Videophones and Pokémon, Then and Now

One of the things that the Pokémon anime is known for including is the use of videophones. Trainers - most notably Ash - contact other people, most notably Professor Oak, with telephones that allow the callers to view each other by the use of cameras. This seemed in the past like a technological fantasy that couldn't be realized, but fast forward to today, video calling is not only possible, but also commonplace. I find this transformation to be nothing short of amazing.

Way back when the Pokémon games were first released and the anime adaptation came into being, technology wasn't as advanced as it is today. Telephony was still using copper lines more than waves in the air, and they didn't have cameras, nor did most computers, which were mostly unequipped for calling others. Even then, the Internet was still in its infancy as a good deal of Internet access was also done slowly on the same copper lines. When calling someone, it was almost assuredly voice only. It almost looked like a different world.

Today, however, technology has advanced and even gone past the point where video calls as depicted in the Pokémon anime are possible. Many phones today are portable, free from land lines, and equipped with a front camera for video calls through certain applications. For computers, if they're hooked on the Internet and have a camera, which most are and do, they too can be used for video calling. Most importantly, today the Internet can be accessed rapidly through fiber optics and waves in the air, transmitting not only voices, but also images. Videophone devices exist, but they don't get as much use as the portable phones and computers of today.

Pokémon is by no means the sole precursor to this technological advancement, as other things have also featured video phones before its time. But while it may not be the sole precursor, it regardless can be considered to be contributory to the advancement. It might be hard to see other technological features in the Pokémon world be fully realized in the real world, but we can at least take steps in that direction. And when this does happen, I'm prepared to be amazed one more time.