What can Splatoon do to break Splatoon's problem with Splatfest in America?

[PrinceOfKoopas]

Oh okay, I see where you're coming from. I'm not interested in creating an unpredictable result by including extra variables. I would prefer if the only thing that mattered is wins.

If the only thing that mattered is wins, then yeah, it'll be as predictable or even moreso than it currently is.

If you're fine with that, then there currently is no problem with Splatoon's American Splatfests.

 

[ShinyGirafarig]

If the only thing that mattered is wins, then yeah, it'll be as predictable or even moreso than it currently is.

If you're fine with that, then there currently is no problem with Splatoon's American Splatfests.

Shhhh... NA's influence may be beginning to influence other regions. Japan's recent 2 Splatfests just had the less popular team win but I would probably wait for a third one that goes similarly to see if they adopted NA's strategy. EU had its recent one win the less popularity but a new one has been announced so let's see if a pattern is beginning to form for them.

 

[PrinceOfKoopas]

Shhhh... NA's influence may be beginning to influence other regions. Japan's recent 2 Splatfests just had the less popular team win but I would probably wait for a third one that goes similarly to see if they adopted NA's strategy. EU had its recent one win the less popularity but a new one has been announced so let's see if a pattern is beginning to form for them.

Remember: It takes three to make a trend!

 

[Zombie Aladdin]

Pretty sure "normal" kids aren't watching Naruto. The kind of kids who know the difference between udon and tempura will watch Naruto. Not that it doesn't have a fan base here, but it's a bit Japanese for the average kid. However you're close: I forgot about the TMNT revival. And for the kids that DO watch Naruto, you'd have to contrast it with One Piece ;)

Kids don't care about One Piece. 4Kids tried, and then FUNimation tried, and One Piece struggles on Toonami but remains stable because of adult viewership.

And Naruto IS popular among kids. It receives consistently good ratings and gets a lot of merchandise sales aimed at kids in North America. The playerbase for the Naruto video games is largley kids, and it's one of the few anime franchises to have video games do well in North America. As for dried noodles, I still see a lot of kids think Naruto is eating Cup Noodles in a bowl at Ichiraku.

Definitely though, TMNT is popular and is surprisingly so.

Looking at the Miiverse posts, you can see a lot of badly drawn TMNT and Naruto artwork, indicating a lot of kids joined Team Ninjas for one or both of those franchises.

 

[ShinyGirafarig]

I'm not sure if this has been done yet but I'll share with you all anyway.
View attachment 2649

 

[Succubusty]

You have to keep in mind that there are Canadian, Latin-American and Caribbean (me being one of them) players thrown in the mix. Sure the US is the majority, but that doesn't mean they're the only factor in which team will win.

Sure, the US isn't the only factor, but it's definitely the deciding factor, since the bulk of players in the NA region live in the US/Canada. The cultural difference between the US and Canada are insignificant, so I don't separate them much, but from my experience, video gaming in general is not very widespread in Latin-American and Caribbean countries (where I'm originally from), so the deciding factor will definitely lie in the US and Canada.

Of course. It was a brainstorming session for me. I can't help but feel some of your predictions are based on children's preferences though, which can be quite different from teenagers' or adults' preferences. Children more often prefer comedy (or at least, it's harder to write something for children that doesn't have comedy in it), whereas adults lean more towards drama.

In my post, I was predicting which teams would win the popularity vote based on what kids in NA would most likely choose, so yea, those predictions are 100% based on children's preferences. If it were based on the mature audience's vote, well, it'd be a whole different ball game. There'd be alot more variety in biases and it'd be alot harder to predict which team would get the popularity vote. But as Splatoon is predominantly played by children, well, that's sadly not the case. :c

 

[BlackZero]

But as Splatoon is predominantly played by children, well, that's sadly not the case. :c

 

[Award]

Kids don't care about One Piece. 4Kids tried, and then FUNimation tried, and One Piece struggles on Toonami but remains stable because of adult viewership.

And Naruto IS popular among kids. It receives consistently good ratings and gets a lot of merchandise sales aimed at kids in North America. The playerbase for the Naruto video games is largley kids, and it's one of the few anime franchises to have video games do well in North America. As for dried noodles, I still see a lot of kids think Naruto is eating Cup Noodles in a bowl at Ichiraku.

