When did the first Pokemon game come out?

The first Pokemon game actually came in the form of two versions: Blue and Red. Here’s exactly when they were first released in Japan and subsequently in the United States.

The first Pokemon game release date

Pokemon Red and the Japan-exclusive Pokemon Green were on store shelves all the way back on February 27, 1996, for Game Boy. In the same year, Pokemon Blue with the powerful Blastoise on the front cover came out on October 15. Neither America nor Europe received the game for another two years.

It took until September 28, 1998, for Americans to get a hold of these Pocket Monsters with Red and Blue‘s releases. The English dub of the Pokemon anime coincided with the launch earlier that month on September 7, likely to draw hype for the new IP. Europeans received the games a year after that on October 5, 1999, almost four years after Pokemon Red and Green‘s initial launches in Japan. That’s a wild delay.

How were the first Pokemon games received back then?

Pokemon Red & Blue were well received when they launched back in 1998 in the United States. “Pokemon really is worthy of being one of the Game Boy system’s greatest games; it’s not just a fad, a craze, or trend,” said IGN’s Craig Harris. “If you don’t have this game in your library, pick one up.”

“Under its cuddly exterior, Pokemon is a serious and unique RPG with lots of depth and excellent multiplayer extensions,” wrote GameSpot‘s Peter Bartholow in their review.

This game became such a cultural hit that it made the Strong National Museum of Play’s Video Game Hall of Fame in 2017.

However, it can be argued that Pokemon Gold & Silver took what made Blue & Red entertaining and stepped it up to another level with new Pokemon, a new phone-like device, and the exciting Johto region.