Pokémon Began Selling Two Versions of Each Game To Try and Beat Mario, Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto Says

From Red and Blue to Scarlet and Violet, Pokémon is known for often launching its games with 2 antithetic versions — and now, Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto has discussed 1 of the reasons why: to effort and rival the income of his ain creation, Super Mario.

Since its inception connected the Game Boy, Pokémon has typically released its mainline games twice, ensuring diehard fans wage treble to ain some varieties. Over the years, the determination has proven lucrative — and, of course, that was the program each along.

Speaking during an capitalist Q&A gathering this week, successful effect to a question astir whether Mario Kart's tremendous income could ever beryllium lapped, Nintendo fable Shigeru Miyamoto said he'd erstwhile spoken to Pokémon creator Satoshi Tajiri and heard his program to bushed Mario.

"A agelong clip ago, earlier creating the archetypal Pokémon game, Satoshi Tajiri, the manager of Pokémon, joked with maine that to surpass Nintendo's Mario he'd person to merchantability 2 copies of the crippled to each consumer," Miyamoto revealed.

"That is 1 crushed wherefore Pokémon started with some Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue," helium continued. "I judge that caller ideas are calved precisely due to the fact that of radical similar him, who situation themselves to surpass what came before."

In the past, authoritative treatment of wherefore Pokémon often arrives successful 2 flavors has centered connected the possibilities for subordinate enactment this opens up. Each Pokémon mentation traditionally offers a antithetic acceptable of creatures to collect, encouraging players to conscionable and trade. More caller Pokémon games person besides offered insignificant communicative differences betwixt versions, tempting fans to play some games for the afloat experience. And, frequently, Nintendo has sold treble packs of the 2 versions together, sometimes astatine a flimsy discount.

As for whether immoderate crippled could ever really bushed Mario Kart — and specifically, the tremendous income of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe connected Switch 1 — Miyamoto was coy.

"If immoderate Nintendo IP oregon innovation is wide accepted by consumers arsenic thing caller and ne'er earlier seen, the numbers could perchance scope beyond the boundaries of entertainment," helium suggested. "One happening that is absorbing astir Nintendo is that it’s good to effort anything.

"On the different hand, adjacent if thing similar that happens, Mario Kart would astir apt proceed to merchantability good successful that undertaking arsenic well, truthful it whitethorn ne'er beryllium surpassed!"

Last period saw the motorboat of Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the series' latest spin-off that features a menagerie of caller Mega Evolutions. Fans wide expect adjacent twelvemonth — the 30th day of the Pokémon marque — to big the adjacent mainline Pokémon games: the series' 10th procreation of titles. And yes, recently-leaked accusation suggested these would besides beryllium sold successful 2 antithetic versions.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social