Definitely though, TMNT is popular and is surprisingly so.

Looking at the Miiverse posts, you can see a lot of badly drawn TMNT and Naruto artwork, indicating a lot of kids joined Team Ninjas for one or both of those franchises.

Popular yes. Mainstream nooooo.... As for One Piece, I'm surprised actually.

I really can't believe TMNT actually became popular again. It seemed almost impossible. They didn't do bad with it. But there's just something wrong with "Cowabunga" or other 90's surfer speak no longer being a catch phrase that makes it intolerable. :)

Nothing wrong with kids thinking it's Cup Noodles. Virtually no kid here has ever actually SEEN fresh ramen nor knows it's a thing that exists. Identifying it as a popular Japanese brand of instant ramen sold here is actually pretty darned good! Seriously where do you find fresh ramen? Any "Japanese restauraunt" around here, and there are quite a few, means "hibachi steakhouse" or "sushi joint" - there's virtually no other type of Japanese food served there. Some of them do have a few varieties of miso, but that's about it. No ramen, and no dumplings of any kind whatsoever :(:(

Look what you made me do, now I'm going to have to order some instant ramen!

Oh so very true.

 

[Succubusty]

There are no words for how much I love this.

 

[SpaceCanary]

I was waiting for this classic to pop up here.

 

[Zombie Aladdin]

Popular yes. Mainstream nooooo.... As for One Piece, I'm surprised actually.

I really can't believe TMNT actually became popular again. It seemed almost impossible. They didn't do bad with it. But there's just something wrong with "Cowabunga" or other 90's surfer speak no longer being a catch phrase that makes it intolerable. :)

Nothing wrong with kids thinking it's Cup Noodles. Virtually no kid here has ever actually SEEN fresh ramen nor knows it's a thing that exists. Identifying it as a popular Japanese brand of instant ramen sold here is actually pretty darned good! Seriously where do you find fresh ramen? Any "Japanese restauraunt" around here, and there are quite a few, means "hibachi steakhouse" or "sushi joint" - there's virtually no other type of Japanese food served there. Some of them do have a few varieties of miso, but that's about it. No ramen, and no dumplings of any kind whatsoever :(:(

Look what you made me do, now I'm going to have to order some instant ramen!

I am a One Piece fan (I listen to the One Piece Podcast--it's weekly and runs 3 to 5 hours at a time), so I've seen first hand the huge struggles the franchise has had trying to secure a foothold in the west. The manga has succeeded, but the anime has not. The major reason is its off-putting art style, but I think another reason is because it is far more western-influenced than Naruto or Bleach, two shows that really hit a chord with kids (and teenagers, and apparently college kids, as those were shows classmates and friends in college kept talking to me about). That is, kids in the west turn to anime because it's so Japanese. Naruto is very Japanese in its premise and execution. So is Bleach (though I think Bleach borrows a lot more from American comics in its fight choreography and characterization).

I am also a Sonic fan, so I'm used to seeing very 90's things remain popular with kids, who don't care if slang in their entertainment is outdated, as long as they're executed well. But seeing so many attempted revivals completely fall flat on their faces even when they're well-written (first one that comes to mind is the 2011 Thundercats), I didn't expect something from decades ago to become popular with kids again that isn't short of a live-action adaptation like Alvin and the Chipmunks).

Might be a regional thing, but I live in southern Calfornia, which has a high Japanese population, so ramen houses are pretty common around here (though not as much as sushi places). There's even a ramen chain called Shinsengumi, as well as one place run by a Michelin-starred chef (Ramen by Omae). The places I've been to are hit or miss, but even the misses are still better than Cup Noodles, albeit a lot more expensive (around US$8 to 12 per bowl, but they're pretty big bowls, as you've probably noticed in Naruto). Some places, like Shinsengumi and Orochon, have a basic ramen bowl (miso, salt, or soy sauce base plus noodles and various vegetables), and you pay a little bit to have other stuff added to the bowl, like garlic butter, bamboo shoots, or sliced beef. Some places, like Little Island and Koraku, have fixed ingredients.

I've seen this phenomenon with stuff like South Park and Pokémon and such too, and I've always wondered: What do these kids who play Call of Duty think of the grown-ups who play Splatoon?

