games. They will be rendered in 3D and have a simultaneous worldwide release on October 12, 2013.[22] The games will introduce the new Kalos Region, inspired by France.

Game mechanics

Main article: Gameplay of Pokémon

The main staple of the Pokémon video game series revolves around the catching and battling of Pokémon. Starting with a starter Pokémon, the player can catch wild Pokémon by weakening them and catching them with Pokéballs. Conversely, they can choose to defeat them in battle in order to gain experience for their Pokémon, raising their levels and teaching them new moves. Certain Pokémon can evolve into more powerful forms by raising their levels or using certain items. Throughout the game, players will have to battle other trainers in order to progress, with the main goal to defeat various Gym Leaders and earn the right to become a tournament champion. Subsequent games in the series have introduced various side games and side quests, including the Battle Frontiers that display unique battle types and the Pokémon Contests where visual appearance is put on display.

Starter Pokémon

One of the consistent aspects of the Pokémon games—spanning from Pokémon Red and Blue on the Nintendo Game Boy to the Nintendo DS games Pokémon Black and White—is the choice of one of three different Pokémon at the start of the player’s adventures; these three are often labeled “starter Pokémon”. Players can choose a Grass-type, a Fire-type, or a Water-type.[23] For example, in Pokémon Red and Blue (and their respective remakes, Pokémon FireRed and Pokémon LeafGreen), the player has the choice of starting with Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle. The exception to this rule is Pokémon Yellow (a remake of the original games that follows the story of the Pokémon anime), where players are given a Pikachu, an Electric-type mouse Pokémon, famous for being the mascot of the Pokémon media franchise; in this game, however, the three starter Pokémon from Red and Blue can be obtained during the quest by a single player, something that is not possible in any other installment of the franchise.[24] Another consistent aspect is that the player’s rival will always choose as his or her starter Pokémon the one that has a type advantage over the player’s Pokémon. For instance, if the player picks a Grass-type Pokémon, the rival will always pick the Fire-type starter. An exception to this is again Pokémon Yellow, in which the rival picks an Eevee, but whether this Eevee evolves into Jolteon, Vaporeon, or Flareon is decided by when the player wins and loses to the rival through the journey. The GameCube games Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness also contain an exception; whereas in most games the player’s initial Pokémon starts at Level 5, in these two games the player’s initial Pokémon starts at Levels 10 and 25, respectively. In Colosseum the player’s starter Pokémon are Espeon and Umbreon, while in Gale of Darkness the player’s starter is Eevee.

Pokédex

The Pokédex is a fictional electronic device featured in the Pokémon video game and anime series. In the games, whenever a Pokémon is first captured, its data will be added to a player’s Pokédex, but in the anime or manga, the Pokédex is a comprehensive electronic reference encyclopedia, usually referred to in order to deliver exposition. “Pokédex” is also used to refer to a list of Pokémon, usually a list of Pokémon by number. In the video games, a Pokémon Trainer is issued a blank device at the start of the journey. A trainer must then attempt to fill the Pokédex by encountering and at least briefly obtaining each of the different species of Pokémon. A player will receive the name and image of a Pokémon after encountering one that was not previously in the Pokédex, typically after battling said Pokémon either in the wild or in a trainer battle (with the exceptions of link battles and tournament battles, such as in the Battle Frontier). In Pokémon Red and Blue, some Pokémon’s data is added to the Pokédex simply by viewing the Pokémon, such as in the zoo outside of the Safari Zone. Also, certain NPC characters may add to the Pokédex by explaining what a Pokémon looks like during conversation. More detailed information is available after the player obtains a member of the species, either through capturing the Pokémon in the wild, evolving a previously captured Pokémon, hatching a Pokémon egg (from the second generation onwards), or through a trade with another trainer (either an NPC or another player). This information includes height, weight, species type, and a short description of the Pokémon. Later versions of the Pokédex have more detailed information, like the size of a certain Pokémon compared to the player character, or Pokémon being sorted by their habitat (so far, the latter feature is only in the FireRed and LeafGreen versions). The most current forms of Pokédex are capable of containing information on all Pokémon currently known. The GameCube games, Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, have a Pokémon Digital Assistant (P★DA) which is similar to the Pokédex, but also tells what types are effective against a Pokémon and gives a description of its abilities.[25]

In other media

Ash Ketchum and Pikachu together in the pilot episode, “Pokémon, I Choose You!”
Anime series

Main article: Pokémon (anime)

The Pokémon anime series and films are a meta-series of adventures separate from the canon that most of the Pokémon video games follow (with the exception of Pokémon Yellow, a game based loosely on the anime storyline). The anime follows the quest of the main character, Ash Ketchum[26] (known as Satoshi in Japan) a Pokémon Master in training, as he and a small group of friends[26] travel around the fictitious world of Pokémon along with their Pokémon partners. The original series, titled Pocket Monsters, or simply Pokémon in Western countries (often referred to as Pokémon: Gotta Catch ‘Em All to distinguish it from the later series), begins with Ash’s first day as a Pokémon trainer. His first (and signature) Pokémon is a Pikachu, differing from the games, where only Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle could be chosen.[27] The series follows the storyline of the original games, Pokémon Red and Blue, in the region of Kanto. Accompanying Ash on his journeys are Brock, the Pewter City Gym Leader, and Misty, the youngest of the Gym Leader sisters from Cerulean City. Pokémon: Adventures in the Orange Islands follows Ash’s adventures in the Orange Islands, a place unique to the anime, and replaces Brock with Tracey Sketchit, an artist and “Pokémon watcher”. The next series, based on the second generation of games, include Pokémon: Johto Journeys, Pokémon: Johto League Champions, and Pokémon: Master Quest, following the original trio of Ash, Brock, and Misty in the western Johto region.

The saga continues in Pokémon: Advanced Battle, based on the third generation games. Ash and company travel to Hoenn, a southern region in the Pokémon World. Ash takes on the role of a teacher and mentor for a novice Pokémon trainer named May. Her brother Max accompanies them, and though he isn’t a trainer, he knows large amounts of handy information. Brock (from the original series) soon catches up with Ash, but Misty has returned to Cerulean City to tend to her duties as a gym leader (Misty, along with other recurring characters, appears in the spin-off series Pokémon Chronicles). The Advanced Battle series concludes with the Battle Frontier saga, based on the Emerald version and including aspects of FireRed and LeafGreen. The Advanced Generation series ended with Max leaving to pick his starter Pokémon and May going to the Grand Festival in Johto.

In the Diamond and Pearl series, based on the fourth generation games, Ash, Brock, and a new companion, an aspiring Pokémon coordinator named Dawn, travel through the region of Sinnoh. At the end of the series, Ash and Brock return to Kanto where Brock begins to follow his newfound dream of becoming a Pokémon doctor himself.

Pocket Monsters: Best Wishes!, based on the fifth generation games, features Ash and Pikachu traveling through the region of Unova (Isshu in Japan) alongside two new companions, Iris and Cilan (Dent in Japan).

Pocket Monsters: XY (ポケットモンスターXY Poketo Monsutā Ekkusu Wai?), based on the upcoming sixth generation games, is set to start airing in Japan on October 17, 2013, following Ash and Pikachu’s journey through the region of Kalos.[28][29][30]

In addition to the TV series, sixteen Pokémon films have been made, with the pair of films, Pokémon the Movie: Black—Victini and Reshiram and White—Victini and Zekrom considered together as one. Collectible bonuses, such as promotional trading cards, have been available with some of the films.

Films

Given release years are the original Japanese release years.

1.Pokémon: The First Movie—Mewtwo Strikes Back (1998)
2.Pokémon: The Movie 2000—The Power of One (1999)
3.Pokémon 3: The Movie—Spell of the Unown (2000)
4.Pokémon 4Ever—Celebi: Voice of the Forest (2001)
5.Pokémon Heroes (2002)
6.Pokémon: Jirachi Wish Maker (2003)
7.Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys (2004)
8.Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew (2005)
9.Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea (2006)
10.Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai (2007)
11.Pokémon: Giratina and the Sky Warrior (2008)
12.Pokémon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life (2009)
13.Pokémon: Zoroark: Master of Illusions (2010)
14.Pokémon the Movie: Black—Victini and Reshiram and
Pokémon the Movie: White—Victini and Zekrom (2011)
15.Pokémon the Movie: Kyurem vs. the Sword of Justice (2012)
16.Pokémon the Movie: Genesect and the Legend Awakened (2013)

Soundtracks

Pokémon CDs have been released in North America, most of them in conjunction with the theatrical releases of the first three Pokémon films. These releases were commonplace until late 2001. On March 27, 2007, a tenth anniversary CD was released containing 18 tracks from the English dub; this was the first English-language release in over five years. Soundtracks of the Pokémon feature films have been released in Japan each year in conjunction with the theatrical releases.

