Bbc
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30 years of Pokémon: Why fans still love it
Posted
February 27, 2026
Views
6,968
Likes
87
Comments
4
Engagement
1.31%
February 27, 2026
6,968
87
4
1.31%
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1:23Now PlayingWhich is your favourite Pokémon? It's been 30 years since gamers were first introduced to Pikachu, Eevee, and Charmander.
Pocket Monsters Red and Pocket Monsters Green was released in Japan on 27 February 1996.
"The first time I heard about Pokémon was when I was working for Game Freak. I thought, 'Wow, this is going to sell a lot of copies.' The players needed two Game Boy consoles to exchange the monsters with their friends," recalls Akihito Tomisawa, one of the games' developers.
When it was released internationally as Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue, it sold more than 30 million copies.
And it didn't stop there. Then came the anime, the merch and of course the trading cards.
The BBC's Daniel Raza looks back at how Pokémon become a cultural phenomenon.
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#Pokemon #Gaming
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