Biography
Pokémon (ポケモン, Pokemon?, IPA , although frequently mispronounced ), is a multi-billion dollar media franchise controlled by video game giant Nintendo, and created by Satoshi Tajiri at least by 1995 (it celebrated its tenth anniversary on February 27, 2006, although the franchise was copyrighted in the USA as Pokémon by 1995). The original Game Boy video games have since been merchandised into anime, manga, trading cards, toys, books, and other media. The name, Pokémon, is the romanized contraction of the Japanese brand, “Pocket Monsters” (ポケットモンスター, Poketto Monsutā?), as such contractions are very common in Japan. Nintendo originally literally translated Poketto Monsutā – indeed, a "Pocket Monsters" game was created in early 1995. A naming conflict caused Nintendo to rebrand the franchise as "Pokémon" in early 1996. The game’s catchphrase, in the Japanese language versions of the franchise is "ポケモンGETだぜ!(Pokémon Getto Daze! - Let's Get Pokémon!)" ; in the English language versions of the franchise, it used to be “Gotta catch ’em all!”, although it is now no longer officially used (except by Hasbro and in the title sequence to Pokémon Chronicles).
The concept of the Pokémon saga stems from the hobby of insect collecting, a popular pastime in Japan, and one which Pokémon's creator Satoshi Tajiri had enjoyed as a child. Tajiri’s formula took off in Japan and was adapted (and translated) in 1998 for the American market, with the release of Pokémon Red and Blue. These games allowed players to catch, collect, and train hundreds of creatures, known as Pokémon; and battle them against each other to build their strength. These Pokémon could then “evolve” into more powerful Pokémon and learn new and stronger techniques. Pokémon never bleed or die in battle, only faint – this was a very touchy subject to Tajiri, as he didn’t want to further fill the gaming world with "pointless violence".
Pokémon is also the collective name for all of the fictional species within the Pokémon universe. To date, the franchise has a grand total of 409 unique species that lie at the heart of the series, a figure which has grown substantially from the 150 monsters in the original Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue games. The word Pokémon remains unchanged whether referring to the singular or plural (as is the case with deer or sheep), and the same applies to each species name.
In December 2005, 4Kids Entertainment, which had managed the non-game related licensing of Pokémon, announced that it has agreed not to renew the Pokémon representation agreement. Pokémon USA Inc., a subsidiary of Japan's Pokémon Co., now oversees all Pokémon licensing outside of Asia.
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