Pokémon fans have a lot of fond memories from the 20 years of the franchise’s existence, but probably the fondest of memories come from those behind the scenes who made sure Pokémon was the juggernaut it is 20 years later.
The Pokémon Company has released two new videos with the director of Pokémon, GameFreak’s own Junichi Masuda and the CEO and President of the Pokémon Company, Tsunekazu Ishihara.
Masuda relives his time trying to get Pokémon Red and Green Versions made in Japan and how it took six years before its release in 1996. Masuda was one of the programmers and composed the music and many of the sound effects in the game.
He went through computer after computer to get the games finished and, as Masuda says himself, without fixing those computers the games would never have been completed.
Masuda also said that when he gets all of the positive fan response about the Pokémon games, he really wants to get started on the next one. Let’s go Pokémon Z!
Ishihara told a different tale, on how while working on the first Pokémon games he was developing the trading card game that would sweep the world in the 90s.
It’s because of the trading card game and anime that Pokémon became more than just a video game fad, but a cultural phenomenon that would span 20 years. All of the creators behind Pokémon are looking forward to the future of the franchise and so are we.
