Polaroid and Pokémon Are Making Instant Cameras Together — Here's What's Coming
Polaroid and The Pokémon Company have announced a collaboration: three special-edition instant cameras, themed film packs, and accessories. The collection celebrates Pokémon's 30th anniversary. It goes up for preorder on August 25 and ships October 5. There are nine special-edition pieces in total, according to Polaroid's official press release.
The three cameras anchor the collection. The Polaroid Go Camera Generation 3 in a Pokémon Pikachu Edition has a yellow body with a strap shaped like Pikachu's tail. It costs $100. A second Go Gen 3 variant, the Pokémon Sylveon Edition, has a white and pink body with a multi-colored strap at the same $100 price. The third camera, the Polaroid Now Camera Generation 3 Pokémon Edition, uses red, white, and black Pokéball coloring on a larger camera body and has a Pokéball-shaped shutter button. It costs $140 (Engadget).
Both the Go and Now lines are on their Generation 3 hardware, which is Polaroid's latest version. The Go Gen 3 cameras have a stronger flash and a more zoomed-in lens than earlier Go models. The Now Gen 3 has improved sensors for its autofocus system, so it does a better job of detecting how far away your subject is. It also has a better-placed light meter, which helps the camera choose the right exposure. These are small but real improvements for anyone who has followed Polaroid's gradual comeback since the brand was revived by the Impossible Project, the group that bought Polaroid's remaining assets and restarted instant film production (Engadget; Polaroid Blog).
The film side of the collection is where things get playful. Polaroid is selling Polaroid Go Color Film in Pokémon Pikachu Edition and Sylveon Edition double packs for $25 each, compatible with the Go cameras. For the Now and other i-Type cameras (Polaroid's larger film format), Polaroid Color i-Type Film Pokémon Edition runs $23 per pack. The printed photo frames feature Togepi, Mew, Snorlax, and other Pokémon (Engadget).
Each film pack includes a dark slide — a protective card that shields the first photo from light when you load a fresh pack. In this collection, each dark slide features a Pokémon character. Polaroid has built a website where buyers can track which Pokémon they have collected across their dark slides, turning what is normally a throwaway item into a collecting game (Engadget; Polaroid Discover).
Rounding out the nine pieces are three accessories: a Pokéball-shaped Polaroid Go case, a themed photo album, and a themed camera strap (Engadget; Polaroid Press).
Preorders open August 25 through both Polaroid's own store and the Pokémon Center. All items become generally available on October 5 (Engadget). The Pokémon Company confirmed the collaboration on its official news page on August 19 (Pokémon.com).
The broader context here is that both brands are built around physical, collectible objects. Pokémon's trading card business has trained its audience to see printed items as valuable, with rarity tiers and set completion driving repeat purchases. Polaroid's dark-slide collecting portal mirrors that pattern: the film pack is no longer just a way to make photos, but a collectible in its own right, with a tracking system to keep people engaged.
The price structure is worth noting. The Go Gen 3 cameras at $100 and the Now Gen 3 at $140 match Polaroid's standard pricing for these models, so the Pokémon branding does not add a markup on the cameras themselves. The film packs, at $23 to $25, are also at or near standard Polaroid film prices. Polaroid appears to be betting that branded film frames and collectible dark slides, rather than pricier cameras, will bring in extra revenue. That is a sensible bet, since film is something you buy again and again while a camera is a one-time purchase.
For Polaroid, collaborations like this do real work beyond novelty. The instant film camera market is small, and each new generation of hardware needs to attract buyers who might not otherwise be interested. A Pokémon-branded Pokéball camera at $140 is an easier gift to give than a plain one at the same price, especially with the October 5 release date timed for the holiday shopping season. The Pokémon 30th anniversary gives the whole thing a sense of urgency without Polaroid having to cut prices.
