Pokemon is- and still continues to be- one of the most well known and successful additions to pop culture of all time. Since its inception, the media franchise has seen world wide fame, popularity, and even garnered a little controversy along the way.
Being so well known and loved, the Pokemon franchise has been brought into almost every single media format imaginable- from anime, to card games, and even a musical! Yet, the success begs the question; how did all of this birth from the concept of pitting two cute animals into a super-powered fighting match?
Origins
Well it all came from the genius of a man named Satoshi Tajiri. Before he became one of the most revered video game developers in the world- Satoshi Tajiri was an avid bug collector. During his youth, he would spend most of his time in the rural area where he lived and collected insects.
When he hit his teen years, Satoshi Tajiri developed a love of video games and aspired to create his own series. With the help of friend and artist Ken Sugimori (and others), Satoshi founded the development company Game Freak.
It was Mr. Tajiri's dream to develop a game where children would be able to collect and train different kinds of creatures, while being able to trade them with their friends. The same way how collecting various types of insects fascinated him as a youth- Satoshi Tajiri wanted kids all over the world to experience the same kind of joy.
The First Pokemon Games
The project was shot down several times at first and even when work finally started, the games never really intended to sell well. It took a total of six long years, but after much hard work, perseverance, and a ton of pay cuts Satoshi finally witnessed birth of the first Pokemon video games.
Released for the portable Nintendo system GameBoy- Pokemon Red and Green versions saw a Japanese release on February 27, 1996 and was met with instant praise and success- known as Pocket Monsters in Japan, (originally Capsule Monsters). The Pokemon games were selling very well and it wasn't long before an enhanced Blue version saw release in the marketplace.
Branch off and Leap Into the Rest of the World
The video games eventually became so popular in Japan, it soon became apparent this thing was taking a life of its own. The demand for Pokemon was high and you didn't have to be a corporate executive to realize that branching off into different mediums meant more money.
Following the commercial success of the games, several manga adaptations were printed and sold.
Later, the Pokemon anime made its way unto the scene- premiering on April 1st 1997 in Japan. It would't be localized in North America until a little over a year later. On September 1998, the Pokemon franchise finally met with an audience overseas- the anime debut first on the seventh, while the games came a few weeks later on the thirtieth (which gave rise to the common misconception among westerners that the anime came first).
Pokemon Today
After nearly fifteen years, Pokemon is still thriving and is showing absolutely no signs of slowing down. What started as a silly dream project, that almost left Game Freak on the verge of bankruptcy, eventually grew into a multi-billion dollar franchise.
The games have been through four lucrative generations, with a fifth one having just been released in Japan. Pokemon merchandise can be found everywhere- a total of 13 movies, an anime series spanning four successful seasons, a live musical, hit selling soundtracks and so much more exists, all because of the unwavering resolve of a man who wanted to share his hobby with the world.
Pokemon has grown into one of the biggest cultural phenomenas the world has ever seen. Heck, it's almost impossible these days to find a man, woman, or child who doesn't know what a Pikachu is.
Sources
“bulbapedia.” n.d. http://www.bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net (accessed Oct. 13, 2010).
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