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The Pokémon Company International

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The Pokémon Company International
The Pokémon Company International logo.png
The Pokémon Company International logo
Founded February 2001
Headquarters Bellevue, Washington & London, UK
Type Subsidiary
Owner(s) The Pokémon Company
Subsidiaries The Pokémon Company International Ireland Limited
Industry Video games, licencing
Website

Consumer: pokemon.com
Corporate: corporate.pokemon.com

The Pokémon Company International (often abbreviated to TPCi) is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Pokémon Company that was first established in February 2001, as Pokémon USA, Inc.[1] In 2009, it merged with the Pokémon UK office[2] to create a company that is responsible for "brand management, licensing, marketing, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, the animated TV series, home entertainment, and the official Pokémon website" in markets outside of Asia,[3] as well as managing PokemonCenter.com in the United States. Kenji Okubo is the current President and CEO.

History

140Kabuto.png This section contains old or outdated information, or has not been updated in a while.
Please check the content of this section and update it as required.
The logo of the former Pokémon USA, Inc.

The Pokémon Company International was founded in February 2001 as Pokémon USA, Inc.[1] in New York City. It was created to manage the Pokémon franchise outside of Asia, with responsibility for "licensing, merchandising, TV animation, trading card games, theatrical releases, home video entertainment, the official Pokémon website" and other areas[4].

The company's first president was Tatsumi Kimishima (who would later go on to become president of Nintendo)[5], and on November 16, 2001, it oversaw the opening of Pokémon Center NY at the Rockefeller Center in New York[6].

In 2002 Tatsumi Kimishima was succeeded by Akira Chiba as president. Following threatened litigation, the licencing agreement with Wizards of the Coast for the Pokémon Trading Card Game ended in 2003[4], and Pokémon USA, Inc. brought the production and distribution of the game in-house.

In March 2003, the Pokémon UK office opened in London, United Kingdom[1].

On January 20, 2005, the journal Nature published an article in which a group of researchers named a newly discovered cancer-causing gene "Pokemon"[7]. Pokémon USA, Inc. responded by threatening legal action, as they said that the image of Pokémon could be undermined by associating it with cancer. As a result, the gene was renamed[8].

Up until the end of 2005, the licensing and merchandising for Pokémon outside of Asia was outsourced to 4Kids Entertainment. On December 23, 2005 Pokémon USA, Inc. and 4Kids Entertainment announced that they had agreed not to renew the representation agreement set to expire on December 31 that year, and licencing was brought fully in-house by Pokémon USA, Inc.[9]. This led to Pokémon USA taking over English dubs of all Pokémon animation, as well as several main characters in Pokémon the Series being recast starting with its ninth season.

In 2007, Akira Chiba stepped down as president and he was replaced by Kenji Okubo, previously executive vice president and head of Pokémon USA’s Seattle office. In his new role, he was leader of Pokémon’s operations in New York, Seattle and London[10].

In 2008, Pokémon USA moved production of the Pokémon the Series dub from TAJ Productions[11] to DuArt Film & Video. That year, Pokémon UK worked with design agency Red Central to create a marketing style guide for Europe[12], announced a partnership with Network Distributing to distribute the Pokémon movies and anime on DVD in the UK[13], and announced Jetix Europe (now Disney XD Europe) would air the anime from season 11[14].

In February 2009, Pokémon USA, Inc. struck a deal with Toys "R" Us in which their stores would have a dedicated Pokémon Boutique until the end of the year[15], and in the same month announced a DVD distribution deal with Universal Studios Home Entertainment for Pokémon: Giratina and the Sky Warrior[16].

On April 9, 2009 it was announced that Pokémon USA, Inc. and Pokémon UK would be unifying their operations under the name The Pokémon Company International. Kenji Okubo said that the rationale behind the move was that the two companies had worked closely together on a day-to-day basis, and that the change in name was done to reflect the connection between the two offices and ensure their worldwide reach[2].

In 2020, all European (minus British) activities of the brand were transferred to a new branch located in Dublin, Ireland. This was due to the effects of Brexit.

In June 2023, The Pokémon Company International opened a new office in Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City.

Offices

The Pokémon Company International has its headquarters in Bellevue, Washington and London, United Kingdom.

