The Pokémon Company
The Pokémon Company (株式会社ポケモン, Kabushiki gaisha Pokemon) is a Japanese company responsible for brand management, production, marketing and licensing of the Pokémon franchise, which consists of video game software, a trading card game, anime television series, films, manga, home entertainment products, merchandise, and other ventures. It was established through a joint investment by the three businesses holding the copyright of Pokémon: Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures. It began operating in 1998 and adopted the moniker Pokémon Ltd. in October 2000. The company is headquartered in the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo.[3]
The company has separate subsidiaries that handle operations in different parts of the world, with The Pokémon Company International supporting the territories outside of Asia and being responsible for brand management, licensing, marketing, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, the animated TV series, home entertainment, and the official Pokémon website on the territories outside of Asia. In South Korea, the operations are handled by Pokémon Korea, Inc.[3]
The Pokémon Company also handles publishing of all Pokémon video games since 2001 with Nintendo. The Pokémon Company is mostly responsible for marketing, while Nintendo handles distribution. Both companies work together on localization, production, funding, QA, and other aspects. The company is solely responsible for publishing and licensing mobile Pokémon titles, unlike console titles where it divides publishing with Nintendo.[4]
