alt Hacker NewsHaha what would Pokémon have to do to convince you it's more than a fad? It's already the world's biggest IP, it's been around for 30 years...
Replies
coldtea • yesterday at 9:36 PM
Well, they have all the characteristics of a fad (driven by imitation, viral adoption, unserious, novelty over substance) aside from short lifespan.
There are fad diets that have been around for 50 years after all...
john_strinlai • yesterday at 8:51 PM
indeed, i always understood a "fad" to mean some short-lived trend. meanwhile, pokemon is probably around the same age as the average HN user.
➕ show 2 replies
I’m referring specifically to the cards, which exploded in popularity after Logan Paul paid $5 million for a rare card in 2021.
The prices are completely driven by artificial scarcity - obviously they could easily print any card in unlimited numbers, but they intentionally print some cards in limited quantities that can only be obtained by getting lucky with a random pack.
Most buyers don’t even play the card game.
In February Paul resold the card for $16 million. [1]
[1] https://edition.cnn.com/2026/02/16/americas/pokemon-card-log...