Pokemon Red and Green boss says the iconic RPGs required "a great deal of trial and error" to realize Game Freak's "simple concept," fuelled by childhood nostalgia

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Game Freak only had "limited resources" to work with, too

Blastoise seen in the Pokemon Origins anime series.
(Image credit: The Pokemon Company)

Developing the original Pokemon games wasn't exactly straightforward, says series boss Tsunekazu Ishihara, but the team at Game Freak remained "confident in the main gameplay elements" since they were all "tied to experiences everyone had as children," and they wanted "many people" to experience them via their RPGs.

In a new video message shared during the New York Game Awards – following Pokemon's win of the Andrew Yoon Legend Award – Ishihara, who served as producer of Pokemon Red and Green, discusses the origins of the iconic RPG series, which turns 30 this year. "Pokemon originated from a small idea from the Game Freak development team: Wouldn't it be fun if you could catch creatures in a game and trade them with your friends? Everything started from that simple concept," he begins.

In retrospect, it's easy to say that the devs definitely right to feel so optimistic that they were onto a winner, but Ishihara explains that it's because of each gameplay mechanic's tie to the devs' childhood experiences – and their determination to let others experience them through their games – that Game Freak was ultimately able to see the RPGs through.

Elsewhere in the video, Ishihara goes on to say that when it comes to thinking about "how to produce the next game – and how we can make it even more enjoyable for everyone," for him, a "major driving force" is the belief that "Pokemon has the power to connect the world."

Catherine Lewis
Catherine Lewis
Deputy News Editor

I'm GamesRadar+'s Deputy News Editor, working alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield's student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming's news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you're sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.

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