You may recall Pokémon's presence via Superbowl ad in early 2016, an effort to publicize the brand's continued existence to the masses as well as subtly promote Pokémon Go. As it turns out, the year that followed proved to be an overwhelmingly prosperous one, as The Pokémon Company announced impressive retail revenues for the year via the recent License Global publication.
License Global ranks the "top 150 global licensors," and while Pokémon didn't exactly come close to cracking the top ten, it did manage to place 19th with its cool $3.3 billion total for 2016. To put things in perspective, Disney scored the number one spot at $56.6 billion, but the House of Mouse tends to be in a league of its own considering the vastness of the IP that falls under its umbrella.
Comparisons aside, TPC's results were an improvement from the year prior, in which it placed 29th with a total retail revenue of $2.1 billion. Moving up the ladder ten spots and a casual $1.2 billion certainly isn't bad for a brand that was, in the 90s, supposedly going to be "just a fad."
For more Pokémon, check out our thoughts on battle mechanics in recent Pokémon games, as well as why Pokémon Go players are obsessed with Magikarp.
