Recent disclosures from a Nintendo shareholder meeting have unveiled fascinating insights into the strategic thinking behind the Pokemon franchise's signature dual-game release approach. For nearly three decades, Pokemon has maintained its tradition of launching mainline titles in pairs, and the origins of this successful business model trace back to an unexpected source: Nintendo's beloved plumber, Mario.

Since the Japanese debut of Pokemon Red and Green in 1996, the monster-collecting phenomenon has evolved into a cultural powerhouse, generating an astonishing $103 billion in revenue through 2024. The franchise's most recent mainline entries, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, have contributed significantly to this success, with combined sales and merchandise revenue estimated between $2.5 to $3 billion as of October 2025. This enduring success follows Nintendo's proven formula of releasing two nearly identical games featuring version-exclusive creatures.

During a recent Nintendo shareholder meeting, legendary game designer Shigeru Miyamoto shared a revealing anecdote about the origins of Pokemon's two-game format. While discussing the sales potential of the Mario Kart series for the upcoming Switch 2, Miyamoto recalled a pivotal conversation with Pokemon creator Satoshi Tajiri during the early development stages of the first Pokemon games.

Miyamoto remembered Tajiri humorously suggesting that for any game to surpass the monumental success of the Mario franchise, Nintendo would need to devise a way to sell two copies of the same game to individual customers. Although Miyamoto didn't explicitly confirm this conversation as the direct catalyst for Pokemon Red and Green's dual release, the outcome speaks for itself - the mainline Pokemon series has consistently followed this successful blueprint ever since.

While Pokemon has perfected the dual-release model, it's not the only Nintendo franchise to experiment with this approach. Fire Emblem Fates' 2015 release on Nintendo 3DS divided the gaming community by splitting the narrative across two separate cartridges, each featuring the protagonist aligned with one of two warring kingdoms - Nohr and Hoshido. Despite achieving commercial success, the strategy faced significant criticism from fans who perceived it as an aggressive monetization tactic, ultimately leading the Fire Emblem series to return to single-game releases.

For the Pokemon franchise, however, the dual-game strategy has proven remarkably effective, fostering community engagement through the trading of version-exclusive monsters and special evolution requirements. The series has reached such immense popularity that the format might seem unnecessary today, especially considering the recent success of Pokemon Legends: Z-A, which achieved the fifth-highest sales position in franchise history within its first week as a single release.

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