  • 10400 NE 4th Street, Suite 2800, Bellevue, WA 98004, United States
  • 3rd Floor Building 10, Chiswick Park, 566 Chiswick High Road, London, W4 5XS, United Kingdom

The Pokémon Company International Ireland Limited has its headquaters in Dublin, Ireland.

  • 3rd Floor, 2 Central Plaza, Dame Street, Dublin 2, D02 TOX4, Ireland

The Pokémon Company International Mexico, S. de R.L. de C.V.

  • Avenida Emilio Castelar 75, Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City 11550, MX

External links

Official websites

Social media

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Company History - The Pokémon Company (retrieved April 21, 2020)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Pokémon Merges North American, European Operations - World Screen (archived from the original April 13, 2009; retrieved April 21, 2020)
  3. ↑ About the Pokémon Company International - The Pokémon Company International (retrieved April 21, 2020)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Pokémon USA, Inc. and Wizards of the Coast, Inc. Resolve Dispute - Business Wire (retrieved April 22, 2020)
  5. ↑ 5 Reasons Why Tatsumi Kimishima is Good for Nintendo - USgamer (retrieved April 21, 2020)
  6. ↑ Pokémon says “I Choose You!” To Rockefeller Center for First U.S. Store Dedicated To the Growing Worldwide Phenomenon - Pokémon USA, Inc. (archived from the original November 19, 2001; retrieved April 22, 2020)
  7. ↑ Role of the proto-oncogene Pokemon in cellular transformation and ARF repression - Nature (retrieved April 22, 2020)
  8. ↑ Pokémon blocks gene name - Nature (retrieved April 22, 2020)
  9. ↑ Pokémon USA Moves Licensing In-House in 2006; 4Kids Entertainment to Transition Its Representation of Pokémon - Business Wire (retrieved April 22, 2020)
  10. ↑ President of Pokémon USA, Inc. to Step Down - Business Wire (retrieved April 22, 2020)
  11. ↑ TAJ Productions No Longer Dubbing Pokemon - PokéBeach (retrieved April 22, 2020)
  12. ↑ Pokémon launches European branding guide for a new era - creativematch (archived from the original September 11, 2018; retrieved April 22, 2020)
  13. ↑ UK to get all Pokémon seasons on DVD? - PKMN.NET (retrieved April 22, 2020)
  14. ↑ Jetix becomes new home of Pokémon in Europe - Jetix Europe Ltd. (archived from the original November 7, 2012; retrieved April 22, 2020)
  15. ↑ Pokémon Boutique Invades Toys R Us - Kotaku (accessed April 22, 2020)
  16. ↑ Pokémon Comes to DVD in an all-new Feature-Length Movie - PR Newswire (archived from the original February 26, 2009; retrieved April 22, 2020)


Companies
Franchise management The Pokémon Company (The Pokémon Company International • Pokémon Center Co., Ltd. • Pokémon Korea, Inc. • Pokémon Singapore Pte. Ltd. • Pokémon Shanghai)
Animation & Movies 4Kids Entertainment • Bang Zoom! Studios • Deluxe • DuArt Media Services • Iyuno • Miramax • OLM, Inc. • TAJ Productions • The Walt Disney Company • Toho • Universal Pictures Home Entertainment • Warner Bros.
Books & Strategy guides Golden Books • Media Factory • Prima Games • Scholastic
Collectible cards Edibas Collections • N-DESIGN Inc. • Studio Bora Inc. • Topps • Wizards of the Coast
Manga Chuang Yi • Outland forlag • Panini Comics • Shogakukan • Shogakukan Asia • VIZ Media
Merchandise & Toys Funko • Hasbro • JR Kikaku • Jakks Pacific • Play by Play • Re-Ment • Takara Tomy • Toy Factory • Uniqlo
Video games Bandai Namco • Creatures, Inc. (Ambrella) • DeNA • Denyusha • Game Freak • Genius Sonority • HAL Laboratory, Inc. • Hudson Soft • ILCA • Jupiter Corporation • Niantic • Nintendo (Mario Club • Nintendo of America • Nintendo System Development) • PLANETA • SELECT BUTTON inc. • Sega • Spike Chunsoft


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