Pokémon’s 30th anniversary: The Mobile Mavens share lessons and nostalgic flashbacks from the franchise
- Pokémon fans have been catching 'em all since February 27th, 1996.
- From the Gen Xers who saw Pokémon’s rise, to the Millennials who lived it and Gen Zers who’ve only ever known a Pokémon world, we ask our Mobile Mavens for their views on this 30-year-old franchise.
Whether you’re 16 or 60, the Pokémon franchise needs no great introduction. It’s a game series that’s long since transcended the handheld realm into a global brand recognised by gamers and non-gamers alike.
This series is no stranger to mobile, with billion dollar-makers like Pokémon Go and Pokémon TCG Pocket, plus sleeper hits such as Pokémon Sleep.
It was 30 years ago today that Pokémon Red and Green first released in Japan. It's since become one of the highest-grossing media franchises in the world. Whether it’s games, cards, plushies, LEGO or even a hotel, Pokémon is everywhere.
As the franchise celebrates its 30th birthday, we reached out to industry experts for their thoughts, musings and nostalgic flashbacks.
Veli Kiviaho
One of my earliest gaming memories is gathering around a Game Boy with friends to play Pokémon Red and Blue. The imaginative world drew us in and the freedom to play anywhere made it stick. The handheld format itself increased immersion because the game travelled with you and so did the conversations around it.
“The handheld format itself increased immersion because the game travelled with you and so did the conversations around it.”Veli Kiviaho
The release of Pokémon Red and Blue anticipated what we now associate with mobile gaming: accessible hardware, shared experiences and games that fit naturally into everyday life. Over three decades, Pokémon has introduced new formats for engagement without fragmenting its core identity.
From the Trading Card Game’s evolution from physical cards to Pokémon TCG Pocket on mobile, to experiences like Pokémon Go, the brand continues to adapt to new platforms while preserving what makes it distinctive.
Romy Halfweeg
When you look at 30 years of Pokémon, it’s honestly wild how consistently they’ve built the brand. They’ve managed to stay relevant for new generations while still keeping longtime fans invested too: no easy feat.
When I think of Pokémon, I think of the power of strong mascot characters and how deeply players identify with them. Even if someone isn’t into the mainline gameplay, there are so many other ways to connect with the IP. It’s become something that genuinely brings all kinds of game lovers together.
What I love most is how they keep finding new ways to let us interact with our favourite Pokémon. I’m personally drawn to the cute side of Pokémon (I never let them evolve!), which is why something like Pokémon Resort really resonated with me. And looking at Pokémon Pokopia, I’m excited because it feels like a new way to spend time with Bulbasaur.
For web games, where you have just a few seconds to grab a player's attention, character design really matters. Pokémon shows how powerful a recognisable, lovable character can be. If players instantly think a character looks cute or cool, that alone can be enough to make them click, try the game and come back for more.
I’d love to see official Pokémon web games in the future - titles like Magikarp Jump feel tailor-made for it.
Michael Steranka
When I was a child, my family moved to Japan for three years. During that time, Pokémon Red and Green versions came out. Those games ended up being a gateway to connecting with other kids at school, and it helped me make friends in a time of my life where I was really struggling to fit in.
Ever since then, I've been a huge Pokémon fan and I feel so lucky every day that I get to now build experiences through Pokémon Go that likewise connect people all around the world.
As Pokémon's 30-year anniversary is here, I can't help but feel in awe at how much care The Pokémon Company and The Pokémon Company International have put into this franchise. They truly treat each individual Pokémon as living beings and that dedication is felt day-in and day-out by countless fans worldwide.
While there has been so much built over the last 30 years, I know this is just the beginning, though.
Pokémon Go itself is turning 10 this summer and we are already looking ahead to the next decade and beyond. As someone who grew up with Pokémon, I can't wait to share this fandom with my kids and grandkids someday, and we are hard at work ensuring the future of Pokémon Go is even brighter than our first decade.
Oscar Clark
Pokémon has obviously had a profound impact on (not just gaming) culture, but for me it was the collectable card game that I first played, as I was a tabletop and PC gamer rather than a Nintendo fanboy.
What amazed me about the brand is how they created a framing mechanism that would work incredibly well for building a global mega-franchise that would work as a cartoon, multiple handheld and full-screen console games, mobile games and even the amazing Detective Pikachu movie.
“I would even argue that Pokémon Go's original launch hinted at an enormous scale of players who had become frustrated with the mobile game offering at the time.”Oscar Clark
For me, the biggest measure of this impact came 10 years ago with the launch of Pokémon Go. The scale of the impact overwhelmed Apple and Android platforms - massively surpassing everything else, larger than the total base of players prior to its release.
I would even argue that Pokémon Go's original launch hinted at an enormous scale of players who had become frustrated with the mobile games offering at the time.
