The first volume of the series was first published on October 28, 1997. The anime quickly became very popular, and soon a manga series based on it named The Electric Tale of Pikachu was written by Toshihiro Ono. Another character introduced in the first episode was Satoshi's rival, Shigeru (after Shigeru Miyamoto, later dubbed in English to Gary Oak), based on Blue. The main character was a young Pokémon Trainer named Satoshi (after Satoshi Tajiri, later dubbed in English to Ash Ketchum), based on Red. The popularity of the franchise also led to an anime series based on the games, premiering in Japan on April 1, 1997. This was chiefly a gag manga, using crude humor and slapstick, starring a Trainer named Red and his rude Clefairy. The franchise also won many manga interpretations, the first being Pokémon Pocket Monsters by Kosaku Anakubo, which was first collected and published in November 1996 by Shogakukan. The first set of cards was released on October 20, 1996, containing 102 cards, and became very popular. Due to high sales, Pokémon Red and Green were swiftly followed up with Pokémon Blue, which had improved graphics and sounds.Īfter the games, a Pokémon Trading Card Game was developed by Media Factory with its own set of rules. The contest received 78,000 entrants, and the sales of the Pokémon games quickly increased. However, after players discovered Mew in the games, the magazine CoroCoro announced a "Legendary Pokémon Offer" to distribute Mew to twenty entrants. Initially, the Pokémon games had modest sales. The first Pokémon games, Pokémon Red and Green Versions, came to the Nintendo Game Boy system in Japan on February 27, 1996, which was the fulfillment of Satoshi Tajiri's dream and allowed people of all ages to catch, train and trade 151 creatures and become a Pokémon Master. Five employees quit due to the financial conditions, and Tajiri worked many unpaid hours. The project nearly drove Game Freak to bankruptcy. However, Game Freak planned to keep the 151st Pokémon hidden from the public unless it was needed for a post-launch event. The original artwork for the games was drawn by Tajiri's friend, artist Ken Sugimori, while the music and sound effects were composed by Junichi Masuda.Īfter debugging was completed, Shigeki Morimoto programmed Mew into the game.
Due to trademarking issues, the name "Capsule Monsters" was changed to "Pocket Monsters". After several failed attempts at pitching this idea to Nintendo, Tajiri's new friend Shigeru Miyamoto pitched it to the company, and Nintendo began to fund the project, spending six years developing the games that would become a worldwide sensation.
Together, these two sources gave him the idea for a new game called Capsule Monsters. Tajiri was also heavily influenced by the Ultraman fantasy television show, Ultra Seven, in which the protagonist used giant monsters contained within small capsules to help him fight. When Tajiri discovered the Game Boy and the Game Boy Game Link Cable, it gave him the image of insects traveling along the wire. Let’s Go Pikachu and Let’s Go Evee will go on sale in November 16.With the help of Ken Sugimori and other friends, Tajiri formed Game Freak and much later the design studio known as Creatures. Pokémon Let’s Go is available in single-player and multi-player modes, and is compatible with Pokémon Go-though it’s not yet clear how the two games overlap. Players can catch 151 Pokémon using motion gestures with the Switch’s controllers, or with a separate accessory called the Pokéball Plus-a life-size Pokéball, essentially. Also from Game Freak, it borrows from Nintendo’s classic 1998 title Pokémon Yellow and upgrades it for the company’s latest console. The second game is called Pokémon Let’s Go, and it’s available exclusively for the Nintendo Switch in two versions- Let’s Go Pikachu, and Let’s Go Evee.
It’s available for the Nintendo Switch starting today, with iOS and Android versions to launch later this year. The game features a cubic aesthetic that recalls Minecraft. Developed by Japanese game maker Game Freak, it’s a role-playing game (RPG) set in a place called Tumblecube Island, where users can search for treasure and train Pokémon. The first title the company unveiled is called Pokémon Quest. Following the global frenzy spurred by Pokémon Go, today (May 30) the Pokémon Company announced the upcoming launch of two new Pokémon games.