Year

Title

June 29, 1999[31] Pokémon 2.B.A. Master
November 9, 1999[32] Pokémon: The First Movie
February 8, 2000 Pokémon World
May 9, 2000 Pokémon: The First Movie Original Motion Picture Score
July 18, 2000 Pokémon: The Movie 2000
2001 Pokémon: The Movie 2000 Original Motion Picture Score
January 23, 2001 Totally Pokémon
April 3, 2001 Pokémon 3: The Ultimate Soundtrack
October 9, 2001 Pokémon Christmas Bash
March 27, 2007 Pokémon X

Pokémon Trading Card Game

Main article: Pokémon Trading Card Game

Palkia, the Spacial Pokémon Trading Card Game card from Pokémon TCG Diamond and Pearl
The Pokémon Trading Card Game is a collectible card game with a goal similar to a Pokémon battle in the video game series. Players use Pokémon cards, with individual strengths and weaknesses, in an attempt to defeat their opponent by “knocking out” his or her Pokémon cards.[33] The game was first published in North America by Wizards of the Coast in 1999.[34] However, with the release of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire Game Boy Advance video games, The Pokémon Company took back the card game from Wizards of the Coast and started publishing the cards themselves.[34] The Expedition expansion introduced the Pokémon-e Trading Card Game, where the cards (for the most part) were compatible with the Nintendo e-Reader. Nintendo discontinued its production of e-Reader compatible cards with the release of EX FireRed & LeafGreen. In 1998, Nintendo released a Game Boy Color version of the trading card game in Japan; Pokémon Trading Card Game was subsequently released to the US and Europe in 2000. The game included digital versions cards from the original set of cards and the first two expansions (Jungle and Fossil), as well as several cards exclusive to the game. A Japan-exclusive sequel was released in 2001.[35]

Manga

Main article: Pokémon (manga)

There are various Pokémon manga series, four of which were released in English by Viz Media, and seven of them released in English by Chuang Yi. The manga series vary from game-based series to being based on the anime and the TCG. Original stories have also been published. As there are several series created by different authors most Pokémon manga series differ greatly from each other and other media, such as the anime.
Manga released in EnglishThe Electric Tale of Pikachu (a.k.a. Dengeki Pikachu), a shōnen manga created by Toshihiro Ono. It was divided into four tankōbon, each given a separate title in the North American and English Singapore versions: The Electric Tale of Pikachu, Pikachu Shocks Back, Electric Pikachu Boogaloo, and Surf’s Up, Pikachu. The series is based loosely on the anime.
Pokémon Adventures (Pocket Monsters SPECIAL in Japan), a shōnen manga based on the video games.
Magical Pokémon Journey (a.k.a. Pocket Monsters PiPiPi ★ Adventures), a shōjo manga
Pikachu Meets the Press (newspaper style comics, not released by Chuang Yi)
Ash & Pikachu (a.k.a. Satoshi to Pikachu, not released by Viz)
Pokémon Gold & Silver (not released by Viz)
Pokémon Ruby-Sapphire and Pokémon Pocket Monsters (not released by Viz)
Pokémon: Jirachi Wish Maker (not released by Viz)
Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys (not released by Viz)
Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew (the third movie-to-comic adaptation)
Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea[36] (the fourth movie-to-comic adaption)
Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Adventure!
Pokémon Adventures: Diamond and Pearl Platinum[37]
Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai[38] (the fifth movie-to-comic adaption)
Pokémon: Giratina and the Sky Warrior[39] (the sixth movie-to-comic adaption)
Pokémon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life[40] (the seventh movie-to-comic adaption)
Pokémon: Zoroark: Master of Illusions[41] (the eighth movie-to-comic adaption)
Pokémon The Movie: White: Victini and Zekrom[42] (the ninth movie-to-comic adaption)
Pokémon Black and White[43][44][45][46][47][48][49]
Manga not released in EnglishPokémon Card ni Natta Wake (How I Became a Pokémon Card) by Kagemaru Himeno, an artist for the TCG. There are six volumes and each includes a special promotional card. The stories tell the tales of the art behind some of Himeno’s cards.
Pokémon Get aa ze! by Miho Asada
Pocket Monsters Chamo-Chamo ★ Pretty ♪ by Yumi Tsukirino, who also made Magical Pokémon Journey.
Pokémon Card Master
Pocket Monsters Emerald Chōsen!! Battle Frontier by Ihara Shigekatsu
Pocket Monsters Zensho by Satomi Nakamura

Criticism and controversy

Morality and religious beliefs

Pokémon has been criticized by some Christians over perceived occult and violent themes and the concept of “Pokémon evolution”, which they feel goes against the Biblical creation account in Genesis.[50] However, Sat2000, a satellite TV station based in Vatican City, has countered that the Pokémon Trading Card Game and video games are “full of inventive imagination” and have no “harmful moral side effects”.[51][52] In the United Kingdom, the “Christian Power Cards” game was introduced in 1999 by David Tate who stated, “Some people aren’t happy with Pokémon and want an alternative, others just want Christian games.” The game was similar to the Pokémon TCG but used Biblical figures.[53]

In 1999, Nintendo stopped manufacturing the Japanese version of the “Koga’s Ninja Trick” trading card because it depicted a manji, a traditionally Buddhist symbol with no negative connotations. The Jewish civil rights group Anti-Defamation League complained because the symbol is the reverse of a swastika, which is considered offensive to Jewish people. The cards were intended for sale in Japan only, but the popularity of Pokémon led to importation into the United States with approval from Nintendo. The Anti-Defamation League understood that the issue symbol was not intended to offend and acknowledged the sensitivity that Nintendo showed by removing the product.[54]

In 1999, two nine-year-old boys sued Nintendo because they claimed the Pokémon Trading Card Game caused their problematic gambling.[55]

In 2001, Saudi Arabia banned Pokémon games and cards, alleging that the franchise promoted Zionism by displaying the Star of David in the trading cards, and involved gambling, which is in violation of Muslim doctrine.[56][57] Pokémon has been accused of promoting materialism.[58]

Health

Main article: Dennō Senshi Porygon

On December 16, 1997, more than 635 Japanese children were admitted to hospitals with epileptic seizures.[59] It was determined the seizures were caused by watching an episode of Pokémon “Dennō Senshi Porygon”, (most commonly translated “Electric Soldier Porygon”, season 1, episode 38); as a result, this episode has not been aired since. In this particular episode, there were bright explosions with rapidly alternating blue and red color patterns.[60] It was determined in subsequent research that these strobing light effects cause some individuals to have epileptic seizures, even if the person had no previous history of epilepsy.[61] This incident is the most common focus of Pokémon-related parodies in other media, and was lampooned by the Simpsons episode “Thirty Minutes over Tokyo”[62] and the South Park episode “Chinpokomon”,[63] among others.

Monster in My Pocket

In March 2000, Morrison Entertainment Group, a small toy developer based at Manhattan Beach, California, sued Nintendo over claims that Pokémon infringed on its own Monster in My Pocket characters. A judge ruled there was no infringement, so Morrison appealed the ruling in November 2001.[64]

Cultural influence

All Nippon Airways Boeing 747–400 in Pokémon livery, and dubbed a Pokémon Jet.
Pokémon, being a popular franchise, has undoubtedly left its mark on pop culture. The Pokémon characters themselves have become pop culture icons; examples include two different Pikachu balloons in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Pokémon Jets operated by All Nippon Airways, thousands of merchandise items, and a traveling theme park that was in Nagoya, Japan in 2005 and in Taipei in 2006. Pokémon also appeared on the cover of the U.S. magazine Time in 1999. The Comedy Central show Drawn Together has a character named Ling-Ling who is a direct parody of Pikachu.[65] Several other shows such as ReBoot, The Simpsons, South Park, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, Robot Chicken, All Grown Up! and Johnny Test have made references and spoofs of Pokémon, among other series. Pokémon was also featured on VH1’s I Love the ’90s: Part Deux. A live action show called Pokémon Live! toured the United States in late 2000. It was based on the popular Pokémon anime, but had some continuity errors relating to it. Jim Butcher cites Pokémon as one of the inspirations for the Codex Alera series of novels.

In November 2001, Nintendo opened a store called the Pokémon Center in New York, in New York’s Rockefeller Center,[66] modeled after the two other Pokémon Center stores in Tokyo and Osaka and named after a staple of the videogame series; Pokémon Centers are fictional buildings where Trainers take their injured Pokémon to be healed after combat.[67] The store sold Pokémon merchandise on a total of two floors, with items ranging from collectible shirts to stuffed Pokémon plushies.[68] The store also featured a Pokémon Distributing Machine in which players would place their game to receive an egg of a Pokémon that was being given out at that time. The store also had tables that were open for players of the Pokémon Trading Card Game to duel each other or an employee. The store was closed and replaced by the Nintendo World Store on May 14, 2005.[69]

Meitetsu 2200 series train Giratina & Shaymin
Joseph Jay Tobin theorizes that the success of the franchise was mainly due to the long list of names that could be learned by children and repeated in their peer groups. The rich fictional universe provided a lot of opportunities for discussion and demonstration of knowledge in front of their peers. In the French version Nintendo took care to translate the name of the creatures so that they reflected the French culture and language. In all cases the names of the creatures were linked to its characteristics, which converged with the children’s belief that names have symbolic power. Children could pick their favourite Pokémon and affirm their individuality while at the same time affirming their conformance to the values of the group, and they could distinguish themselves from other kids by asserting what they liked and what they didn’t like from every chapter. Pokémon gained popularity because it provided a sense of identity to a wide variety of children, and lost it quickly when many of those children found that the identity groups were too big and searched for identities that would distinguish them into smaller groups.[70]

In December 2009, a “Pokémon profile picture month” on popular social networking website Facebook started, with over 100,000 (by some estimates) Facebook users changing the image displayed on their profile webpages to that of a Pokémon. In 2010, more than 252,000 people replied as “attending”, or taking part in, the event, at least double the previous year.[71]

Shinkansen E3 Series train in Pokémon livery
Pokémon’s history has been marked at times by rivalry with the Digimon media franchise that debuted at a similar time. Described as “the other ‘mon'” by IGN’s Juan Castro, Digimon has not enjoyed Pokémon’s level of international popularity or success, but has maintained a dedicated fanbase.[72] IGN’s Lucas M. Thomas stated that Pokémon is Digimon’s “constant competition and comparison”, attributing the former’s relative success to the simplicity of its evolution mechanic as opposed to Digivolution.[73] The two have been noted for conceptual and stylistic similarities by sources such as GameZone.[74] A debate among fans exists over which of the two franchises came first.[75] In actuality, the first Pokémon media, Pokémon Red and Green, were released initially on February 27, 1996;[76] whereas the Digimon virtual pet was released on June 26, 1997

Pokémon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

For other uses, see Pokémon (disambiguation).

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The official logo of Pokémon for its international release; “Pokémon” is short for the original Japanese title of “Pocket Monsters”.

