A culture can be defined as the particular behaviors of a social, ethnic, or age group. They typically have terms that are culture specific, as well as defined meeting spaces where members can interact. With the advent of the internet, we can now apply the label of culture to groups in the community who would, by the traditional definition, would not necessarily have been considered a culture but can now congregate online, allowing for a distinct culture to form. Without the internet, these cultures might never have formed. These are called internet cultures.
Why Pokémon players are a culture
The internet has led to the creation of a distinct culture among Pokémon players, one that exists partially online and offline. The inclusion of the internet into this culture has revolutionized the way that members of it interact. Competitive battlers will consult people they’ve battled with, along with websites to gain ideas as to which Pokémon are currently in which tier of the battling spectrum. Breeders will use the internet to initiate trades, and collectors will use the internet as a tool to complete their pokedexes.
The inclusion of the internet in the gaming technology has allowed for digital friendships, rivalries, teams and alliances to form. While at one point a player could only battle people whom he or she knew, it’s evolved to the point where one player can interact with another, regardless of where on the planet each lives.
Along with each new generation of games, come more and more battle strategies and styles not only for competitive battlers, but also for breeders and collectors. As a result, jargon was developed to describe not only the team builds, but also the individual roles of Pokémon.
How Players Connected Before Wifi Source: guides.ign.com
Why it’s an internet culture
Pokémon players are dependent on the internet for a variety of reasons. These methods in global communication are what allow for the Pokémon culture to transcend from localized communities into an internet culture. The methods used for communication are message boards, irc, and chat rooms where players can exchange ideas and information. Along with communication, the internet is vital to players because that is the method used for actual battle and trade. Because the game is played on the Nintendo DS, a wireless internet connection is required in order for interaction to occur between community members.
The community has progressed to a point where some aspects of it transcend simply playing the game itself. Many players need to know specific statistics for individual Pokémon, the method for calculating damage, or other game related information. This has led to players creating something similar to a research paper, in which they discuss particular strategies or traits of Pokémon and how they influence the metagame. Because of the dependence on the internet as a means of communication as well as a means of battling, and the complexity of member interactions, Pokémon players can be considered an internet culture.