Franchise FAQ

when did the pokemon franchise start

by Reva Effertz Published 2 years ago Updated 1 year ago
image

February 1996

What was the first Pokémon franchise?

Pocket Monsters: Red and GreenThe franchise began as Pocket Monsters: Red and Green (later released outside of Japan as Pokémon Red and Blue), a pair of video games for the original Game Boy handheld system that were developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo in February 1996.

When did gaming franchise Pokémon start?

1996First generation (1996–1999) The Pokémon series began with the release of Pocket Monsters Red and Green for the Game Boy in Japan. When these games proved popular, an enhanced Blue version was released sometime after, and the Blue version was reprogrammed as Pokémon Red and Blue for international release.

When did Pokémon become a company?

(In case you are wondering, Mario is the largest, and it also happens to be owned by Nintendo.) 26 February 1996 marks the debut of the Pokémon franchise in the form of both those games on the Game Boy in Japan. At its heart, Pocket Monsters: Red and Green was a very basic Japanese role-playing game.

Who created the Pokémon franchise?

Satoshi TajiriPokémon was invented by a Japanese man named Satoshi Tajiri and his friend Ken Sugimori, who is an illustrator. Back in 1982 Satoshi started a gaming magazine together with his friends called Game Freak, but after a while he decided to start making his own video games, instead of writing about them.

Is Pokémon the biggest franchise?

That's right. Pokémon — not Mickey Mouse — is the highest-grossing media franchise as of 2022. The Japanese franchise debuted in 1996 with 150 characters or “pocket monsters.” Over the years, Pokémon has earned over $100 billion worldwide, according to Statista.

How old is Ash from Pokémon?

Ash Ketchum's Age According to Ash's profile in Pokemon Journeys, Ash is still 10 years old, which has not changed from when he first debuted in the anime. This age has been confirmed in almost every iteration of the Pokémon anime, and no matter which series he's in, Ash is always 10 years old.

Who actually owns Pokémon?

NintendoGame FreakCreaturesThe Pokémon Company/Owners

Who owns Pikachu?

NintendoGame FreakCreaturesThe Pokémon Company/Parent organizations

How much money is Pokémon worth?

$92.121 billionAs the most prominent media franchise of all time, Pokémon is worth an incredible $92.121 billion. It all began in 1996 when Satoshi Tajiri created the first video game of the franchise: Pocket Monsters: Red and Green, for Japanese audiences.

What is the rarest Pokemon card?

the Pikachu Illustrator cardFor many collectors, the Pikachu Illustrator card is seen as the rarest Pokemon card in the entire hobby and now has the price to back that up.

Which came first Pokémon game or anime?

The Pokémon anime started in 1997, one year after the original game released in Japan.

How old is Pikachu?

Pikachu's age Ash was given Pikachu in the first episode of the show and the two have been joined at the hip ever since that moment. Pikachu's exact age has never been revealed in the show, but if one were to base the character's age off of their first appearance, then Pikachu would be 26 years old as of now.

Who owns Pokémon franchise?

NintendoGame FreakCreaturesThe Pokémon Company/Parent organizations

Does Game Freak still own Pokémon?

It was established through a joint investment by the three businesses holding the copyright of Pokémon: Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures....The Pokémon Company.Headquarters at Roppongi Hills Mori TowerRevenueJPY 120.02 billion (2020)Net incomeJPY 18.63 billion (2020)OwnerNintendo Creatures Game FreakNumber of employees374 (2022)11 more rows

Did Pokemon anime or game came first?

The Pokémon anime started in 1997, one year after the original game released in Japan.

What came first Pokémon cards or video game?

The GAME was released first above all, and then the trading cards, but that was only in Japan. Pokemon never reached the US until 1996, where BOTH the GAME and the CARTOON were released at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Atlanta.

What is the most successful RPG franchise?

Nintendo’s Pokémon (1995– ) series is the most successful RPG franchise in terms of total media sales (games, cards, books, figurines), and the most recent versions include support for playing against others over the Internet.…

Why did the parents of two nine year old boys sue Nintendo?

In 1999 the parents of two nine-year-old boys sued Nintendo, stating that the Pokémon card game had caused the children to develop gambling problems and likening the trading-card craze to an illegal lottery.

Where did Game Freak come from?

The franchise has its roots in a gaming magazine in the early 1980s in Japan —Game Freak, started by Satoshi Tajiri and Ken Sugimori. Tajiri was the writer, while Sugimori was the illustrator. They soon realized that the arcade scene at the time wasn’t too hot anymore and decided to develop games themselves.

How many Pikachu movies are there?

Outside of the anime on TV, there have been 18 movies and a few full-length TV specials. Speaking of movies, Legendary Pictures just announced a live-action Detective Pikachu movie that will begin production in 2017. Yes, a spin-off Pokémon game only released in Japan is getting a live-action movie.

What is the fastest selling video game?

Gold and Silver also let you breed Pokémon and had a real-time day and night system. It outsold Pokémon Yellow’s record sales with 1.4 million copies combined in a week—the fastest selling video games ever at that point. At the same time, Pokémon Stadium (a spin-off for the Nintendo 64 console) was also the best-selling home console game. This cemented Pokémon as a monster (pun intended) of a franchise that would show no signs of slowing down. By 2010, Gold and Silver had sold a combined 23 million units.

What generation is Diamond and Pearl?

The fourth generation of games arrived with Nintendo’s new handheld system, the DS. This system boasted a dual screen and had a new engine for the Pokémon games. Diamond and Pearl continued the tradition of adding new Pokémon and tweaking mechanics while retaining the gameplay people knew and loved. The DS also saw the release of HeartGold and SoulSilver, which used the Diamond and Pearl engine for an enhanced version of Gold and Silver from the Game Boy Color.

