Watch: Pokémon 20th Anniversary Super Bowl Commercial
I’m not going to lie. I never got down with Pokemon back in the day. I wrongly poo-poo’d it as “kiddie nonsense”, apparently twenty years ago. At the time I was listening to Megadeth, jerking off compulsively, and playing “real games!” like Twisted Metal or some shit. Now, obviously I do all that still, swapping out Twisted Metal for Fallout 4. But I’m intrigued by Pokemon these days, seeing its allure and OCD-influenced live-ruining potential, and despite having never played the title, this commercial is all sorts of awesome none the less.
Pokemon are coming to the Super Bowl. Nintendo has posted their upcoming Super Bowl commercial celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Pokemon franchise.
While many anticipated the commercial would lead into an announcement for Pokemon GO mobile game or the rumored “Pokemon Z” 3DS game, the commercial instead focuses on the importance of training, one of the key aspects of the Pokemon series. The commercial initially focuses on normal people performing extraordinary tasks thanks to hard work, the commercial slowly shifts focus to a Pokemon battle set in a packed arena. Nintendo’s new motto for the Pokemon franchise “Train On” is also featured at the end of the commercial.
Debuting in 1996, the Pokemon franchise has captivated millions of fans worldwide with its popular video games, long-running anime series and trading card game. Nintendo is celebrating the franchise’s 20th anniversary with a re-release of the original Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow games for 3DS, a series of Mythical Pokemon giveaways, a special trading card game expansion and plenty of new merchandise. Nintendo will also release Pokemon GO, a mobile game that allows players to “catch” Pokemon in the real world, later this year.
The commercial will air on February 7 during Super Bowl 50, which is typically the most watched annual sports event on television.