Polaroid is making Pokemon instant cameras with Pikachu and Sylveon
Polaroid and The Pokemon Company have announced a limited-edition range of instant cameras, film and accessories for the 30th anniversary. No price or release date has been given yet.
Polaroid and The Pokemon Company are putting out a limited-edition set of instant cameras. Dexerto reports the range covers cameras, film and accessories, with designs built around Pikachu, Sylveon and the Poke Ball. It is part of the franchise's 30th anniversary run.
Nintendo Life covered the same announcement and reached for the obvious comparison: Pokemon Snap, the Nintendo 64 game where the whole point was photographing Pokemon in the wild.
No price, no date
Neither report gives a price or a release date. Until Polaroid or The Pokemon Company publishes one, treat any number you see as a guess.
"Limited edition" is doing real work in that sentence too. It usually means a fixed production run and no restock, which is the combination that sends a product to resale sites within a day. If you want one to actually use, plan to be there when it goes on sale rather than a week later.
What an instant camera is, if you have never used one
An instant camera prints the photo immediately. You press the button, a small card slides out, and the picture develops on it over a few minutes. There is no phone, no memory card and no editing.
The catch is the film. Each shot costs money, because you are buying physical film packs rather than filling up storage. That is the part people forget when they buy one. A cheap camera with expensive film is not a cheap hobby.
It also means every photo is one of one. You cannot take twenty and pick the best. That constraint is exactly why the format came back.
Why this collaboration makes sense
Pokemon has spent the anniversary year attaching itself to things people already do. Doughnuts, fast food, clothing. Photography is a better fit than most of them, because taking pictures of Pokemon is a thing the franchise has actually built games around.
Pokemon Snap on the Nintendo 64 was the first. New Pokemon Snap followed decades later. Pokemon GO carries the idea in your pocket, letting you photograph the Pokemon you catch in the place you are standing. A physical camera that prints a Pikachu-framed photo of your friends is the same idea pointed the other way.
There is a practical angle too. Instant film is popular with teenagers and young adults, which is the group Pokemon most wants holding a branded object in public. A camera gets carried to places a plush does not.
What to watch for
Three things will decide whether this is worth your money once the details land:
- Which camera it is built on. Polaroid sells several models at different sizes and prices. A themed shell on an entry model is a different purchase from a themed version of the good one.
- Whether the film is Pokemon-specific. Branded film with printed borders is the fun part, and it is also the part that runs out and may not be restocked.
- Where it sells. A Pokemon Center exclusive and a general retail launch behave completely differently on supply.
None of that is announced. We will update this page when it is.