Do Nintendo games get remastered?

If you are familiar with gaming today, you are probably sick of the remakes and remastered versions that keep being released. If you aren’t, every generation or so, video game publishers decide to give some of their best-selling games a visual upgrade or make an enhanced release for new customers and fans of said franchises. Nintendo, no stranger to this concept, releases updated or enhanced versions of their popular games multiple times.

Did Game Freak develop games?

They soon realized that the arcade scene at the time wasn’t too hot anymore and decided to develop games themselves. This included games that were published by Nintendo on the NES and Game Boy like Yoshi and even games for SEGA like Magical Tarurūto-kun on the Mega Drive, SEGA’s console. In its time as a developer, Game Freak had its titles published by the likes of even Sony back then.

Is the trading card game a success?

Outside of the big and small screens, there was a trading card game that was also a huge success for the brand. The card game, in turn, saw multiple versions and releases all over the world (yes, again).

image

Overview

Generation I: Kanto (1996-1999)

• February 27: Pocket Monsters Red & Green, the first ever Pokémon games and the primary games of Generation I, first released in Japan for the Game Boy
• June 23: Nintendo 64 first released in Japan
• October 15: Pocket Monsters Blue, upper edition of Pocket Monsters Red & Green, first released in Japan for the Game Boy

Generation II: Johto (1999-2002)

• November 21: Pokémon Gold and Silver, primary games of Generation II, first released in Japan for the Game Boy Color
• July 18: Third Pokémon movie, Pokémon 3: The Movie: Spell of the Unown first released in Japan
• October 14: Third English dub anime season, Pokémon: The Johto Journeys, released in the United States

Generation III: Hoenn (2002-2006)

• November 21: Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, primary games of Generation III and first main games for the Game Boy Advance, first released in Japan for the Game Boy Advance
• November 21: Pokémon Advanced Generation, the Hoenn anime saga & Second Japanese anime series, first released in Japan

Generation IV: Sinnoh (2006-2010)

• September 28: Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, primary games of Generation IV and first main games for the Nintendo DS, first released in Japan for the Nintendo DS
• September 28: Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, the Sinnoh anime saga & 3rd Japanese anime series, first released in Japan
• November 19: Nintendo Wii first released in North America

Generation V: Unova (2010-2013)

• September 18: Pokémon Black and White, primary games of Generation V, first released in Japan for the Nintendo DS
• September 23: Pokémon: Best Wishes!, the Unova anime saga and fourth Japanese anime series, first released in Japan
• October 13: Pokémon Global Link, an online portal, established (went offline, discontinued in 2020)

Generation VI: Kalos (2013-2016)

• October 12: Pokémon X and Y, primary games of Generation VI and first main games for Nintendo 3DS, first released worldwide for the Nintendo 3DS; first games released simultaneously worldwide
• October 12: Nintendo 2DS first released in the West
• October 17: Pokémon: X Y, fifth anime series, first released in Japan

Generation VII: Alola (2016-2019)

• November 18: Pokémon Sun and Moon, primary games of Generation VII, released worldwide for the Nintendo 3DS
• December 5: Twentieth English dub anime season, Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon, released in the United States
• December 9: Pokémon TCG - Sun and Moon first released

Gameplay

  • The main Pokémon games all center around the strategic manipulation of creatures called Pokémon, from which the series takes its name. In the games, the player takes the role of a male or female human who has just received a license to catch Pokémon. The player usually goes to the local Pokémon Lab to receive a First partner Pokémon. In every main series game, the playe…
See more on pokemon.fandom.com

History

  • Pokémon was the brainchild of a Japanese man named Satoshi Tajiri, born August 28, 1965. As …
    Eventually, whilst Tajiri was in his early teens, most of the areas where Tajiri liked to hunt for bugs were replaced with modern establishments or demolished. No
See more on pokemon.fandom.com

Game releases

  • The games are generally released in pairs. For example, two games will be immediately released that are basically the same, except with several minor changes, and later, another improvement upon the last two games will be released. After this, work will begin on a new pair, which will have a vastly different story and various gameplay improvements. Examples of this are Pokémon Re…
See more on pokemon.fandom.com

List of games

  • The following lists all of the games in the Pokémon franchise:
    Main series Game Boy
  • Pokémon Red and Green Version (Japan)
    Pokémon Blue Version (Japan)
See more on pokemon.fandom.com

Gallery

  • Main series Games
    Pokémon Red (Japan only)
  • Pokémon Green (Japan only)
    Pokémon Blue (Japan only)
See more on pokemon.fandom.com

Logo timeline

See more on pokemon.fandom.com

Trivia

  • The main symbol of Pokémon as a whole is the Poké Ball.
    The second symbol of Pokémon is Pikachu (mainly anime).
  • Counting Mew, there are 151 original Pokémon.
    Mewtwo comes before Mew in the National and Kanto Pokédex.
See more on pokemon.fandom.com

See also

  • List of Pokémon
    Satoshi Tajiri
See more on pokemon.fandom.com

External links

  • Official Pokémon site
See more on pokemon.fandom.com

Early Days

Generation I

Generation II

Generation III

Generation IV

Generation V

Generation Vi

  • The next evolution
    On January 8, 2013, Nintendo simultaneously announced to the world that a new generation of Pokémon will be coming to the world through a special edition of Nintendo Direct, called Pokémon Direct. Pokémon X and Y, the first games in Generation VI, were revealed and were rel…
  • Welcome back to Hoenn
    Just like the Generation III remakes for the incompatible Generation I Red and Green games and the Generation IV remakes for the incompatible Generation II Gold and Silver games, Pokémon fans have widely speculated that remakes of the Generation III Pokémon games, Ruby and Sapp…
See more on bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net

Generation VII

Generation VIII

Generation IX

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9