Pokémon (ポケモン Pokemon?, /ˈpoʊkeɪmɒn/ POH-kay-mon[1][2]) is a media franchise published and owned by Japanese video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, Pokémon has since become the second-most successful and lucrative video game-based media franchise in the world, behind only Nintendo’s own Mario franchise.[3] Pokémon properties have since been merchandised into anime, manga, trading cards, toys, books, and other media. The franchise celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2006,[4] and as of 28 May 2010, cumulative sales of the video games (including home console versions, such as the “Pikachu” Nintendo 64) have reached more than 200 million copies.[5] In November 2005, 4Kids Entertainment, which had managed the non-game related licensing of Pokémon, announced that it had agreed not to renew the Pokémon representation agreement. Pokémon USA Inc. (now The Pokémon Company International), a subsidiary of Japan’s Pokémon Co., now oversees all Pokémon licensing outside of Asia.[6]

The name Pokémon is the romanized contraction of the Japanese brand Pocket Monsters (ポケットモンスター Poketto Monsutā?).[7] The term Pokémon, in addition to referring to the Pokémon franchise itself, also collectively refers to the 649 fictional species that have made appearances in Pokémon media as of the release of the fifth generation titles Pokémon Black 2 and White 2. With the upcoming releases of Pokémon X and Y, 29 new Pokémon have been featured in promotions for the games as of July 12, 2013. “Pokémon” is identical in both the singular and plural, as is each individual species name; it is grammatically correct to say “one Pokémon” and “many Pokémon”, as well as “one Pikachu” and “many Pikachu”.[8]

Contents
[hide] 1 Concept
2 List of Pokémon
3 Video games 3.1 Generations
3.2 Game mechanics 3.2.1 Starter Pokémon
3.2.2 Pokédex

4 In other media 4.1 Anime series
4.2 Films
4.3 Soundtracks
4.4 Pokémon Trading Card Game
4.5 Manga

5 Criticism and controversy 5.1 Morality and religious beliefs
5.2 Health
5.3 Monster in My Pocket

6 Cultural influence
7 See also
8 References
9 External links

Concept

The concept of the Pokémon universe, in both the video games and the general fictional world of Pokémon, stems from the hobby of insect collecting, a popular pastime which Pokémon executive director Satoshi Tajiri enjoyed as a child.[9][dead link] Players of the games are designated as Pokémon Trainers, and the two general goals (in most Pokémon games) for such Trainers are: to complete the Pokédex by collecting all of the available Pokémon species found in the fictional region where that game takes place; and to train a team of powerful Pokémon from those they have caught to compete against teams owned by other Trainers, and eventually become the strongest Trainer: the Pokémon Master. These themes of collecting, training, and battling are present in almost every version of the Pokémon franchise, including the video games, the anime and manga series, and the Pokémon Trading Card Game.

In most incarnations of the fictional Pokémon universe, a Trainer that encounters a wild Pokémon is able to capture that Pokémon by throwing a specially designed, mass-producible spherical tool called a Poké Ball at it. If the Pokémon is unable to escape the confines of the Poké Ball, it is officially considered to be under the ownership of that Trainer. Afterwards, it will obey whatever its new master commands, unless the Trainer demonstrates such a lack of experience that the Pokémon would rather act on its own accord. Trainers can send out any of their Pokémon to wage non-lethal battles against other Pokémon; if the opposing Pokémon is wild, the Trainer can capture that Pokémon with a Poké Ball, increasing his or her collection of creatures. Pokémon already owned by other Trainers cannot be captured, except under special circumstances in certain games. If a Pokémon fully defeats an opponent in battle so that the opponent is knocked out (i.e., “faints”), the winning Pokémon gains experience and may level up. When leveling up, the Pokémon’s statistics (“stats”) of battling aptitude increase, such as Attack and Speed. From time to time the Pokémon may also learn new moves, which are techniques used in battle. In addition, many species of Pokémon possess the ability to undergo a form of metamorphosis and transform into a similar but stronger species of Pokémon, a process called evolution.

In the main series, each game’s single-player mode requires the Trainer to raise a team of Pokémon to defeat many non-player character (NPC) Trainers and their Pokémon. Each game lays out a somewhat linear path through a specific region of the Pokémon world for the Trainer to journey through, completing events and battling opponents along the way. Each game features eight especially powerful Trainers, referred to as Gym Leaders, that the Trainer must defeat in order to progress. As a reward, the Trainer receives a Gym Badge, and once all eight badges are collected, that Trainer is eligible to challenge the region’s Pokémon League, where four immensely talented trainers (referred to collectively as the “Elite Four”) challenge the Trainer to four Pokémon battles in succession. If the trainer can overcome this gauntlet, he or she must then challenge the Regional Champion, the master Trainer who had previously defeated the Elite Four. Any Trainer who wins this last battle becomes the new champion and gains the title of Pokémon Master.

List of Pokémon

Main article: List of Pokémon

Video games

Main article: Pokémon (video game series)

Generations

The original Pokémon games were role-playing games (RPGs) with an element of strategy, and were created by Satoshi Tajiri for the Game Boy. These RPGs, and their sequels, remakes, and English language translations, are still considered the “main” Pokémon games, and the games which most fans of the series are referring to when they use the term “Pokémon games”. All of the licensed Pokémon properties overseen by The Pokémon Company International are divided roughly by generation. These generations are roughly chronological divisions by release; every several years, when an official sequel in the main RPG series is released that features new Pokémon, characters, and gameplay concepts, that sequel is considered the start of a new generation of the franchise. The main games and their spin-offs, the anime, manga, and trading card game are all updated with the new Pokémon properties each time a new generation begins. The franchise began the fifth generation on September 18, 2010, in Japan.

A battle between a level 5 Bulbasaur and a level 5 Charmander in the first generation of Pokemon games; Pokémon Red and Blue.[10]
The Pokémon franchise started off in its first generation with its initial release of Pocket Monsters Aka and Midori (“Red” and “Green”, respectively) for the Game Boy in Japan. When these games proved extremely popular, an enhanced Ao (“Blue”) version was released sometime after, and the Ao version was reprogrammed as Pokémon Red and Blue for international release. The games launched in the United States on September 30, 1998. The original Aka and Midori versions were never released outside of Japan.[11] Afterwards, a further enhanced version titled Pokémon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition was released to partially take advantage of the color palette of the Game Boy Color, as well as to feature more elements from the popular Pokémon anime. This first generation of games introduced the original 151 species of Pokémon (in National Pokédex order, encompassing all Pokémon from Bulbasaur to Mew), as well as the basic game concepts of capturing, training, battling, and trading Pokémon with both computer and human players. These versions of the games take place within the fictional Kanto region, inspired by the real world Kantō region of Japan, though the name “Kanto” was not used until the second generation.

The second generation of Pokémon began in 1999 with the release of Pokémon Gold and Silver for Game Boy Color. Like the previous generation, an enhanced version titled Pokémon Crystal was later released. The second generation introduced 100 new species of Pokémon (starting with Chikorita and ending with Celebi), with a total of 251 Pokémon to collect, train, and battle, set in Johto, inspired by Japan’s Kansai region. The Pokémon mini is a handheld game console released in November 2001 in North America, December 2001 in Japan, and 2002 in Europe.

Pokémon entered its third generation with the 2002 release of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire for Game Boy Advance and continued with the Game Boy Advance remakes of Pokémon Red and Blue, Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, and an enhanced version of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire titled Pokémon Emerald. The third generation introduced 135 new Pokémon (starting with Treecko and ending with Deoxys) for a total of 386 species, and set in Hoenn, inspired by Japan’s Kyushu region. However, this generation also garnered some criticism for leaving out several gameplay features, including the day-and-night system introduced in the previous generation, and it was also the first installment that encouraged the player to collect merely a selected assortment of the total number of Pokémon rather than every existing species (202 out of 386 species are catchable in the Ruby and Sapphire versions).

In 2006, Japan began the fourth generation of the franchise with the release of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl for Nintendo DS. The fourth generation introduces another 107 new species of Pokémon (starting with Turtwig and ending with Arceus), bringing the total of Pokémon species to 493.[12] The Nintendo DS “touch screen” allows new features to the game such as cooking poffins with the stylus and using the “Pokétch”. New gameplay concepts include a restructured move-classification system, online multiplayer trading and battling via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, the return (and expansion) of the second generation’s day-and-night system, the expansion of the third generation’s Pokémon Contests into “Super Contests”, and the new region of Sinnoh, inspired by Japan’s Hokkaido region and part of Russia’s Sakhalin, which has an underground component for multiplayer gameplay in addition to the main overworld. Pokémon Platinum, the enhanced version of Diamond and Pearl—much like Pokémon Yellow, Crystal, and Emerald—was released in September 2008 in Japan, March 2009 in North America, and May 2009 in Australia and Europe. Spin-off titles in the fourth generation include the Pokémon Stadium follow-up Pokémon Battle Revolution for Wii, which has Wi-Fi connectivity as well.[13] Nintendo announced in May 2009 that enhanced remakes of Pokémon Gold and Silver, entitled Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, would be released for the Nintendo DS system. HeartGold and SoulSilver are set in the Johto region and were released in September 2009 in Japan.[14]

The fifth generation of Pokémon began on September 18, 2010, with the release of Pokémon Black and White in Japan for Nintendo DS.[15] The games were originally announced by the Pokémon Company on January 29, 2010, with a tentative release later that year.[16][17] The final release date of September 18 was announced on June 27, 2010.[18] This version is set in the Unova region (イッシュ地方 Isshu-chihō?, Isshu region), inspired by New York City, and utilizes the Nintendo DS’s 3-D rendering capabilities to a greater extent than Platinum, HeartGold, and SoulSilver, as shown in game footage of the player walking through the Castelia City (ヒウンシティ Hiun Shiti?) metropolis. A total of 156 new Pokémon were introduced (starting with Victini and ending with Genesect, bringing the franchise’s total to 649),[19] as well as new game mechanics such as the C Gear (Cギア C Gia?) wireless interactivity features[20] and the ability to upload game data to the internet and the player’s computer.[21] Pokémon Black and White was released in Europe on March 4, 2011, in North America on March 6, 2011, and in Australia on March 10, 2011. On June 23, 2012, Nintendo released Pokemon Black 2 and Pokemon White 2 in Japan for Nintendo DS, with early October releases in North America and Europe. Black 2 and White 2 are sequels to Black and White, with several events in the second games referencing events in the first; they also allow players to link their previous Black or White with their Black 2 or White 2, introducing several events based on how they played their previous game.

