The Marketing of Expectations

As many Pokémon fans know, the eighth-generation main series games have been revealed, along with the starter Pokémon that will initially accompany Trainers on their journey. But that's about all that has been revealed; things like the final evolved forms of those starters have not, and they have been left up to the imagination of fans, at least for the time being. The thing about this is that this may be considered a marketing ploy, and a lot of expectations may ride on it.

The "marketing ploy" part is that by letting the imaginations of fans run rampant, free, and wild about the final evolved forms before the actual reveal of those forms, they're actually communicating about the games. They are letting other fans (and other players) know that Pokémon will have a new game out soon with specific things, and they're also putting in their two cents about what they think of it. It's kind of like what I do with the posts on this blog, except in a more visual form, and viral thanks to the social media of today. And so far, this has resulted in some nifty things, whether serious-hypothetical or humorous-jocular.

The "expectation" part naturally arises out of these imaginative speculations (or speculative imaginations, if one prefers). The creation of the fan art involving the final evolved forms creates not only thoughts about what they might be, but also what they should be, according to the minds of the players. This is of course part of the "hype" of things prior to the release of the games, although in my mind, this could become unnecessarily too much, especially if left unchecked. I seem to be seeing indications that this might be happening to a number of fans.

I personally try to "keep a level head"; I try not to let all these speculations take over my sentiments when they aren't even official to begin with. I don't mind having and seeing all these speculations, and I'll admit they achieve the marketing goal in a unique way. Yet I also feel that it's hard to justify being too worked up over something that may or may not end up becoming true, and therefore I play down the expectations. Once the real thing comes about, then I may get quite worked up about it.

Even with my personal sentiments about "the marketing of expectations", what happens with the imagination of fans is surely a testament to creativity. They satisfy their sentiments as well as those of others with their conceptions. It's almost as great as the creative forces behind what makes the game possible to be realized. And in that process, this realizes a kind of marketing tactic, which could be said to be impressive. For now, that may just be OK, as the fans wait for the actual games with their own impressions.

One year ago: How Many to a Raid?
Two years ago: To Be Continued... maimai ORANGE (PLUS)