It’s hard to imaginePokémonwithout its cute and cuddly mascot, Pikachu. Pikachu is easily one of the most iconic Pokémon, and it has become as synonymous with the brand as Poké Balls. Given what we know about Pikachu now, it’s a little surprising to learn that everyone’s favorite electric mouse almost got a major redesign when coming to the States. Not only would Pikachu have been less adorable, the new design would likely have done major harm to the marketability of the franchise.
It’s not uncommon to see Pikachu slapped onPokémon Center products like backpacks or apparel, something thatwould likely not have happened if Nintendo had decided to go with its less appealing design. While Pikachu has gone through a few iterations over the years, nothing has come close to the strange design that was floated by Nintendo of America’s marketing team back in the 1990s.
The New Pikachu Design Would’ve Been More Human
In an interview with Nintendo Japan, Pokémon Company CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara explained some of the changes the company’s American team wanted to make to Pikachu, which were quoted in an article byTime. According to Ishihara, one idea that was floated was to turn Pikachu into “something like a tiger with huge breasts.” Ishihara likened the design to a character from the musicalCats. One need only look at the largely negative reaction to the 2019 film version ofCatsto realize what a big mistake it would have been to turn Pikachu into a humanoid cat creature.
While it’s hard to deny that curvaceous anthropomorphic animals are popular in some niche communities,they don’t have nearly the same mainstream appeal as Pikachuor other generally cute Pokémon. It’s hard to know why Nintendo of America’s marketing team would have thought this was a good change to make, especially for a game aimed at younger audiences. Of course, when you hear that the same team wanted toturnPokémoninto a baseball game, it becomes a little less surprising.
Pikachu’s Design Took A Much Better Approach
Retaining Pikachu’s Cuteness Was Essential For Pokémon’s Brand
Hindsight is 20/20, and I don’t want to come off like I’m being too harsh on the Nintendo of America team’s seemingly strange ideas.I don’t envy any team of adults that have to predict what children are going to like, and I doubt any marketing team could have predicted recent trends like Skibidi Toilet. Still, history has proven that sticking to Pikachu’s original design was the way to go.
Pikachu isn’t just successful as part ofPokémongames or the anime, but also as a marketing tool. There are Pokémon-branded items like backpacks, coloring books, and picture books that are popular with young children. I find it somewhat hard to believe that Pikachu would be as successful with younger audiences, or even allowed in schools, if Nintendo had gone with a design that could have been perceived as more sexually charged.
Pikachu’s Design Has Still Evolved Over The Years
Pikachu Got A More Subtle Redesign For The Pokémon Anime
Although Nintendo of America ultimately made the right choice not to heavily redesign Pikachu, that isn’t to say that redesigns are entirely a bad thing. In fact,I think the eventual redesign of Pikachu that did happen was probably for the best from a marketing standpoint. As much as I love the original chunky Pikachu fromPokémon RedandBlue, as well as theearlyPokémon TCGsets, it’s hard to argue that the redesign done for thePokémonanime wasn’t the right call.
The newer Pikachu has more of a defined face which doesn’t blend into its body as much as in the original design. This makes it easier for the Pokémon Company to simply slap Pikachu’s cute little head on products. This more subtle redesign worked to create a marketable mascot forPokémonwhile not losing the core appeal of Pikachu’s original look.
