Pokemon Blue/Red

Pokémon Red and Green, released by Nintendo for the Game Boy in Japan in February 1996, launched what would become the highest-grossing media franchise in the world. The games, created by Satoshi Tajiri and his studio Game Freak, turned a simple idea of catching, training, and trading creatures into a global phenomenon that spanned video games, trading cards, television, film, and toys. The "Blue" version appeared in Japan later that year as a special release, and the international editions, Red and Blue, followed in North America in 1998 and in Europe in 1999.

The roots of the series lay in Tajiri's childhood in suburban Tokyo, where he collected insects and watched fields and ponds give way to development. He wanted to recreate that experience for children who no longer had such spaces. The Game Boy's link cable, which let two handhelds exchange data, inspired the central mechanic of trading. Development took roughly six years, and Game Freak reportedly came close to financial trouble before the game was finished. Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto offered encouragement and advice along the way. The Game Boy itself was an aging platform by the mid-1990s, which made the game's eventual success all the more surprising.

In the game, players take the role of a young trainer who travels across the fictional Kanto region, capturing creatures called Pokémon, battling other trainers, and aiming to become champion. The original lineup numbered 151 species, and different versions contained different creatures, so completing the collection required trading with other players. This design encouraged social play, and it turned playgrounds and school buses into marketplaces. Sales in Japan started modestly but grew steadily through word of mouth, a pattern unusual for the industry.

The franchise expanded quickly. The Pokémon Trading Card Game appeared in Japan in 1996, and an animated television series began there in 1997, introducing Ash Ketchum and his companion Pikachu, who became the brand's mascot. When the games reached the West in 1998, supported by a coordinated marketing push, the craze was immediate, and it brought both enormous sales and some controversy, including school bans on cards and debates over children's media habits.

Pokémon's legacy is considerable. It established a model for multimedia franchises built around collecting and cross-promotion, and it kept the Game Boy line relevant for years. New game generations have appeared regularly since, and Pokémon GO, released in 2016, brought the concept to smartphones and drew in millions of players worldwide. The 1996 games remain the foundation for a series that has endured for decades across generations of fans.