Pokémon is celebrating its 20th anniversary, and The Pokémon Company International has a year of events, programs and new licensing partners lined up to mark a banner year for this multi-platform powerhouse brand.
The “Pokémon Red” and “Pokémon Green” video games, released in Japan in 1996 for Nintendo Game Boy, marked the official birth of the franchise. The video games (renamed “Pokémon Red” and “Pokémon Blue”) were released two years later in the U.S. in 1998, and went on to become the No. 2 best-selling video game of all-time with 279 million copies sold.
“The brand has many different ways for people to explore the world of Pokémon...People can watch the show, play the video game and trade the collector cards. The brand appeals to people who like to collect and trade, communicate and battle or role play, dress up and go to events. The key is that the brand is approachable and fun.”
says J.C. Smith, consumer marketing director, The Pokémon Company International.