On January 8, 2013, Nintendo officially announced Pokémon X and Y for the Nintendo 3DS as part of the upcoming sixth generation of games. They will be rendered in 3D and have a simultaneous worldwide release on October 12, 2013.[22] The games will introduce the new Kalos Region, inspired by France.

Game mechanics

Main article: Gameplay of Pokémon

The main staple of the Pokémon video game series revolves around the catching and battling of Pokémon. Starting with a starter Pokémon, the player can catch wild Pokémon by weakening them and catching them with Pokéballs. Conversely, they can choose to defeat them in battle in order to gain experience for their Pokémon, raising their levels and teaching them new moves. Certain Pokémon can evolve into more powerful forms by raising their levels or using certain items. Throughout the game, players will have to battle other trainers in order to progress, with the main goal to defeat various Gym Leaders and earn the right to become a tournament champion. Subsequent games in the series have introduced various side games and side quests, including the Battle Frontiers that display unique battle types and the Pokémon Contests where visual appearance is put on display.

Starter Pokémon

One of the consistent aspects of the Pokémon games—spanning from Pokémon Red and Blue on the Nintendo Game Boy to the Nintendo DS games Pokémon Black and White—is the choice of one of three different Pokémon at the start of the player’s adventures; these three are often labeled “starter Pokémon”. Players can choose a Grass-type, a Fire-type, or a Water-type.[23] For example, in Pokémon Red and Blue (and their respective remakes, Pokémon FireRed and Pokémon LeafGreen), the player has the choice of starting with Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle. The exception to this rule is Pokémon Yellow (a remake of the original games that follows the story of the Pokémon anime), where players are given a Pikachu, an Electric-type mouse Pokémon, famous for being the mascot of the Pokémon media franchise; in this game, however, the three starter Pokémon from Red and Blue can be obtained during the quest by a single player, something that is not possible in any other installment of the franchise.[24] Another consistent aspect is that the player’s rival will always choose as his or her starter Pokémon the one that has a type advantage over the player’s Pokémon. For instance, if the player picks a Grass-type Pokémon, the rival will always pick the Fire-type starter. An exception to this is again Pokémon Yellow, in which the rival picks an Eevee, but whether this Eevee evolves into Jolteon, Vaporeon, or Flareon is decided by when the player wins and loses to the rival through the journey. The GameCube games Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness also contain an exception; whereas in most games the player’s initial Pokémon starts at Level 5, in these two games the player’s initial Pokémon starts at Levels 10 and 25, respectively. In Colosseum the player’s starter Pokémon are Espeon and Umbreon, while in Gale of Darkness the player’s starter is Eevee.

Pokédex

The Pokédex is a fictional electronic device featured in the Pokémon video game and anime series. In the games, whenever a Pokémon is first captured, its data will be added to a player’s Pokédex, but in the anime or manga, the Pokédex is a comprehensive electronic reference encyclopedia, usually referred to in order to deliver exposition. “Pokédex” is also used to refer to a list of Pokémon, usually a list of Pokémon by number. In the video games, a Pokémon Trainer is issued a blank device at the start of the journey. A trainer must then attempt to fill the Pokédex by encountering and at least briefly obtaining each of the different species of Pokémon. A player will receive the name and image of a Pokémon after encountering one that was not previously in the Pokédex, typically after battling said Pokémon either in the wild or in a trainer battle (with the exceptions of link battles and tournament battles, such as in the Battle Frontier). In Pokémon Red and Blue, some Pokémon’s data is added to the Pokédex simply by viewing the Pokémon, such as in the zoo outside of the Safari Zone. Also, certain NPC characters may add to the Pokédex by explaining what a Pokémon looks like during conversation. More detailed information is available after the player obtains a member of the species, either through capturing the Pokémon in the wild, evolving a previously captured Pokémon, hatching a Pokémon egg (from the second generation onwards), or through a trade with another trainer (either an NPC or another player). This information includes height, weight, species type, and a short description of the Pokémon. Later versions of the Pokédex have more detailed information, like the size of a certain Pokémon compared to the player character, or Pokémon being sorted by their habitat (so far, the latter feature is only in the FireRed and LeafGreen versions). The most current forms of Pokédex are capable of containing information on all Pokémon currently known. The GameCube games, Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, have a Pokémon Digital Assistant (P★DA) which is similar to the Pokédex, but also tells what types are effective against a Pokémon and gives a description of its abilities.[25]

In other media

Ash Ketchum and Pikachu together in the pilot episode, “Pokémon, I Choose You!”
Anime series

Main article: Pokémon (anime)

The Pokémon anime series and films are a meta-series of adventures separate from the canon that most of the Pokémon video games follow (with the exception of Pokémon Yellow, a game based loosely on the anime storyline). The anime follows the quest of the main character, Ash Ketchum[26] (known as Satoshi in Japan) a Pokémon Master in training, as he and a small group of friends[26] travel around the fictitious world of Pokémon along with their Pokémon partners. The original series, titled Pocket Monsters, or simply Pokémon in Western countries (often referred to as Pokémon: Gotta Catch ‘Em All to distinguish it from the later series), begins with Ash’s first day as a Pokémon trainer. His first (and signature) Pokémon is a Pikachu, differing from the games, where only Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle could be chosen.[27] The series follows the storyline of the original games, Pokémon Red and Blue, in the region of Kanto. Accompanying Ash on his journeys are Brock, the Pewter City Gym Leader, and Misty, the youngest of the Gym Leader sisters from Cerulean City. Pokémon: Adventures in the Orange Islands follows Ash’s adventures in the Orange Islands, a place unique to the anime, and replaces Brock with Tracey Sketchit, an artist and “Pokémon watcher”. The next series, based on the second generation of games, include Pokémon: Johto Journeys, Pokémon: Johto League Champions, and Pokémon: Master Quest, following the original trio of Ash, Brock, and Misty in the western Johto region.

The saga continues in Pokémon: Advanced Battle, based on the third generation games. Ash and company travel to Hoenn, a southern region in the Pokémon World. Ash takes on the role of a teacher and mentor for a novice Pokémon trainer named May. Her brother Max accompanies them, and though he isn’t a trainer, he knows large amounts of handy information. Brock (from the original series) soon catches up with Ash, but Misty has returned to Cerulean City to tend to her duties as a gym leader (Misty, along with other recurring characters, appears in the spin-off series Pokémon Chronicles). The Advanced Battle series concludes with the Battle Frontier saga, based on the Emerald version and including aspects of FireRed and LeafGreen. The Advanced Generation series ended with Max leaving to pick his starter Pokémon and May going to the Grand Festival in Johto.

In the Diamond and Pearl series, based on the fourth generation games, Ash, Brock, and a new companion, an aspiring Pokémon coordinator named Dawn, travel through the region of Sinnoh. At the end of the series, Ash and Brock return to Kanto where Brock begins to follow his newfound dream of becoming a Pokémon doctor himself.

Pocket Monsters: Best Wishes!, based on the fifth generation games, features Ash and Pikachu traveling through the region of Unova (Isshu in Japan) alongside two new companions, Iris and Cilan (Dent in Japan).

Pocket Monsters: XY (ポケットモンスターXY Poketo Monsutā Ekkusu Wai?), based on the upcoming sixth generation games, is set to start airing in Japan on October 17, 2013, following Ash and Pikachu’s journey through the region of Kalos.[28][29][30]

In addition to the TV series, sixteen Pokémon films have been made, with the pair of films, Pokémon the Movie: Black—Victini and Reshiram and White—Victini and Zekrom considered together as one. Collectible bonuses, such as promotional trading cards, have been available with some of the films.

Films

Given release years are the original Japanese release years.

1.Pokémon: The First Movie—Mewtwo Strikes Back (1998)
2.Pokémon: The Movie 2000—The Power of One (1999)
3.Pokémon 3: The Movie—Spell of the Unown (2000)
4.Pokémon 4Ever—Celebi: Voice of the Forest (2001)
5.Pokémon Heroes (2002)
6.Pokémon: Jirachi Wish Maker (2003)
7.Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys (2004)
8.Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew (2005)
9.Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea (2006)
10.Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai (2007)
11.Pokémon: Giratina and the Sky Warrior (2008)
12.Pokémon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life (2009)
13.Pokémon: Zoroark: Master of Illusions (2010)
14.Pokémon the Movie: Black—Victini and Reshiram and
Pokémon the Movie: White—Victini and Zekrom (2011)
15.Pokémon the Movie: Kyurem vs. the Sword of Justice (2012)
16.Pokémon the Movie: Genesect and the Legend Awakened (2013)

Soundtracks

Pokémon CDs have been released in North America, most of them in conjunction with the theatrical releases of the first three Pokémon films. These releases were commonplace until late 2001. On March 27, 2007, a tenth anniversary CD was released containing 18 tracks from the English dub; this was the first English-language release in over five years. Soundtracks of the Pokémon feature films have been released in Japan each year in conjunction with the theatrical releases.

