NY Critics Honor Pokémon with Legend Award

In a change from past tradition, the New York Videogame Critics Circle has awarded its prestigious Andrew Yoon Legend Award for 2025 not to a single industry figure, but to the entire Pokémon franchise. The announcement comes ahead of the New York Game Awards ceremony in January.

This marks the first time in the award's decade-long history that a franchise has been the recipient. Previous honorees include notable individuals such as Sam Lake, Neil Druckmann, Phil Spencer, Tim Schafer, and Reggie Fils-Aimé. The award's criteria have shown flexibility before; its inaugural presentation in 2016 went to a studio, Rockstar Games, and the 2021 award was shared by four pioneers: Jerry Lawson, Hideo Kojima, Brenda Romero, and John Romero.

Nevertheless, bestowing the "Legend" title upon a franchise is an uncommon move. The NYVGCC has historically described the award as honoring "a game changer in the video games industry" and "those who have propelled the gaming world forward." This year's press release frames it as recognition for "industry icons and organizations that exhibited a significant, sustained body of work demonstrating exceptional artistic achievement and innovation."

The NYVGCC stated that Pokémon was selected as "an iconic staple of global popular culture," which broke through in the late 90s through its "unique combination of collectibility, strong and approachable RPG gameplay and unparalleled character design." The release highlights the franchise's $12 billion in global retail sales for 2024, over 489 million games sold since 1996, and its status as one of the highest-grossing media franchises ever. IGN's review of the latest title, Pokémon Legends: Z-A, scored it 8/10, praising it as the moment "Game Freak hit its stride in Pokémon's 3D era."

“How do you articulate the impact of a cultural phenomenon like Pokémon? ‘Legend’ is the only word that comes to mind,” said Harold Goldberg, President and Founder of the NYVGCC. “For 30 years, the franchise has grown to become the most recognizable game series in the world... It is a tremendous honor to present the company with the Andrew Yoon Legend Award at our 15th celebration.”

The Pokémon Company will accept the award at the ceremony on January 18th. The company will also be in attendance with "two fan-favorite Pokémon" characters available for photos.

When asked about the decision to honor a franchise this year, the NYVGCC provided IGN with the following statement:

"The Pokémon Company’s Legend Award heralds the second time the New York Game Awards has decided to honor an overall team over a single individual creator. The first was Rockstar Games in 2016. With their influence across entertainment, console and tabletop gaming for 30 years, we felt that the many people who work with The Pokémon Company deserve to share the prestigious Andrew Yoon Legend Award for our 15th anniversary."