Pokemon has been a global institution for many of its 20 years. Through games, anime, and trading cards alone, Pokemon is one of the most recognizable franchises in entertainment history. Nintendo and The Pokemon Company aren’t being subtle that we’ve reached the 20th anniversary of Pokemon, either.
The original Pokemon titles, Red, Blue, and Yellow launched on the Nintendo eShop today. For $10, you get the game in a slightly remastered format. Pokemon you obtain in the re-releases can be transferred to the Pokemon Bank service, where the creatures can live on indefinitely.
This release is fresh off the announcement of Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon. Not much is known outside of the title, other than that it is indeed a continuation of the core Pokemon franchise. Whether this indicates an entire new generation of Pokemon titles, or a sequel series to the acclaimed Pokemon X and Pokemon Y has yet to be disclosed. Precedence suggests that you should keep an eye on the Japanese magazine CoroCoro for upcoming leaks.
Rounding off the celebration, Pokemon is taking social media by storm as well. Nostalgia trips, hashtag-centric events, and the aforementioned Pokemon games are all making it alarmingly clear that Pokemon isn’t going anywhere.