Year

Title

June 29, 1999[31] Pokémon 2.B.A. Master
November 9, 1999[32] Pokémon: The First Movie
February 8, 2000 Pokémon World
May 9, 2000 Pokémon: The First Movie Original Motion Picture Score
July 18, 2000 Pokémon: The Movie 2000
2001 Pokémon: The Movie 2000 Original Motion Picture Score
January 23, 2001 Totally Pokémon
April 3, 2001 Pokémon 3: The Ultimate Soundtrack
October 9, 2001 Pokémon Christmas Bash
March 27, 2007 Pokémon X

Pokémon Trading Card Game

Main article: Pokémon Trading Card Game

Palkia, the Spacial Pokémon Trading Card Game card from Pokémon TCG Diamond and Pearl
The Pokémon Trading Card Game is a collectible card game with a goal similar to a Pokémon battle in the video game series. Players use Pokémon cards, with individual strengths and weaknesses, in an attempt to defeat their opponent by “knocking out” his or her Pokémon cards.[33] The game was first published in North America by Wizards of the Coast in 1999.[34] However, with the release of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire Game Boy Advance video games, The Pokémon Company took back the card game from Wizards of the Coast and started publishing the cards themselves.[34] The Expedition expansion introduced the Pokémon-e Trading Card Game, where the cards (for the most part) were compatible with the Nintendo e-Reader. Nintendo discontinued its production of e-Reader compatible cards with the release of EX FireRed & LeafGreen. In 1998, Nintendo released a Game Boy Color version of the trading card game in Japan; Pokémon Trading Card Game was subsequently released to the US and Europe in 2000. The game included digital versions cards from the original set of cards and the first two expansions (Jungle and Fossil), as well as several cards exclusive to the game. A Japan-exclusive sequel was released in 2001.[35]

Manga

Main article: Pokémon (manga)

There are various Pokémon manga series, four of which were released in English by Viz Media, and seven of them released in English by Chuang Yi. The manga series vary from game-based series to being based on the anime and the TCG. Original stories have also been published. As there are several series created by different authors most Pokémon manga series differ greatly from each other and other media, such as the anime.
Manga released in EnglishThe Electric Tale of Pikachu (a.k.a. Dengeki Pikachu), a shōnen manga created by Toshihiro Ono. It was divided into four tankōbon, each given a separate title in the North American and English Singapore versions: The Electric Tale of Pikachu, Pikachu Shocks Back, Electric Pikachu Boogaloo, and Surf’s Up, Pikachu. The series is based loosely on the anime.
Pokémon Adventures (Pocket Monsters SPECIAL in Japan), a shōnen manga based on the video games.
Magical Pokémon Journey (a.k.a. Pocket Monsters PiPiPi ★ Adventures), a shōjo manga
Pikachu Meets the Press (newspaper style comics, not released by Chuang Yi)
Ash & Pikachu (a.k.a. Satoshi to Pikachu, not released by Viz)
Pokémon Gold & Silver (not released by Viz)
Pokémon Ruby-Sapphire and Pokémon Pocket Monsters (not released by Viz)
Pokémon: Jirachi Wish Maker (not released by Viz)
Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys (not released by Viz)
Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew (the third movie-to-comic adaptation)
Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea[36] (the fourth movie-to-comic adaption)
Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Adventure!
Pokémon Adventures: Diamond and Pearl Platinum[37]
Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai[38] (the fifth movie-to-comic adaption)
Pokémon: Giratina and the Sky Warrior[39] (the sixth movie-to-comic adaption)
Pokémon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life[40] (the seventh movie-to-comic adaption)
Pokémon: Zoroark: Master of Illusions[41] (the eighth movie-to-comic adaption)
Pokémon The Movie: White: Victini and Zekrom[42] (the ninth movie-to-comic adaption)
Pokémon Black and White[43][44][45][46][47][48][49]
Manga not released in EnglishPokémon Card ni Natta Wake (How I Became a Pokémon Card) by Kagemaru Himeno, an artist for the TCG. There are six volumes and each includes a special promotional card. The stories tell the tales of the art behind some of Himeno’s cards.
Pokémon Get aa ze! by Miho Asada
Pocket Monsters Chamo-Chamo ★ Pretty ♪ by Yumi Tsukirino, who also made Magical Pokémon Journey.
Pokémon Card Master
Pocket Monsters Emerald Chōsen!! Battle Frontier by Ihara Shigekatsu
Pocket Monsters Zensho by Satomi Nakamura

Criticism and controversy

Morality and religious beliefs

Pokémon has been criticized by some Christians over perceived occult and violent themes and the concept of “Pokémon evolution”, which they feel goes against the Biblical creation account in Genesis.[50] However, Sat2000, a satellite TV station based in Vatican City, has countered that the Pokémon Trading Card Game and video games are “full of inventive imagination” and have no “harmful moral side effects”.[51][52] In the United Kingdom, the “Christian Power Cards” game was introduced in 1999 by David Tate who stated, “Some people aren’t happy with Pokémon and want an alternative, others just want Christian games.” The game was similar to the Pokémon TCG but used Biblical figures.[53]

In 1999, Nintendo stopped manufacturing the Japanese version of the “Koga’s Ninja Trick” trading card because it depicted a manji, a traditionally Buddhist symbol with no negative connotations. The Jewish civil rights group Anti-Defamation League complained because the symbol is the reverse of a swastika, which is considered offensive to Jewish people. The cards were intended for sale in Japan only, but the popularity of Pokémon led to importation into the United States with approval from Nintendo. The Anti-Defamation League understood that the issue symbol was not intended to offend and acknowledged the sensitivity that Nintendo showed by removing the product.[54]

In 1999, two nine-year-old boys sued Nintendo because they claimed the Pokémon Trading Card Game caused their problematic gambling.[55]

In 2001, Saudi Arabia banned Pokémon games and cards, alleging that the franchise promoted Zionism by displaying the Star of David in the trading cards, and involved gambling, which is in violation of Muslim doctrine.[56][57] Pokémon has been accused of promoting materialism.[58]

Health

Main article: Dennō Senshi Porygon

On December 16, 1997, more than 635 Japanese children were admitted to hospitals with epileptic seizures.[59] It was determined the seizures were caused by watching an episode of Pokémon “Dennō Senshi Porygon”, (most commonly translated “Electric Soldier Porygon”, season 1, episode 38); as a result, this episode has not been aired since. In this particular episode, there were bright explosions with rapidly alternating blue and red color patterns.[60] It was determined in subsequent research that these strobing light effects cause some individuals to have epileptic seizures, even if the person had no previous history of epilepsy.[61] This incident is the most common focus of Pokémon-related parodies in other media, and was lampooned by the Simpsons episode “Thirty Minutes over Tokyo”[62] and the South Park episode “Chinpokomon”,[63] among others.

Monster in My Pocket

In March 2000, Morrison Entertainment Group, a small toy developer based at Manhattan Beach, California, sued Nintendo over claims that Pokémon infringed on its own Monster in My Pocket characters. A judge ruled there was no infringement, so Morrison appealed the ruling in November 2001.[64]

Cultural influence

All Nippon Airways Boeing 747–400 in Pokémon livery, and dubbed a Pokémon Jet.
Pokémon, being a popular franchise, has undoubtedly left its mark on pop culture. The Pokémon characters themselves have become pop culture icons; examples include two different Pikachu balloons in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Pokémon Jets operated by All Nippon Airways, thousands of merchandise items, and a traveling theme park that was in Nagoya, Japan in 2005 and in Taipei in 2006. Pokémon also appeared on the cover of the U.S. magazine Time in 1999. The Comedy Central show Drawn Together has a character named Ling-Ling who is a direct parody of Pikachu.[65] Several other shows such as ReBoot, The Simpsons, South Park, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, Robot Chicken, All Grown Up! and Johnny Test have made references and spoofs of Pokémon, among other series. Pokémon was also featured on VH1’s I Love the ’90s: Part Deux. A live action show called Pokémon Live! toured the United States in late 2000. It was based on the popular Pokémon anime, but had some continuity errors relating to it. Jim Butcher cites Pokémon as one of the inspirations for the Codex Alera series of novels.

In November 2001, Nintendo opened a store called the Pokémon Center in New York, in New York’s Rockefeller Center,[66] modeled after the two other Pokémon Center stores in Tokyo and Osaka and named after a staple of the videogame series; Pokémon Centers are fictional buildings where Trainers take their injured Pokémon to be healed after combat.[67] The store sold Pokémon merchandise on a total of two floors, with items ranging from collectible shirts to stuffed Pokémon plushies.[68] The store also featured a Pokémon Distributing Machine in which players would place their game to receive an egg of a Pokémon that was being given out at that time. The store also had tables that were open for players of the Pokémon Trading Card Game to duel each other or an employee. The store was closed and replaced by the Nintendo World Store on May 14, 2005.[69]

Meitetsu 2200 series train Giratina & Shaymin
Joseph Jay Tobin theorizes that the success of the franchise was mainly due to the long list of names that could be learned by children and repeated in their peer groups. The rich fictional universe provided a lot of opportunities for discussion and demonstration of knowledge in front of their peers. In the French version Nintendo took care to translate the name of the creatures so that they reflected the French culture and language. In all cases the names of the creatures were linked to its characteristics, which converged with the children’s belief that names have symbolic power. Children could pick their favourite Pokémon and affirm their individuality while at the same time affirming their conformance to the values of the group, and they could distinguish themselves from other kids by asserting what they liked and what they didn’t like from every chapter. Pokémon gained popularity because it provided a sense of identity to a wide variety of children, and lost it quickly when many of those children found that the identity groups were too big and searched for identities that would distinguish them into smaller groups.[70]

In December 2009, a “Pokémon profile picture month” on popular social networking website Facebook started, with over 100,000 (by some estimates) Facebook users changing the image displayed on their profile webpages to that of a Pokémon. In 2010, more than 252,000 people replied as “attending”, or taking part in, the event, at least double the previous year.[71]

Shinkansen E3 Series train in Pokémon livery
Pokémon’s history has been marked at times by rivalry with the Digimon media franchise that debuted at a similar time. Described as “the other ‘mon'” by IGN’s Juan Castro, Digimon has not enjoyed Pokémon’s level of international popularity or success, but has maintained a dedicated fanbase.[72] IGN’s Lucas M. Thomas stated that Pokémon is Digimon’s “constant competition and comparison”, attributing the former’s relative success to the simplicity of its evolution mechanic as opposed to Digivolution.[73] The two have been noted for conceptual and stylistic similarities by sources such as GameZone.[74] A debate among fans exists over which of the two franchises came first.[75] In actuality, the first Pokémon media, Pokémon Red and Green, were released initially on February 27, 1996;[76] whereas the Digimon virtual pet was released on June 26, 1997

then your taste in games sucks…

Ahem, Someone can’t read.