I can imagine some boy at Black Ops III and is told, "Johnny, please wrap it up. Daddy wants to play Splatoon."

 

[BlackZero]

I am also a Sonic fan, so I'm used to seeing very 90's things remain popular with kids, who don't care if slang in their entertainment is outdated, as long as they're executed well. But seeing so many attempted revivals completely fall flat on their faces even when they're well-written (first one that comes to mind is the 2011 Thundercats), I didn't expect something from decades ago to become popular with kids again that isn't short of a live-action adaptation like Alvin and the Chipmunks).

I've often wanted to sit down with some of the next generation and watch Wayne's World with them. Then again, I think they're not worthy. These things will end up coming back around and being popular again. Remember those hideous horn-rimmed glasses everyone wore in the 1950's? Now people wear glasses modeled after them to show that they're either hipsters or "quirky lovable geeks." Hi-Top Converse have been around for years, skateboarding was in full force when I was in high school, and I even remember a short Pog and YoYo craze when I was in elementary/middle school. Give it about 50-100 years, and I'm sure the 1990's will make an un-ironic comeback.

I've seen this phenomenon with stuff like South Park and Pokémon and such too, and I've always wondered: What do these kids who play Call of Duty think of the grown-ups who play Splatoon?

I can imagine some boy at Black Ops III and is told, "Johnny, please wrap it up. Daddy wants to play Splatoon."

The US (and possibly other places) has this obsession with being mature when they are either starting or in the middle of transitioning to adulthood. People want to show they're mature by doing "grown up" things. It's been this way for a long time. People have this idea of how mature people act, and I even asked someone in another thread "how does an adult act?" The funny thing is, people who want to act mature without having actual maturity simply emulate things adults do that have nothing to do with maturity at all. Playing "grown-up video games" is the spiritual successor to sneaking in to "grown-up movies" and other things.

Personally, I've never cared about whether something is for adults or not. I still enjoy shows like Animaniacs or the old Bugs Bunny et al cartoons. I still read some books that could be classified as young adult by today's standards simply because I enjoy them (largely because most of them are more focused on making the story fun to read than preaching some life lesson, political ideal, or philosophy). I watch animes like Dragon Ball and I play video games like Pokemon and Splatoon.

 

[Award]

I am a One Piece fan (I listen to the One Piece Podcast--it's weekly and runs 3 to 5 hours at a time), so I've seen first hand the huge struggles the franchise has had trying to secure a foothold in the west. The manga has succeeded, but the anime has not. The major reason is its off-putting art style, but I think another reason is because it is far more western-influenced than Naruto or Bleach, two shows that really hit a chord with kids (and teenagers, and apparently college kids, as those were shows classmates and friends in college kept talking to me about). That is, kids in the west turn to anime because it's so Japanese. Naruto is very Japanese in its premise and execution. So is Bleach (though I think Bleach borrows a lot more from American comics in its fight choreography and characterization).

True, but again, the kids turning to Japanese things because they're very Japanese (and who have ever seen a manga or know what it is) are very much not the mainstream. They may be the mainstream among Nintendo fans, but...well... ;)

I am also a Sonic fan, so I'm used to seeing very 90's things remain popular with kids, who don't care if slang in their entertainment is outdated, as long as they're executed well. But seeing so many attempted revivals completely fall flat on their faces even when they're well-written (first one that comes to mind is the 2011 Thundercats), I didn't expect something from decades ago to become popular with kids again that isn't short of a live-action adaptation like Alvin and the Chipmunks).

Cowabunga! Totally gnarly, duude! It's just not the same without it. :(

Alvin and the Chipmunks impressed me. I expected complete trash. And while it could have done better, it was actually half decent. Though that's probably because Ross Badisarian Jr. was involved in script-writing and concept, so it still has a legitimate source even if the studio mucked it up a bit.

Might be a regional thing, but I live in southern Calfornia, which has a high Japanese population, so ramen houses are pretty common around here (though not as much as sushi places). There's even a ramen chain called Shinsengumi, as well as one place run by a Michelin-starred chef (Ramen by Omae). The places I've been to are hit or miss, but even the misses are still better than Cup Noodles, albeit a lot more expensive (around US$8 to 12 per bowl, but they're pretty big bowls, as you've probably noticed in Naruto). Some places, like Shinsengumi and Orochon, have a basic ramen bowl (miso, salt, or soy sauce base plus noodles and various vegetables), and you pay a little bit to have other stuff added to the bowl, like garlic butter, bamboo shoots, or sliced beef. Some places, like Little Island and Koraku, have fixed ingredients.

