| Type | Affiliate of Nintendo |
|---|---|
| Industry | Brand management |
| Founded | 1998 |
| Headquarters | Tokyo, Japan Bellevue, Washington, United States London, United Kingdom |
| Key people | Kenji Okubo Akira Chiba Jordan Kerr |
| Products | Pokémon |
| Owner(s) | Nintendo |
| Employees | US branch: 100 (2006) |
| Website | http://www.pokemon.co.jp/corporate/ http://www.pokemon.com/ |
The Pokémon Company (株式会社ポケモン Kabushiki-gaisha Pokemon) is a corporation responsible for marketing and licensing the Pokémon franchise and is affiliated and owned by Nintendo[1]. It began operating in 1998 and adopted the moniker "Pokémon Ltd." in 2000. The company is headquartered in the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower in Roppongi Rokuchome, Minato, Tokyo.[2] The company has separate divisions that handle operations in different parts of the world, with The Pokémon Company International supporting the US and UK as of 2009[update]. The company manages the Pokémon properties and releases.
Contents |
Company operations began in 1998 with the opening of Pokémon Center in Tokyo, before the actual trademark of "Pokémon, Ltd." was established in 2000. Since then, Nintendo has been marketing this branch as "The Pokémon Company". The US branch (Pokémon USA, Inc) opened in 2001 to handle licensing overseas. Nintendo Australia does all licensing and marketing of Pokémon products in Australia and New Zealand, as The Pokémon Company does not have an Australian branch.[3] The company is headquartered in the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower in Roppongi Rokuchome, Minato, Tokyo.[4]
Since 2001, nearly all licensed Pokémon products have "©Pokémon" in the copyright acknowledgments with the usual three of "©Nintendo", "©Game Freak" and "©Creatures Inc.". The video games, Pokémon Trading Card Game and licensed toys are still being made by third and second party companies such as Takara Tomy.
In 2009, Pokémon USA and its UK counterpart merged to become The Pokémon Company International, which will handle non-Asia Pokémon operations under the administration of Kenji Okubo. Australian operations are to still be under control of Nintendo Australia, which is headed by Managing Director, Yuji Bando.[5] The company's United States offices are in Bellevue, Washington.[6]