Pokemon

Pokémon still has a hold on all of us. Will Nintendo's new game live up to the billion-dollar expectation?

Going on nearly three decades strong, The Pokémon Company continues to catch us all

Since 1996 there have been over 50 Pokémon video game spin-offs.

Jamal Michel

Special to USA TODAY

Throughout the pandemic, retailers have seen a spike in demand for Pokémon goods.
Spin-off video game titles from the world's biggest media franchise have seen success as well.
The forthcoming Nintendo Switch title, Pokémon Legends: Arceus, promises to explore the fan-favorite Sinnoh region in ways new and familiar.

This week, "Pokémon Legends: Arceus" finally drops. Can you believe the first Pokémon was released 26 years ago?

Pocket Monsters Red Version and Green Version first hit shelves in Japan in 1996 on the Nintendo Gameboy. Ever since 8-bit versions of Pokémon like Pikachu and Charizard graced those small green screens, the franchise has captivated generations of collectors, gamers and anime consumers.

Spin-off video game titles from the world's biggest media franchise have seen similar success as well. Pokémon GO, the 2016 augmented reality mobile game that sparked a global craze and was developed by Niantic, in collaboration with The Pokémon Company and Nintendo, netted a whopping $1.9 billion in 2020, according to market data from SuperData.