Yeah, it's totally regional. You're in just about the only place (along with WA) on this continent with anything resembling authentic anything Japanese. Here in the snow-bound East, Japanese means "sushi, steak, and a bunch of Chinese food." We DO have good Chinese restaurants, but virtually nothing Japanese, and most of what claims to be Japanese, has only sushi (or steak) and fills the rest of the menu with Chinese food. Cup Noodles is just about the only ramen I'm likely to ever see. Though it IS authentic....so there's that. It's just authentic for convenience store/gas station food in Japan. It says a lot that the BEST of the commonly found sushi places is a side thing at a Chinese restaurant. (Note, I'm not a sushi fan, and I wish I were! I love cooked shellfish type sushi, but I just can't get myself to do real raw sushi.) And wanting Japanese food that is not fish is like wanting a golden unicorn around here. :p I've looked....just ONE gyoza, mitarashi, fresh ramen...that's all I ask! :(

I've seen this phenomenon with stuff like South Park and Pokémon and such too, and I've always wondered: What do these kids who play Call of Duty think of the grown-ups who play Splatoon?

I can imagine some boy at Black Ops III and is told, "Johnny, please wrap it up. Daddy wants to play Splatoon."

No need, Blops3 is on XBox Live, with all his friends of course! And of course grown ups don't understand COOL stuff, they play old fashioned stuff like Splatoon because they're boring :p

(*from behind closed doors he hears daddy: "Those **#$R*$#@ Japanese, I'll HUNT YOU DOWN you little *#$**#$@! Oh *$#@$ I HAD him, *$#@$@ lag!" and begins to wonder why his friends tell him Nintendo is for kids*) ;)

 

[Award]

I've often wanted to sit down with some of the next generation and watch Wayne's World with them. Then again, I think they're not worthy. These things will end up coming back around and being popular again. Remember those hideous horn-rimmed glasses everyone wore in the 1950's? Now people wear glasses modeled after them to show that they're either hipsters or "quirky lovable geeks." Hi-Top Converse have been around for years, skateboarding was in full force when I was in high school, and I even remember a short Pog and YoYo craze when I was in elementary/middle school. Give it about 50-100 years, and I'm sure the 1990's will make an un-ironic comeback.



The US (and possibly other places) has this obsession with being mature when they are either starting or in the middle of transitioning to adulthood. People want to show they're mature by doing "grown up" things. It's been this way for a long time. People have this idea of how mature people act, and I even asked someone in another thread "how does an adult act?" The funny thing is, people who want to act mature without having actual maturity simply emulate things adults do that have nothing to do with maturity at all. Playing "grown-up video games" is the spiritual successor to sneaking in to "grown-up movies" and other things.

Personally, I've never cared about whether something is for adults or not. I still enjoy shows like Animaniacs or the old Bugs Bunny et al cartoons. I still read some books that could be classified as young adult by today's standards simply because I enjoy them (largely because most of them are more focused on making the story fun to read than preaching some life lesson, political ideal, or philosophy). I watch animes like Dragon Ball and I play video games like Pokemon and Splatoon.

Bonus points for your ironic use of un-ironic. ;) (And seriously, eff those black rimmed glasses...)

To answer how an adult asks, is that a Splatoon related question or not? Because if it's Splatoon related, the answer is "Yell at the screen, throw a tantrum, and blame your teammates! Lewd hand gestures a plus" :p

The thing is, was Bugs Bunny EVER for kids? Slapstick mostly silent humor inspired by Charlie Chaplin set to classical music. It always seemed the "sophisticated, "ironic" alternative to Disney" to me.

Adults have to deal with too much garbage day in and day out. Pokemon and Splatoon and light hearted worlds take us away from that stress. How kids see games that EMULATE that stress and grimness as desirable, I'll never know, but they do.

