2024 has probably been the most peculiar Andalusia Day, not in recent years, but so far this century. And Nintendo has a lot to do with it. Although the 28-F gala held yesterday in Seville had the objective of praising Andalusianism, showing off regional pride and naming the two new Favorite Sons of the community, the real protagonist of the day ended up being someone else: Dragonite. Neither President Juanma Moreno, nor José Mercé, nor Juan y Medio, nor any other of the celebrities who attended the event. The spotlight (and tweets) were monopolized by the flying Pokémon.
The big question now is… What does Nintendo think and The Pokemon Companythe firm in charge of managing the highly profitable Pokémon saga, that one of its creations would appear at the gala?
An unexpected protagonist. As surprising as it was unexpected. The protagonist of the gala of the institutional event held yesterday at the Teatro de la Maestranza, in Seville, to celebrate Andalusia Day, was not President Juanma Moreno, nor the two new Favorite Sons from the region, the flamenco singer José Mercé and the director of the RAE and president of the Association of Language Academies, Santiago Muñoz Machado. The spotlight was focused on another figure: Dragonite. Not just any Dragonite, though.
The eyes (and tweets) were captured by a peculiar version of the popular flying Pokémon, hand paw on chest, solemn look, green color and two flags of Andalusia drawn on the outstretched wings.
Click on the image to go to the tweet.
In cardboard and large screen. Perhaps the presence of the Andalusian Dragonite will be shocking at the 28-F gala, but there is certainly little doubt that it was well studied. After all, the Pokémon characterized by the colors of Andalusia appeared at least on two occasions and in different places during the celebration. We were able to see it printed on cardboard at the Teatro de la Maestranza, with a figure that even Moreno or the television presenter Juan y Medio approached. And we were also able to see it at the close of the ceremony, projected on a huge screen.
“I know him because my six-year-old son is obsessed with Pokémon,” I was joking the presenter of the ceremony, Eva González. She wasn’t the only one who spoke out about the meme. He influencer Adrián Maldonado from Malaga, ‘Spoksponha’, also dedicated himself to interviewing some media figures in front of the large cardboard figure of the green dragon. “Our favorite Pokémon, the Pokémon associated with Andalusia”, Juan y Medio boasted.
Same to same. The figure may have surprised some of the around 1,800 people who yesterday attended the official event organized by the Junta de Andalucía, but he is an old acquaintance on social media. The Dragonite meme became popular years ago with the colors of the Spanish flag, although they were not the only ones that it has worn. A simple search in X arrives to find the popular Pokémon posing with the Venezuelan flagthe argentina and now, above all, the emblem of the Andalusian community.
In Andalusia, however, the assembly has gone from the networks to an institutional act, the most symbolic of the community. And that, of course, has made the Andalusian Dragonite meme return strongly to the networks, where it has circulated over the last few hours. Curiously, the original image has nothing to do with patriotism or flags. It even has little that is solemn. It is taken from the scene of one of the tapes of Pokémon in which the dragon can be seen in that position before taking flight.
A billion-dollar franchise. After the initial surprise of 28-F and the avalanche of memes, the question that some columnists and users on networks have asked themselves is… What does the company that owns its rights think of the Andalusian Dragonite and its repeated use at the Andalusian gala? author? After all, Pokémon is a protected and especially lucrative franchise with a wide catalog of video games, audiovisual products, cards, trading cards and countless merchandising.
According to Statista, the franchise’s total estimated revenue is $105 billion. This volume places it at the head of the most valuable media franchises in the world, ahead of other especially prolific ones, such as Hello Kitty or Winnie the Pooh.
The Pokemon’s posture. The company responsible for managing the brand, marketing and licensing of the franchise is The Pokemon Company, which traces its origins back to more than a quarter of a century ago. In April 1998, the original authors of Pokémon, Nintendo Co, Creatures Inc and Game Freak Inc, founded Pokemon Center Co, which years later changed its name to become The Pokemon Company. “Since then our commercial activities have expanded to the general management of the Pokémon brand,” the company says.
In January 2023, the Game Informer website went a little further and explained how the franchise empire was organized: according to your datathe real property is shared between one third by Game Freak, Creatures and Nintendo. Kantan Games aseguraba For a few months now, the latter has held 32% of the voting rights in the company. XATAKA has already contacted The Pokemon Company to find out if it was aware of the use of an image of Dragonite during the 28-F gala in Andalusia and, if not, what its position is; but the company has not yet given a response.
Graphic published by Statista in 2021.
The company notice. On its website the company is clear about the copyrigth. “You should assume that everything you see or read on Pokemon.com is copyrighted (unless otherwise noted) and may not be used except as stated in Pokemon’s terms of use or with the written permission of The Pokemon”, clarifies the companywhich details in its policy: “Unless otherwise noted, all content on the service, including articles, illustrations, screenshots, graphics, logos, downloads and other files, is the property of Pokémon and is protected by copyright. copyright, trademark and other US and international intellectual property laws.
“Trademarks and copyrights for third-party games and characters are the property of the companies that market or license those products. Because we receive thousands of such requests, it is our policy to refuse use of our trademarks and copyright”, company abounds in its terms of use policy.
With complaints history. If Nintendo, one of the key companies in the franchise, has shown something, it is that it does not hesitate when it comes to enforcing its copyright. In 2022 the youtuber GilvaSunner announced, for example, that the Japanese firm had taken down with its claims some 1,300 YouTube videos that used soundtracks from its video games. Shortly before, the company had cerrado Nintendo Creators Program. Their claims history is extensive and does not end there.
The multinational founded by Fusajiro Yamauchi has demanded also the creators of Yuzu, a Switch game emulator, have been involved in some media court battle against hackers and sued for a sum millionaire to a website that he accused of using “counterfeit copies” of its trademarks. Even has made a move to avoid publishing images of emulated games.
Jealous of her rights. The Pokemon Company has also been jealous of its creations. Not long ago people spoke about the game Palword, by Pocketpair, a title with remarkable growth which has come to be defined as “a Pokémon with guns.” The Japanese firm stated last January that it had not granted permission to another company to use its intellectual property or assets, and warned of its intentions – as collected The Crunch at that time— to “investigate and take appropriate action.”
Image | Junta of Andalusia (YouTube)
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2024-02-29 13:36:37
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