Pokemon is a legendary franchise. A pair of unassuming games that was released for the Gameboy at the tail end of the decade old handheld’s lifespan that just took off and happened to capture the imagination of millions of kids worldwide, a pair of games that would go on to become one of the most influential and highest selling franchises of all time. Pokemon is, to this day, an event. And this year, it is 20 years old.
20 years is a long time for any franchise to survive- it is even harder for a franchise to stay relevant, and thrive over those 20 years like Pokemon has. What must Game Freak, the developers of the games, who probably never expected the games to take off like they did, think about its success?
In two new videos that were just released, featuring interviews with Junichi Masuda (Director at GAME FREAK Inc.) and Tsunekazu Ishihara (President/CEO of The Pokemon Company), the creators reflect on the last 20 years of the franchise, from the original games’ troubled development, to everything that has followed since. It is, in the best way possible, nostalgic and heartwarming. Give them a look below.
Pokemon Red, Blue, and Yellow will all launch on the Nintendo 3DS via the Virtual Console later this month.