 

[ShinyGirafarig]

 

[Zombie Aladdin]

I've often wanted to sit down with some of the next generation and watch Wayne's World with them. Then again, I think they're not worthy. These things will end up coming back around and being popular again. Remember those hideous horn-rimmed glasses everyone wore in the 1950's? Now people wear glasses modeled after them to show that they're either hipsters or "quirky lovable geeks." Hi-Top Converse have been around for years, skateboarding was in full force when I was in high school, and I even remember a short Pog and YoYo craze when I was in elementary/middle school. Give it about 50-100 years, and I'm sure the 1990's will make an un-ironic comeback.

Yo-yos are still a thing; a major competitive scene still exists, sponsored by the several manufacturers of competition-grade yo-yos (except for Yomega, which has its own bizarre agenda). Just like individual sports, these companies also have their own sponsored pros.

But yeah, you're right. The 80's is making a comeback presently, with stuff from that decade being remade and Regular Show promoting the heavily. A movie adaptation of Ready Player One is currently in production, which is one big love letter to the 80's. I suppose this means in the 2020's, wecan expect a 90's revival. Then again, with The Powerpuff Girls and Samurai Jack being remade and debuting later this year, it may already be happening.

The US (and possibly other places) has this obsession with being mature when they are either starting or in the middle of transitioning to adulthood. People want to show they're mature by doing "grown up" things. It's been this way for a long time. People have this idea of how mature people act, and I even asked someone in another thread "how does an adult act?" The funny thing is, people who want to act mature without having actual maturity simply emulate things adults do that have nothing to do with maturity at all. Playing "grown-up video games" is the spiritual successor to sneaking in to "grown-up movies" and other things.

Personally, I've never cared about whether something is for adults or not. I still enjoy shows like Animaniacs or the old Bugs Bunny et al cartoons. I still read some books that could be classified as young adult by today's standards simply because I enjoy them (largely because most of them are more focused on making the story fun to read than preaching some life lesson, political ideal, or philosophy). I watch animes like Dragon Ball and I play video games like Pokemon and Splatoon.

Even if you don't care about doing things other kids think are mature, there is a social stigma when you're still around that age, unfortunately. I wouldn't talk about the cartoons I had been watching when I was in middle schooland high school.

I had come up with a real armor-piercing question regarding kids and trying to belike adults: Do you want to enjoy the things your parents like? After all, they are adults and will have adult tastes. Then again, I guess what kids have in mind are the perceived cool people in their early and mid 20's, whom they assume must be playing Call of Duty and Assassin's Creed, watch South Park and YouTube poops, work out at Crunch Fitness, and smoke pot. Well, for guys at least.

Since then, I've also cast off caring about whether something is aimed at males or females in my entertainment. If it's good, I'll watch it, or read it, or play it, or hear it. I think it says something that, in my room, I have a Revoltech robot model of the Shiranui from the anime Muv-Luv Alternative, and two feet away is a display figurine of Draculaura from Monster High.

Alvin and the Chipmunks impressed me. I expected complete trash. And while it could have done better, it was actually half decent. Though that's probably because Ross Badisarian Jr. was involved in script-writing and concept, so it still has a legitimate source even if the studio mucked it up a bit.

Oh, Ross Bagdasarian Jr. was involved in it? Interesting. The movies (well, the first two at least, I don't know about the others) were also written by Jon Vitti, who previously worked on The Simpsons' Golden Age and wrote a lot of fan-favorite episodes.

Yeah, it's totally regional. You're in just about the only place (along with WA) on this continent with anything resembling authentic anything Japanese. Here in the snow-bound East, Japanese means "sushi, steak, and a bunch of Chinese food." We DO have good Chinese restaurants, but virtually nothing Japanese, and most of what claims to be Japanese, has only sushi (or steak) and fills the rest of the menu with Chinese food. Cup Noodles is just about the only ramen I'm likely to ever see. Though it IS authentic....so there's that. It's just authentic for convenience store/gas station food in Japan. It says a lot that the BEST of the commonly found sushi places is a side thing at a Chinese restaurant. (Note, I'm not a sushi fan, and I wish I were! I love cooked shellfish type sushi, but I just can't get myself to do real raw sushi.) And wanting Japanese food that is not fish is like wanting a golden unicorn around here. :p I've looked....just ONE gyoza, mitarashi, fresh ramen...that's all I ask! :(

Steak? Steak is not something distinctly Japanese. Beef is expensive in Japan because land is scarce. There's a reason why authentic teriyaki beef bowls use ultra-thinly cut strips of beef and a mountain of rice: They'll take what they can get

 

[Award]

I had come up with a real armor-piercing question regarding kids and trying to belike adults: Do you want to enjoy the things your parents like? After all, they are adults and will have adult tastes. Then again, I guess what kids have in mind are the perceived cool people in their early and mid 20's, whom they assume must be playing Call of Duty and Assassin's Creed, watch South Park and YouTube poops, work out at Crunch Fitness, and smoke pot. Well, for guys at least.

