A year ago, Pokemon was a massive cultural force in America. The show enraptured children, who demanded oodles and oodles of products from their parents. The movie was a huge hit. The toys were ubiquitous. Pokemon was everywhere.
One year later, and Pokemon is still around but less prominent. The third movie didn't do as well as expected. Toy stores are discounting the product. Yet Pokemon is still in the top ten of the Lycos 50, including #8 this week. What gives?
Well, Pokemon interest was so high online for the first year of the Lycos 50 that #8 is a long, long fall. From August 1999 to July 2000, only Hurricane Floyd, Halloween, and Christmas could top it. Pokemon searches are down roughly 58 percent from the last week it was at #1.
The drop in Pokemon interest reflects an overall drop of interest in Japanese anime over the past few months. Sailor Moon, for example, appeared in the Lycos 50 for 64 out of our first 65 weeks, but her last appearance was January 3. Searches are down 43 percent since the beginning of the year.
Or, look at Gundam Wing, which was in the Lycos 50 for 27 straight weeks through most of 2000, peaking at #8. It last appeared on January 9 and Gundam Wing searches are down 57 percent since the beginning of the year.
Still, the still-phenomenal level of interest in Dragonball Z shows that anime shows still get a ton of queries if they are enough of a licensing juggernaut. Dragonball and Pokemon both are licensed in every way imaginable, with TV shows, videotapes, comic books, card games, video games, toys, and who knows what else.
Taking a look at specific Pokemon searches, we can see where the interest is coming from and where it has changed. For example, a year ago the search Pokemon cards represented 3.6 percent of Pokemon searches. Now it represents only 2.4 percent. Perhaps this explains why the cards are on discount at your local toy store.
Searches for the official Pokemon website are down as well, from 3.1 percent of Pokemon searches to 1.7 percent.
On the other hand, the Pokemon video games seem to represent a much greater portion of Pokemon interest than they did a year ago. Searches for the most popular Pokemon game, Pokemon Gold, are up from 8.1 percent to 12.4 percent.
While many Pokemon products have stopped production, Nintendo keeps on cranking out the games, including the recent Pokemon Stadium 2 for Nintendo 64 and the upcoming American release of Pokemon Crystal for Game Boy. Interest in Pokemon Crystal is already high in America (it represents 2.6 percent of Pokemon searches) and it will be the first Pokemon game where kids can choose if their character is a boy or a girl.
Strangely, the simple word Pokemon makes up the exact same amount of Pokemon searches that it did a year ago: 25.1 percent.
Of course, Lycos still has a ton of Pokemon stuff to fill your Pokemon needs. We've got Pokemon products in Lycos Shop, a clubs with a ton of members, and plenty of other Pokemon links for your kids.
To make a sports analogy, Pokemon represents what might happen if (when) Michael Jordan comes back. A year ago, Pokemon was like Jordan at his peak -- untouchable. Just like Jordan was far and away the best player in the NBA, Pokemon was far and away the most popular topic on the Lycos 50.
When Jordan comes back, he may be very good but he'll be just one of a number of very good players. He won't be special anymore. That's the situation with Pokemon right now. It is still very popular, but it is just one of a number of topics which might make the Lycos 50 top ten in any given week.
Of course, if you continue that analogy you end up with Kobe Bryant as Dragonball and Shaquille O'Neal as Britney Spears. Come to think of it, that's a pretty funny image.
TOMORROW: The most hated teen pop singer in America.
