Details from a recent meeting at Nintendo have revealed one reason why the main line Pokemon The games are designed to be released two at a time. There are nine generations of connected main lines Pokemon The games have been released so far, but their dual release nature is even more tied to the timeless Nintendo mascot.
Starting with the Japanese release of Pokemon Red and Green Launched in 1996, the monster-catching franchise has become an incredibly powerful pop culture force over the course of nearly three decades, reportedly grossing more than $103 billion from the time of its launch until 2024. As of its most recent mainline release in 2022, Pokemon Scarlet and PurpleFollowing Nintendo's time-tested formula of releasing two nearly identical games with only monsters in one version or another, sales with associated merchandise have amassed an estimated $2.5 to $3 billion by October 2025.
Mario's success influenced Pokémon's two-game-release format
Now, with the release of the transcript from the recent Nintendo shareholder meeting, was killed Franchise creator Shigeru Miyamoto has revealed a reason behind the mainline's two-game format. Pokemon The game came to be. Answering questions about the sales potential of Mario Kart series on Switch 2, Miyamoto described a conversation he had Pokemon In front of producer Satoshi Tajiri's first pairing Pokemon The games were fully developed. During this conversation, Miyamoto remembers taunting Tajiri to get through the next game was killed The success of the series, Nintendo needed to figure out a way to sell two copies of the same game to the same customer. While Miyamoto did not explicitly state that this conversation was the catalyst that led to the duality. Pokemon Red and GreenThat was the end result, and the mainline series has followed this formula.
Pokemon It's not the only Nintendo-published franchise of its kind to try a two-game release strategy. In 2015, Fire symbolizes luckThe controversial release on the Nintendo 3DS upset fans by splitting the game's story between two different cartridges, each placing the game's protagonist on the side of one of two conflicting kingdoms, Nohr and Hoshido. Although it was a financial success, the two-game strategy was heavily criticized by fans and seen as a money grab, and symbol of fire It has since reverted to a single-game release strategy.
But for PokemonThe two-game strategy has worked well, encouraging community-building through edition-specific monsters and special evolution trades. The franchise is now so popular that the format doesn't seem necessary, as is the recently released spin-off game Pokemon Legends: ZASales already hit the fifth-highest spot in franchise history after just one week. However, another mainline entry is still rumored to split the name into two different games Pokemon wind and waves.
Source: GamesRadar+