Since then, I've also cast off caring about whether something is aimed at males or females in my entertainment. If it's good, I'll watch it, or read it, or play it, or hear it. I think it says something that, in my room, I have a Revoltech robot model of the Shiranui from the anime Muv-Luv Alternative, and two feet away is a display figurine of Draculaura from Monster High.

Yeah, I think "parents" are considered "old people" while "cool" is the trendy fashionable 20's.

Yes, kids, follow the trends. Like back in the NES era, the "rad" adults all looked like this. These people are totally bi***in'!

Spoiler

And when we're talking about the COD-playing, XBox loving cool kids, who want to be like the awesome adult cool people, do girls even enter the conversation at any point? I thought the entire brand demographic was built on boys that want to be macho because they buy that product? Girls wouldn't have much to gain by aiming for the COD image in terms of kiddom social status. I'd think the (relatively small demographic of) girls that play it do it because they want to (we'll ignore their poor taste in electronic entertainment here) , not because they're image chasing. They'll never bee like the rockin' chicks above, so trendy and with the times...

Oh, Ross Bagdasarian Jr. was involved in it? Interesting. The movies (well, the first two at least, I don't know about the others) were also written by Jon Vitti, who previously worked on The Simpsons' Golden Age and wrote a lot of fan-favorite episodes.

Yep. originally for the first movie anyway, he was going to do the voices too (he'd done the voices during the cartoon reboot after his father passed away) but the studio decided that star power for the voices was a better bet, which he didn't protest since he did want it to be a success (and it was.)

Steak? Steak is not something distinctly Japanese. Beef is expensive in Japan because land is scarce. There's a reason why authentic teriyaki beef bowls use ultra-thinly cut strips of beef and a mountain of rice: They'll take what they can get

LOL, yeah, no kidding. But still "Japanese steakhouses" are a thing here. And national chains like Hibachi contribute to that image. Generally what they serve are skewers with large cubes of beef + whatever else. It's not exactly a Porterhouse or Prime Rib, but it's still a lot more beef than I'd expect to see in Japan. But there it is.

 

[ShinyGirafarig]

And when we're talking about the COD-playing, XBox loving cool kids, who want to be like the awesome adult cool people, do girls even enter the conversation at any point? I thought the entire brand demographic was built on boys that want to be macho because they buy that product? Girls wouldn't have much to gain by aiming for the COD image in terms of kiddom social status. I'd think the (relatively small demographic of) girls that play it do it because they want to (we'll ignore their poor taste in electronic entertainment here) , not because they're image chasing. They'll never bee like the rockin' chicks above, so trendy and with the times...

And here is where I come in to tell you how girls try to show that they are "mature". I was already grade 6/7 when Pokemon became the "fad". I have a love of video games since the NES days but I had to hide my love of Pokemon and the like because I would be called a "baby" and the like. See "mature" girls are to be into pop stars, fantasize about marrying various male pop stars, being as cruel as possible to teachers and other authority figues, do make-up, hair, etc. I dislike make-up and don't really care to look feminine at all. I made tons of intergenerational friendships and I interacted with kids younger than me about interests we share as well as a middle aged married woman who already had many children who enjoyed anything animated such as the Powerpuff girls. That is how I survived my loneliness with the things I liked because I decided to be true to myself and not pretend to like what "mature" girls liked.

In high school, thankfully the school I was in it was more of "I don't bother you, you don't bother me" environment so no one got bullied for their interests. I became a loner though as I was pretty much the only one interested in what I liked. I was in a private, all-girls school. Of course the school staff was concerned about me not talking much and forced me to talk more and gave me so much counseling. I am very resentful for that. I talk when I have something that needs to be said or if I feel I can contribute to the conversation in any way. So many awkward things I said just so the staff will get off my back.

