The Pokémon empire began three decades ago with two simple Game Boy titles
The multi-billion dollar Pokémon franchise launched in 1996 with the release of Red and Green on the Nintendo Game Boy, forever changing the landscape of handheld gaming and global pop culture.
Satoshi Tajiri and Ken Sugimori spent six years developing the original Pokémon games, drawing inspiration from Tajiri's childhood hobby of insect collecting. When Red and Green finally debuted in Japan on February 27, 1996, they transformed the aging Game Boy into a social phenomenon through the innovative use of the Link Cable for trading.
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