Microsoft

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Microsoft Corporation

Microsoft’s new logo, introduced in 2012

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S&P 500 Component

Industry
Computer software

Founded
Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States (April 4, 1975)

Founder(s)
Bill Gates, Paul Allen

Headquarters
Microsoft Redmond Campus, Redmond, Washington, U.S.

Area served
Worldwide

Key people

Bill Gates (Chairman)
Steve Ballmer (CEO)

Products

Windows (Phone, Server)
Office
Dynamics
Azure
Xbox
Surface
Bing
Skype
(See Microsoft products)

Revenue
Increase US$ 77.85 billion (2013)[1]

Operating income
Increase US$ 26.76 billion (2013)[1]

Net income
Increase US$ 21.86 billion (2013)[1]

Total assets
Increase US$ 142.43 billion (2013)[1]

Total equity
Increase US$ 78.94 billion (2013)[1]

Employees
97,000 (2013)[2]

Subsidiaries
List of Microsoft subsidiaries

Website
Microsoft.com
References: [3]

Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational software corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services related to computing. The company was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen on April 4, 1975. Microsoft is the world’s largest software maker measured by revenues.[4] It is also one of the world’s most valuable companies.[5]

Microsoft was established to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800. It rose to dominate the personal computer operating system market with MS-DOS in the mid-1980s, followed by the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems. The company’s 1986 initial public offering, and subsequent rise in its share price, created an estimated three billionaires and 12,000 millionaires from Microsoft employees. Since the 1990s, it has increasingly diversified from the operating system market and has made a number of corporate acquisitions. In May 2011, Microsoft acquired Skype Technologies for $8.5 billion in its largest acquisition to date.[6]

As of 2013, Microsoft is market dominant in both the PC operating system and office suite markets (the latter with Microsoft Office). The company also produces a wide range of other software for desktops and servers, and is active in areas including internet search (with Bing), the video game industry (with the Xbox and Xbox 360 consoles, and the upcoming Xbox One console), the digital services market (through MSN), and mobile phones (via the Windows Phone OS). In June 2012, Microsoft announced that it would be entering the PC vendor market for the first time, with the launch of the Microsoft Surface tablet computer.

In the 1990s, critics began to contend that Microsoft used monopolistic business practices and anti-competitive strategies including refusal to deal and tying, put unreasonable restrictions in the use of its software, and used misrepresentative marketing tactics; both the U.S. Department of Justice and European Commission found the company in violation of antitrust laws.

On August 20, 2013, Microsoft announced that its CEO, Steve Ballmer, will retire from the company after a successor is chosen.[7]

Contents
[hide] 1 History 1.1 1972–83: Founding and company beginnings
1.2 1984–94: Windows and Office
1.3 1995–2005: Internet and the 32-bit era
1.4 2006–10: Windows Vista, mobile, and Windows 7
1.5 2011–present: Rebranding, Windows 8, and Surface
1.6 Windows Division, Server and Tools, Online Services Division
1.7 Business Division
1.8 Entertainment and Devices Division

2 Culture
3 Criticism
4 Corporate affairs 4.1 Financial
4.2 Environment
4.3 Marketing
4.4 Cooperation with the United States Government
4.5 Logo

5 See also
6 References
7 External links

History

Main articles: History of Microsoft and History of Microsoft Windows

1972–83: Founding and company beginnings

Paul Allen and Bill Gates (from left) on October 19, 1981, in a sea of PCs after signing a pivotal contract. IBM called Microsoft in July 1980 inquiring about programming languages for its upcoming PC line;[8]:228 after failed negotiations with another company, IBM gave Microsoft a contract to develop the OS for the new line of PCs.[9]
Paul Allen and Bill Gates, childhood friends with a passion in computer programming, were seeking to make a successful business utilizing their shared skills. In 1972 they founded their first company named Traf-O-Data, which offered a rudimentary computer that tracked and analyzed automobile traffic data. Allen went on to pursue a degree in computer science at the University of Washington, later dropping out of school to work at Honeywell. Gates began studies at Harvard.[10] The January 1975 issue of Popular Electronics featured Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems’s (MITS) Altair 8800 microcomputer. Allen noticed that they could program a BASIC interpreter for the device; after a call from Gates claiming to have a working interpreter, MITS requested a demonstration. Since they didn’t actually have one, Allen worked on a simulator for the Altair while Gates developed the interpreter. Although they developed the interpreter on a simulator and not the actual device, the interpreter worked flawlessly when they demonstrated the interpreter to MITS in Albuquerque, New Mexico in March 1975; MITS agreed to distribute it, marketing it as Altair BASIC.[8]:108, 112–114 They officially established Microsoft on April 4, 1975, with Gates as the CEO.[11] Allen came up with the original name of “Micro-Soft,” the combination of the words microcomputer and software, as recounted in a 1995 Fortune magazine article. In August 1977 the company formed an agreement with ASCII Magazine in Japan, resulting in its first international office, “ASCII Microsoft”.[12] The company moved to a new home in Bellevue, Washington in January 1979.[11]

Microsoft entered the OS business in 1980 with its own version of Unix, called Xenix.[13] However, it was MS-DOS that solidified the company’s dominance. After negotiations with Digital Research failed, IBM awarded a contract to Microsoft in November 1980 to provide a version of the CP/M OS, which was set to be used in the upcoming IBM Personal Computer (IBM PC).[14] For this deal, Microsoft purchased a CP/M clone called 86-DOS from Seattle Computer Products, branding it as MS-DOS, which IBM rebranded to PC DOS. Following the release of the IBM PC in August 1981, Microsoft retained ownership of MS-DOS. Since IBM copyrighted the IBM PC BIOS, other companies had to reverse engineer it in order for non-IBM hardware to run as IBM PC compatibles, but no such restriction applied to the operating systems. Due to various factors, such as MS-DOS’s available software selection, Microsoft eventually became the leading PC operating systems vendor.[9][15]:210 The company expanded into new markets with the release of the Microsoft Mouse in 1983, as well as a publishing division named Microsoft Press.[8]:232 Paul Allen resigned from Microsoft in February after developing Hodgkin’s disease.[8]:231

1984–94: Windows and Office

While jointly developing a new OS with IBM in 1984, OS/2, Microsoft released Microsoft Windows, a graphical extension for MS-DOS, on November 20, 1985.[8]:242–243, 246 Microsoft moved its headquarters to Redmond on February 26, 1986, and on March 13 the company went public;[16] the ensuing rise in the stock would make an estimated four billionaires and 12,000 millionaires from Microsoft employees.[17] Due to the partnership with IBM, in 1990 the Federal Trade Commission set its eye on Microsoft for possible collusion; it marked the beginning of over a decade of legal clashes with the U.S. Government.[18] Microsoft announced the release of its version of OS/2 to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) on April 2, 1987;[8]:243–244 meanwhile, the company was at work on a 32-bit OS, Microsoft Windows NT, using ideas from OS/2; it shipped on July 21, 1993, with a new modular kernel and the Win32 application programming interface (API), making porting from 16-bit (MS-DOS-based) Windows easier. Once Microsoft informed IBM of NT, the OS/2 partnership deteriorated.[19]

In 1990, Microsoft introduced its office suite, Microsoft Office. The software bundled separate office productivity applications, such as Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel.[8]:301 On May 22 Microsoft launched Windows 3.0 with a streamlined user interface graphics and improved protected mode capability for the Intel 386 processor.[20] Both Office and Windows became dominant in their respective areas.[21][22] Novell, a Word competitor from 1984–1986, filed a lawsuit years later claiming that Microsoft left part of its APIs undocumented in order to gain a competitive advantage.[23]

On July 27, 1994, the U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division filed a Competitive Impact Statement that said, in part: “Beginning in 1988, and continuing until July 15, 1994, Microsoft induced many OEMs to execute anti-competitive “per processor” licenses. Under a per processor license, an OEM pays Microsoft a royalty for each computer it sells containing a particular microprocessor, whether the OEM sells the computer with a Microsoft operating system or a non-Microsoft operating system. In effect, the royalty payment to Microsoft when no Microsoft product is being used acts as a penalty, or tax, on the OEM’s use of a competing PC operating system. Since 1988, Microsoft’s use of per processor licenses has increased.”[24]

1995–2005: Internet and the 32-bit era

Microsoft logo used from 1987 to 2012

Bill Gates giving his deposition in 1998 for the United States v. Microsoft trial. Once the U.S. Department of Justice 1993 took over from the Federal Trade Commission, a protracted legal wrangling between Microsoft and the department ensued, resulting in various settlements and possible blocked mergers. Microsoft would point to companies such as AOL-Time Warner in its defense.[18]
Following Bill Gates’s internal “Internet Tidal Wave memo” on May 26, 1995, Microsoft began to redefine its offerings and expand its product line into computer networking and the World Wide Web.[25] The company released Windows 95 on August 24, 1995, featuring pre-emptive multitasking, a completely new user interface with a novel start button, and 32-bit compatibility; similar to NT, it provided the Win32 API.[26][27]:20 Windows 95 came bundled with the online service MSN, and for OEMs Internet Explorer, a web browser. Internet Explorer was not bundled with the retail Windows 95 boxes because the boxes were printed before the team finished the web browser, and instead was included in the Windows 95 Plus! pack.[28] Branching out into new markets in 1996, Microsoft and NBC Universal created a new 24/7 cable news station, MSNBC.[29] Microsoft created Windows CE 1.0, a new OS designed for devices with low memory and other constraints, such as personal digital assistants.[30] In October 1997, the Justice Department filed a motion in the Federal District Court, stating that Microsoft violated an agreement signed in 1994 and asked the court to stop the bundling of Internet Explorer with Windows.[8]:323–324