And now I am married to someone I can talk about these I am actually interested in and still be true to myself.

 

[Award]

And here is where I come in to tell you how girls try to show that they are "mature". I was already grade 6/7 when Pokemon became the "fad". I have a love of video games since the NES days but I had to hide my love of Pokemon and the like because I would be called a "baby" and the like. See "mature" girls are to be into pop stars, fantasize about marrying various male pop stars, being as cruel as possible to teachers and other authority figues, do make-up, hair, etc. I dislike make-up and don't really care to look feminine at all. I made tons of intergenerational friendships and I interacted with kids younger than me about interests we share as well as a middle aged married woman who already had many children who enjoyed anything animated such as the Powerpuff girls. That is how I survived my loneliness with the things I liked because I decided to be true to myself and not pretend to like what "mature" girls liked.

In high school, thankfully the school I was in it was more of "I don't bother you, you don't bother me" environment so no one got bullied for their interests. I became a loner though as I was pretty much the only one interested in what I liked. I was in a private, all-girls school. Of course the school staff was concerned about me not talking much and forced me to talk mo0re and gave me so much counseling. I am very resentful for that. I talk when I have something that needs to be said or if I feel I can contribute to the conversation in any way. So many awkward things I said just so the staff will get off my back.

And now I am married to someone I can talk about these I am actually interested in and still be true to myself.

And those mature girls (pictured above) look so mature now, don't they? ;) it's funny how that same cycle repeats every generation. And I bet most of those "cool girls" were equally as miserable, and pretending the whole time while they had Cabbage Patch dolls and what have you at home.

Somehow I missed the whole Pokemon craze despite being a Nintendo junkie as a kid (I still have my original Yokoi designed 1980's gray GameBoy, and the magnifier/light that was essential to see the darned thing. (And my genuine Virtual Boy + AC Adapter! I don't know if either is in working condition just due to age, but they're safely stored in either case.) But Pokemon was something I think I associated with Tomagachi Pets and ignored entirely. I didn't actually discover it until Black & White a few years ago and discovered how addictive it is.

Even among the "cool kids" boys though, I was the odd one out liking Nintendo - they all liked Sega for the better sports games. Nintendo was for kids etc. (I'll never, ever forgive Sega for casting Nintendo permanently as kiddie. That's Sega's doing entirely, though Nintendo is the one that abused US Congress to attack Sega as unwholesome, so they probably were asking for it... (Remember all the news pieces on the evils of video games featuring clips of Night Trap on Sega CD? Yeah, that was all Lincoln & Arakawa - and you can't tell me Yamauchi wasn't in on it. That was his style to a t. I love the guy for bringing us all the great fun he brought us in our lives, but the man was a ruthless shark. )

Ugh, school counselors and the like are essentially wannabe shrinks with overinflated egos. They're convinced they know what they're talking about and how kids work and need to be handled....because they read it in their textbook!

 

[ShinyGirafarig]

And those mature girls (pictured above) look so mature now, don't they? ;) it's funny how that same cycle repeats every generation. And I bet most of those "cool girls" were equally as miserable, and pretending the whole time while they had Cabbage Patch dolls and what have you at home.

Hey how did you know? A few of those girls came to my high school and said they owned Furbies, the equivalent of Cabbage Patch Kids of the 90's.

Ugh, school counselors and the like are essentially wannabe shrinks with overinflated egos. They're convinced they know what they're talking about and how kids work and need to be handled....because they read it in their textbook!

I still feel the effects of it even now. At family or friend gatherings I sometimes won't say much of anything at all and will still be pulled to the side and asked about it and encouraged to talk more. I then bring up my brother's wife who also does not talk much either, only when she feels she needs to say something too and she has a very successful career at a highly regarded hospital. They usually stop afterwards.

I started playing the Pokemon games with the second gen games because by then I felt safe to actually publically acknowledge my interests. Also because I saw the gen 2 lineup of Pokemon and they had a giraffe Pokemon so I really was interested as you can see in my username. Giraffes are my favorite animals. Before gen 2 I would sneak in watching episodes of the anime because I did not feel safe admitting I liked Pokemon in my home either at the time. By gen 2 I grew more confident about my interests.