Pokémon 25th Anniversary

The Pokémon 25th anniversary, officially branded as Pokémon25, is an ongoing celebration during the entire year of 2021 in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the Pokémon franchise, which began with the original Japanese release of Pocket Monsters Red and Green for the Game Boy on February 27, 1996. The franchise is being celebrated through various media of the franchise including video games, the anime, the manga, toys, clothing, music, and events.

Pokémon 25th Anniversary
DateJanuary 1 – December 31, 2021 (2021-01-01 – 2021-12-31)
TypeAnniversary event
Organized byPokémon, Nintendo
Website25.pokemon.com/en-us

Background
Main article: Timeline of Pokémon

The Pokémon franchise began as Pocket Monsters Red and Green (later released outside of Japan as Pokémon Red and Blue) for the Game Boy, developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo, on February 27, 1996. The Pokémon franchise is divided into groupings known as generations. In each new generation, a new set of Pokémon and a new region are introduced for the first time. The first generation began in Japan with the release of Pocket Monsters Red and Green on February 27, 1996. As of 2021, there are currently eight generations of main series video games.

Pokémon has since become the highest-grossing media franchise of all time, with $90 billion in total franchise revenue. The video game series is the second-best-selling video game franchise (behind Nintendo's own Mario franchise) with more than 368 million copies sold and one billion mobile downloads, and it spawned a hit animeseries that has become the most successful video game adaptation with over 20 seasons and 1,000 episodes in 169 countries. In addition, the Pokémon franchise includes the world's top-selling toy brand, the top-selling trading card game with over 30.4 billion cards sold, an anime film series, a live-action film, books, manga comics, music, merchandise, and a theme park.

History

The first official mention of the anniversary celebration was on November 26, 2020 at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The Pokemon Company presented the logo for the anniversary in front of a giant balloon of Pikachu, who has made a regular appearance at the parade since 2001.[1][2] This was followed by news that Pokemon would be collaborating with Japanese Space Exploration Agency, JAXA to celebrate the new year. The collaboration involved seeing Pokemon in augmented reality aboard the International Space Station.[3]

On January 13, 2021, more news was revealed about the celebration, involving that American singer Katy Perry was collaborating with Pokémon on a new music program for its 25th anniversary.[4][5]

On January 14, Pokémon announced that New Pokémon Snap would be released worldwide on April 30, 2021.[6]

References
  1. Shea, Brian (November 27, 2020). "Pokémon Teases 25th Anniversary Celebration In 2021". Game Informer. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  2. Ivan, Tom (November 26, 2020). "Pokémon reveals 25th anniversary logo and teases 'very special' celebrations". Video Games Chronicle. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  3. N. Adams, Robert (November 25, 2020). "Pokemon promises 'a new form of entertainment' with ISS augmented reality broadcast". Game Revolution. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  4. Craddock, Ryan (January 13, 2021). "Pokémon Teams Up With Katy Perry To Kick Off 25th Anniversary Celebrations". Nintendo Life. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  5. "Katy Perry and Pokémon celebrate its 25th anniversary". CNN. January 13, 2021. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  6. Phillips, Tom (January 14, 2021). "New Pokémon Snap releases in April, with over 200 creatures to film". Eurogamer. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
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