Bill Gates handed over the CEO position on January 13, 2000, to Steve Ballmer, an old college friend of Gates and employee of the company since 1980, creating a new position for himself as Chief Software Architect.[8]:111, 228[11] Various companies including Microsoft formed the Trusted Computing Platform Alliance in October 1999 to, among other things, increase security and protect intellectual property through identifying changes in hardware and software. Critics decry the alliance as a way to enforce indiscriminate restrictions over how consumers use software, and over how computers behave, a form of digital rights management; for example the scenario where a computer is not only secured for its owner, but also secured against its owner as well.[31][32] On April 3, 2000, a judgment was handed down in the case of United States v. Microsoft,[33] calling the company an “abusive monopoly”;[34] it settled with the U.S. Department of Justice in 2004.[16] On October 25, 2001, Microsoft released Windows XP, unifying the mainstream and NT lines under the NT codebase.[35] The company released the Xbox later that year, entering the game console market dominated by Sony and Nintendo.[36] In March 2004 the European Union brought antitrust legal action against the company, citing it abused its dominance with the Windows OS, resulting in a judgment of €497 million ($613 million) and to produce new versions of Windows XP without Windows Media Player, Windows XP Home Edition N and Windows XP Professional N.[37][38]

2006–10: Windows Vista, mobile, and Windows 7

CEO Steve Ballmer at the MIX event in 2008. In an interview about his management style in 2005, he mentioned that his first priority was to get the people he delegates to in order. Ballmer also emphasized the need to continue pursuing new technologies even if initial attempts fail, citing the original attempts with Windows as an example.[39]
Released in January 2007, the next version of Windows, Windows Vista, focused on features, security, and a redesigned user interface dubbed Aero.[40][41] Microsoft Office 2007, released at the same time, featured a “Ribbon” user interface which was a significant departure from its predecessors. Relatively strong sales of both titles helped to produce a record profit in 2007.[42] The European Union imposed another fine of €899 million ($1.4 billion) for Microsoft’s lack of compliance with the March 2004 judgment on February 27, 2008, saying that the company charged rivals unreasonable prices for key information about its workgroup and backoffice servers. Microsoft stated that it was in compliance and that “these fines are about the past issues that have been resolved”.[43]

2007 also saw the creation of a multi-core unit at Microsoft, as they followed in the steps of server companies such as Sun and IBM.[44]

Bill Gates retired from his role as Chief Software Architect on June 27, 2008, while retaining other positions related to the company in addition to being an advisor for the company on key projects.[45] Azure Services Platform, the company’s entry into the cloud computing market for Windows, launched on October 27, 2008.[46] On February 12, 2009, Microsoft announced its intent to open a chain of Microsoft-branded retail stores, and on October 22, 2009, the first retail Microsoft Store opened in Scottsdale, Arizona; the same day the first store opened, Windows 7 was officially released to the public. Windows 7’s focus was on refining Vista with ease of use features and performance enhancements, rather than a large reworking of Windows.[47][48][49]

As the smartphone industry boomed beginning in 2007, Microsoft struggled to keep up with its rivals Apple and Google in providing a modern smartphone operating system. As a result, in 2010, Microsoft revamped their aging flagship mobile operating system, Windows Mobile, replacing it with the new Windows Phone OS; along with a new strategy in the smartphone industry that has Microsoft working more closely with smartphone manufacturers, such as Nokia, and to provide a consistent user experience across all smartphones using Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS. It used a new user interface design language, codenamed “Metro”, which prominently used simple shapes, typography and iconography, and the concept of minimalism.

Microsoft is a founding member of the Open Networking Foundation started on March 23, 2011. Other founding companies include Google, HP Networking, Yahoo, Verizon, Deutsche Telekom and 17 other companies. The nonprofit organization is focused on providing support for a new cloud computing initiative called Software-Defined Networking.[50] The initiative is meant to speed innovation through simple software changes in telecommunications networks, wireless networks, data centers and other networking areas.[51]

2011–present: Rebranding, Windows 8, and Surface

Following the release of Windows Phone, Microsoft underwent a gradual rebranding of its product range throughout 2011 and 2012—the corporation’s logos, products, services, and websites adopted the principles and concepts of the Metro design language.[52] Microsoft previewed Windows 8, an operating system designed to power both personal computers and tablet computers, in Taipei in June 2011.[53] A developer preview was released on September 13, and was replaced by a consumer preview on February 29, 2012.[54] On May 31, 2012, the preview version was released.

On June 18, 2012, Microsoft announced the Microsoft Surface, the first computer in the company’s history to have its hardware made by Microsoft.[55][56] On June 25, Microsoft announced that it was paying US$1.2 billion to buy the social network Yammer.[57] On July 31, 2012, Microsoft launched the Outlook.com webmail service to compete with Gmail.[58] On September 4, 2012, Microsoft released Windows Server 2012.[59] On October 1, Microsoft announced its intention to launch a news operation, part of a new-look MSN, at the time of the Windows 8 launch that was later in the month.[60] On October 26, 2012, Microsoft launched Windows 8 and the Microsoft Surface.[56][61] Three days later, Windows Phone 8 was launched.[62] To cope with the potential for an increase in demand for products and services, Microsoft opened a number of “holiday stores” across the U.S. to complement the increasing number of “bricks-and-mortar” Microsoft Stores that opened in 2012.[63]

On March 29, 2013, Microsoft launched a Patent Tracker.[64] The Kinect sensor device was upgraded for the 2013 release of the eighth-generation Xbox One and its capabilities were revealed in May 2013. The new Kinect uses an ultra-wide 1080p camera, it can function in the dark due to an infrared sensor, it employs higher-end processing power and new software, it can distinguish between fine movements (such as a thumb movements), and the device can determine a user’s heart rate by looking at his/her face.[65] Microsoft filed a patent application in 2011 that suggests that the corporation may use the Kinect camera system to monitor the behavior of television viewers as part of a plan to make the viewing experience more active.On July 19, 2013, Microsoft stocks suffered its biggest one-day percentage sell-off since the year 2000 after its fourth-quarter report raised concerns among the investors on the poor showings of both Windows 8 and the Surface tablet; with more than 11 percentage points declining Microsoft suffered a loss of more than USD 32billion.[66] For the 2010 fiscal year, Microsoft had five product divisions: Windows Division, Server and Tools, Online Services Division, Microsoft Business Division, and Entertainment and Devices Division.

On September 3, 2013, Microsoft agreed to buy Nokia’s mobile unit for $7 billion.[67] Also in 2013, Amy Hood became the first female CFO of Microsoft. [68]

The Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI) was launched in October 2013 and Microsoft is part of the coalition of public and private organisations that also includes Facebook, Intel and Google. Led by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the A4AI seeks to make Internet access more affordable so that access is broadened in the developing world, where only 31% of people are online. Google will help to decrease internet access prices so that they fall below the UN Broadband Commission’s worldwide target of 5% of monthly income.[69]

Windows Division, Server and Tools, Online Services Division

The company’s Client division produces the flagship Windows OS line such as Windows 8; it also produces the Windows Live family of products and services. Server and Tools produces the server versions of Windows, such as Windows Server 2008 R2 as well as a set of development tools called Microsoft Visual Studio, Microsoft Silverlight, a web application framework, and System Center Configuration Manager, a collection of tools providing remote-control abilities, patch management, software distribution and a hardware/software inventory. Other server products include: Microsoft SQL Server, a relational database management system, Microsoft Exchange Server, for certain business-oriented e-mail and scheduling features, Small Business Server, for messaging and other small business-oriented features; and Microsoft BizTalk Server, for business process management.

Microsoft provides IT consulting (“Microsoft Consulting Services”) and produces a set of certification programs handled by the Server and Tools division designed to recognize individuals who have a minimal set of proficiencies in a specific role; this includes developers (“Microsoft Certified Solution Developer”), system/network analysts (“Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer”), trainers (“Microsoft Certified Trainers”) and administrators (“Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator” and “Microsoft Certified Database Administrator”). Microsoft Press, which publishes books, is also managed by the division. The Online Services Business division handles the online service MSN and the search engine Bing. As of December 2009, the company also possesses an 18% ownership of the cable news channel MSNBC without any editorial control; however, the division develops the channel’s website, msnbc.com, in a joint venture with the channel’s co-owner, NBC Universal.[70]

Business Division

The Commons, located on the campus of the company’s headquarters in Redmond.
The Microsoft Business Division produces Microsoft Office including Microsoft Office 2010, the company’s line of office software. The software product includes Word (a word processor), Access (a relational database program), Excel (a spreadsheet program), Outlook (Groupware, frequently used with Exchange Server), PowerPoint (presentation software), Publisher (desktop publishing software) and Sharepoint. A number of other products were added later with the release of Office 2003 including Visio, Project, MapPoint, InfoPath and OneNote. The division also develops enterprise resource planning (ERP) software for companies under the Microsoft Dynamics brand. These include: Microsoft Dynamics AX, Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Microsoft Dynamics GP, and Microsoft Dynamics SL. They are targeted at varying company types and countries, and limited to organizations with under 7,500 employees.[71] Also included under the Dynamics brand is the customer relationship management software Microsoft Dynamics CRM, part of the Azure Services Platform.

Entertainment and Devices Division

The Entertainment and Devices Division produces the Windows CE OS for embedded systems and Windows Phone for smartphones.[72] Microsoft initially entered the mobile market through Windows CE for handheld devices, eventually developing into the Windows Mobile OS and now, Windows Phone. Windows CE is designed for devices where the OS may not directly be visible to the end user, in particular, appliances and cars. The division also produces computer games that run on Windows PCs and other systems including titles such as Age of Empires, Halo and the Microsoft Flight Simulator series, and houses the Macintosh Business Unit which produces Mac OS software including Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac. Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices Division designs, markets, and manufactures consumer electronics including the Xbox 360 game console, the handheld Zune media player, and the television-based Internet appliance MSN TV. Microsoft also markets personal computer hardware including mice, keyboards, and various game controllers such as joysticks and gamepads.

