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Pokemon all started in 1996. It was released as a game for the Game Boy by Nintendo. Originally released in Japan, Pokemon were "Pocket Monsters" that were instructed to battle other Pokemon by their trainers. The original term for Pokemon was, "Poketto Monstaa", the coined Japanese term for Pokemon. Soon it was shortened to Pokemon. A Japanese game designer, Satoshi Tajiri, invented Pokemon based on childhood memories of collecting bugs in bottles and wishing he could make them fight like the monsters in his favourite science fiction movies. The game was so intricate that it took Tajiri six years to complete. Once released, the rest is history. The overwhelming popularity of the game promoted the creation of a Japanese Pokemon television series and a Japanese Pokemon Trading Card Set, both of which were huge successes. |
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The Pokemon phonomenon began in the United States in 1998 with the release of the original Pokemon Red and Blue for the Game Boy, the debut of the animated Pokemon television series on Warner Brothers, and the release of the English version of the Pokemon Trading Cards. The Pokemon television series immediately catapulted KidsWarner Brothers to the top of the cable ratings for kids shows. According to a February 2001 Nintendo press release, the Pokemon television show continued to rank number one among kids from 2 to 11, and among boys from 6 to 11. Warner Brothers also released the first three big screen animated Pokemon feature films in North America: "Pokemon, The First Movie", also known as "Pokemon The Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back" (released in 1999), "Pokemon The Movie: 2000", and "Pokemon 3 The Movie" (2001). |
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For those of you unfamiliar with Pokemon, they are creatures who possess unique powers or abilities. In the Pokemon world, human beings act as Pokemon Trainers and capture as many Pokemon as they can. The captured Pokemon join the thrainer's team and help them capture other Pokemon, enabling the Trainers to become Pokemon Masters. Pokemon battles have a rigid code of rules that do not allow dirty tricks or easy ways out. Also, Pokemon Battles never end with a creature's death. The successful end to a Pokemon match occurs when one creature faints and is rushed to the Pokemon Center for recovery, or when it is captured by a Trainer and put in a device called a Pokeball. Lastly, the Pokemon storyline encourages cooperation and teamwork. |
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Here are some interesting facts about Pokemon:
During Pokemon's first 24 months of availability in the United States, Nintendo of America reported a total sales of 20 million Pokemon video games for Game Boy Colour and Nintendo 64.
Six of the industry's 10 top-selling video games in 2000 were Pokemon titles.
Seven Pokemon titles were responsible for 10% of all software units sold in the year 2000.
As of February 2000, there were 12 Pokemon games both for the Nintendo 64 and Game Boy.
As of February 2000, nearly 27 million Pokemon games had been sold in the United
States and more than 74 million Pokemon games had been sold worldwide. |
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