Culture

Technical reference for developers and articles for various Microsoft magazines such as Microsoft Systems Journal (or MSJ) are available through the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN). MSDN also offers subscriptions for companies and individuals, and the more expensive subscriptions usually offer access to pre-release beta versions of Microsoft software.[73][74] In April 2004 Microsoft launched a community site for developers and users, titled Channel9, that provides a wiki and an Internet forum.[75] Another community site that provides daily videocasts and other services, On10.net, launched on March 3, 2006.[76] Free technical support is traditionally provided through online Usenet newsgroups, and CompuServe in the past, monitored by Microsoft employees; there can be several newsgroups for a single product. Helpful people can be elected by peers or Microsoft employees for Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) status, which entitles them to a sort of special social status and possibilities for awards and other benefits.[77]

Noted for its internal lexicon, the expression “eating our own dog food” is used to describe the policy of using prerelease and beta versions of products inside Microsoft in an effort to test them in “real-world” situations.[78] This is usually shortened to just “dog food” and is used as noun, verb, and adjective. Another bit of jargon, FYIFV or FYIV (“Fuck You, I’m [Fully] Vested”), is used by an employee to indicate they are financially independent and can avoid work anytime they wish.[79] The company is also known for its hiring process, mimicked in other organizations and dubbed the “Microsoft interview”, which is notorious for off-the-wall questions such as “Why is a manhole cover round?”.[80]

Microsoft is an outspoken opponent of the cap on H1B visas, which allow companies in the U.S. to employ certain foreign workers. Bill Gates claims the cap on H1B visas makes it difficult to hire employees for the company, stating “I’d certainly get rid of the H1B cap” in 2005.[81] Critics of H1B visas argue that relaxing the limits would result in increased unemployment for U.S. citizens due to H1B workers working for lower salaries.[82] The Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index, a report of how progressive the organization deems company policies towards LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual) employees, rated Microsoft as 87% from 2002 to 2004 and as 100% from 2005 to 2010 after they allowed gender expression.[83]

Criticism

Main article: Criticism of Microsoft

Criticism of Microsoft has followed the company’s existence because of various aspects of its products and business practices. Ease of use, stability, and security of the company’s software are common targets for critics. More recently, Trojan horses and other exploits have plagued numerous users due to faults in the security of Microsoft Windows and other programs. Microsoft is also accused of locking vendors into their products, and not following and complying with existing standards in its software.[84] Total cost of ownership comparisons of Linux as well as Mac OS X to Windows are a continuous point of debate.

The company has been in numerous lawsuits by several governments and other companies for unlawful monopolistic practices. In 2004, the European Union found Microsoft guilty in a highly publicized anti-trust case. Additionally, Microsoft’s EULA for some of its programs is often criticized as being too restrictive as well as being against open source software.

Microsoft has been criticized (along with Yahoo, AOL, Google and others) for its involvement in censorship in the People’s Republic of China.[85] Microsoft has also come under criticism for outsourcing jobs to China and India.[86][87][88] There were reports of poor working conditions at a factory in southern China that makes some of Microsoft’s products.[89]

Corporate affairs

The company is run by a board of directors made up of mostly company outsiders, as is customary for publicly traded companies. Members of the board of directors as of June 2010 are: Steve Ballmer, Dina Dublon, Bill Gates, Raymond Gilmartin, Reed Hastings, Maria Klawe, David Marquardt, Charles Noski, and Helmut Panke.[90] Board members are elected every year at the annual shareholders’ meeting using a majority vote system. There are five committees within the board which oversee more specific matters. These committees include the Audit Committee, which handles accounting issues with the company including auditing and reporting; the Compensation Committee, which approves compensation for the CEO and other employees of the company; the Finance Committee, which handles financial matters such as proposing mergers and acquisitions; the Governance and Nominating Committee, which handles various corporate matters including nomination of the board; and the Antitrust Compliance Committee, which attempts to prevent company practices from violating antitrust laws.[91]

Five year history graph of NASDAQ: MSFT stock on July 17, 2013.[92]
When Microsoft went public and launched its initial public offering (IPO) in 1986, the opening stock price was $21; after the trading day, the price closed at $27.75. As of July 2010, with the company’s nine stock splits, any IPO shares would be multiplied by 288; if one was to buy the IPO today given the splits and other factors, it would cost about 9 cents.[8]:235–236[93][94] The stock price peaked in 1999 at around $119 ($60.928 adjusting for splits).[95] The company began to offer a dividend on January 16, 2003, starting at eight cents per share for the fiscal year followed by a dividend of sixteen cents per share the subsequent year, switching from yearly to quarterly dividends in 2005 with eight cents a share per quarter and a special one-time payout of three dollars per share for the second quarter of the fiscal year.[95][96] Though the company had subsequent increases in dividend payouts, the price of Microsoft’s stock remained steady for years.[96][97]

One of Microsoft’s business tactics, described by an executive as “embrace, extend and extinguish,” initially embraces a competing standard or product, then extends it to produce their own version which is then incompatible with the standard, which in time extinguishes competition that does not or cannot use Microsoft’s new version.[98] Various companies and governments sue Microsoft over this set of tactics, resulting in billions of dollars in rulings against the company.[99][33][38] Microsoft claims that the original strategy is not anti-competitive, but rather an exercise of its discretion to implement features it believes customers want.[100]

Financial

Standard and Poor’s and Moody’s have both given a AAA rating to Microsoft, whose assets were valued at $41 billion as compared to only $8.5 billion in unsecured debt. Consequently, in February 2011 Microsoft released a corporate bond amounting to $2.25 billion with relatively low borrowing rates compared to government bonds.[101]

For the first time in 20 years Apple Inc. surpassed Microsoft in Q1 2011 quarterly profits and revenues due to a slowdown in PC sales and continuing huge losses in Microsoft’s Online Services Division (which contains its search engine Bing). Microsoft profits were $5.2 billion, while Apple Inc. profits were $6 billion, on revenues of $14.5 billion and $24.7 billion respectively.[102]

Microsoft’s Online Services Division has been continuously loss-making since 2006 and in Q1 2011 it lost $726 million. This follows a loss of $2.5 billion for the year 2010.[103]

On July 20, 2012, Microsoft posted its first quarterly loss ever, despite earning record revenues for the quarter and fiscal year. Microsoft reported a net loss of $492 million; the 2007 acquisition of advertising company aQuantive for $6.2 billion and problems associated with it have been cited as the cause.[104]

Environment

Microsoft is ranked on the 17th place in Greenpeace’s Guide to Greener Electronics (16th Edition) that ranks 18 electronics manufacturers according to their policies on toxic chemicals, recycling and climate change.[105] Microsoft’s timeline for phasing out BFRs and phthalates in all products is 2012 but its commitment to phasing out PVC is not clear. As yet (January 2011) it has no products that are completely free from PVC and BFRs.[106]

Microsoft’s main U.S. campus received a silver certification from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program in 2008, and it installed over 2,000 solar panels on top of its buildings in its Silicon Valley campus, generating approximately 15 percent of the total energy needed by the facilities in April 2005.[107]

Microsoft makes use of alternative forms of transit. It created one of the worlds largest private bus systems, the “Connector”, to transport people from outside the company; for on-campus transportation, the “Shuttle Connect” uses a large fleet of hybrid cars to save fuel. The company also subsidises regional public transport as an incentive.[107][108] In February 2010 however, Microsoft took a stance against adding additional public transport and high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes to a bridge connecting Redmond to Seattle; the company did not want to delay the construction any further.[109]

Microsoft was ranked number 1 in the list of the World’s Best Multinational Workplaces by the Great Place to Work Institute in 2011.[110]

Marketing

In 2004, Microsoft commissioned research firms to do independent studies comparing the total cost of ownership (TCO) of Windows Server 2003 to Linux; the firms concluded that companies found Windows easier to administrate than Linux, thus those using Windows would administrate faster resulting in lower costs for their company (i.e. lower TCO).[111] This spurred a wave of related studies; a study by the Yankee Group concluded that upgrading from one version of Windows Server to another costs a fraction of the switching costs from Windows Server to Linux, although companies surveyed noted the increased security and reliability of Linux servers and concern about being locked into using Microsoft products.[112] Another study, released by the Open Source Development Labs, claimed that the Microsoft studies were “simply outdated and one-sided” and their survey concluded that the TCO of Linux was lower due to Linux administrators managing more servers on average and other reasons.[113]

As part of the “Get the Facts” campaign, Microsoft highlighted the .NET trading platform that it had developed in partnership with Accenture for the London Stock Exchange, claiming that it provided “five nines” reliability. After suffering extended downtime and unreliability[114][115] the LSE announced in 2009 that it was planning to drop its Microsoft solution and switch to a Linux based one in 2010.[116][117]

Cooperation with the United States Government

Microsoft provides early access of reported bugs in their software to the United States Government.[118]

Logo

Microsoft adopted the so-called “Pac-Man Logo”, designed by Scott Baker, in 1987. Baker stated “The new logo, in Helvetica italic typeface, has a slash between the o and s to emphasize the “soft” part of the name and convey motion and speed.”[119] Dave Norris ran an internal joke campaign to save the old logo, which was green, in all uppercase, and featured a fanciful letter O, nicknamed the blibbet, but it was discarded.[120] Microsoft’s logo with the “Your potential. Our passion.” tagline below the main corporate name, is based on a slogan Microsoft used in 2008. In 2002, the company started using the logo in the United States and eventually started a TV campaign with the slogan, changed from the previous tagline of “Where do you want to go today?”.[121][122][123] During the private MGX (Microsoft Global Exchange) conference in 2010, Microsoft unveiled the company’s next tagline, “Be What’s Next.”.[124]

On August 23, 2012, Microsoft unveiled a new corporate logo at the opening of its 23rd Microsoft store in Boston indicating the company’s shift of focus from the classic style to the tile-centric modern interface which it uses/will use on the Windows Phone platform, Xbox 360, Windows 8 and the upcoming Office Suites.[125] The new logo also includes four squares with the colors of the then-current Windows logo.[126] This logo is, however, not completely new – it was featured in Windows 95 commercials from the mid-1990s.[127][128]

1987

Hope you enjoy it! :) It’s great so far from my experience.