We have seen a huge array of new and updated Pokémon games that transform the original concept across multiple genres, formats, platforms, media, physical goods - even a tool to help people sleep. It is one of the most impactful brands that has come out of our industry and will remain relevant for decades to come.
And of course, where there's trouble... make it double.
Jenny Xu
Pokémon has become a franchise that I've grown up with as Gen Z. Because I have seen Pikachu and Ash grow up alongside me, I think what they've done with building a generation around their IP is inspiring.
The way they've continued to innovate with different media platforms and involve their community inspires me as a game dev to think about the bigger impact of games on culture.
Favourite Pokémon game: Pokémon Mystery Dungeon (the first one). I remember crying at the ending and realising that games have the potential to evoke emotion in people who play them. From then on, I wanted to make games that would similarly make people cry or laugh or scream!
Christian Lövstedt
Pokémon is a masterclass in how a solid concept and recognisable brand can maintain relevance for decades. By consistently releasing games, cards and media that reinforce one another, Game Freak and Nintendo have grown a massive global fanbase without diluting the brand’s core values. This serves as a primary lesson for the industry.
The developers were clearly aware of the IP's potential early on and made their merchandise into a cornerstone of the business model that reaches far beyond the core gaming demographic. Pokémon is a cultural icon with a legacy that rivals the biggest names in film, books and music.
“Pokémon is a cultural icon with a legacy that rivals the biggest names in film, books and music.”Christian Lövstedt
This staying power is clearest in Pokémon Go, a groundbreaking title that demonstrated the unique strength of the brand with a geo-based mobile game. Despite the potential of geo-based technology, no other developer has quite matched its success, implying that the power of the Pokémon brand itself did a lot of the heavy lifting.
For any company looking to build a long-lasting IP, Pokémon’s strategic blueprint is a great case study in brand longevity.
Adrian Arboleda
The Pokémon Company has done an incredible job of not deviating too much from the recipe that works. At its core not much has changed from Pokémon Red and Blue to some of today’s recent titles: kick off a journey, explore, train, battle.
These core concepts have stayed, with some spice added here and there. Sometimes the simplest and most effective approach is sticking to what works and that’s what makes me a continuous fan.
My favourite game in the series is Pokémon Stadium 2. The whole thing is extremely nostalgic, particularly the mini-games mode. Shoutout to ‘Egg Emergency’; catching eggs with Chansey is a blast.
Valeria Semenova
Perhaps the most powerful lesson Pokémon teaches is that you don't have to play by conventional marketing rules. The industry has long leaned on demographic segmentation: edgy and brutal for men, soft and pastel for women, cute characters reserved strictly for children.
Pokémon quietly dismantled all of that. On the surface, it looks like a franchise made for kids. And yet, decades later, it continues to command the attention of a remarkably broad adult audience.
The series set a benchmark for brand monetisation at a near-governmental scale. After cherry blossoms, Pokémon might genuinely be the most recognisable symbol of Japan internationally. From plush toys and cards to cafés, films, and even a fully Pokémon-themed airline, it demonstrated how a single franchise can generate revenue from virtually every imaginable touchpoint in a way that feels organic.
It's genuinely hard to answer what my favourite Pokémon game is, because what I love most is the Pokémon universe as a whole. That said, if I had to pick one game that left a real mark on me, it would be Pokémon Rumble. There's something uniquely appealing about actually being the Pokémon; getting to be Rayquaza (my all-time favourite), even for a moment, was oddly fulfilling.
On that note, I'd love to see more of the Pokémon universe made accessible globally. This summer in Japan, a book called Pokémon Pokéology was released (essentially an ecological field guide to Pokémon) and I tracked down a copy and brought it home. It's in Japanese and technically aimed at children, but I treasure it.
Nintendo: you have passionate fans all over the world, of all ages, who don't speak Japanese. Please consider them. We're ready for more!
Igor Melniks
Pokémon highlights the power of long-term brand loyalty. While mobile has often focused on shorter lifecycle optimisation, today’s environment of higher user acquisition costs and intense competition makes sustained player relationships more important than ever.
When Pokémon Go launched, it became one of the fastest games to reach $100 million in revenue and topped global charts within days, driven not only by design but by decades of accumulated trust and cultural relevance. The lesson is clear: when brand equity compounds, launches scale faster and engagement lasts longer.
The Pokémon Company demonstrated how games, media, merchandise and live events can function as a coordinated ecosystem rather than isolated products. That kind of portfolio-level orchestration strengthens brand equity and gives fans more reasons to stay connected, whether they’re playing, watching or buying.
My favourite has to be Pokémon Go. It blended nostalgia with new technology in a way that felt transformative. The gameplay was simple and addictive, with enough grind and real FOMO to send me out late at night chasing rare spawns.
By bridging the physical and digital worlds, it turned everyday movement into gameplay and made exploring the city feel more immersive, which is rare for any game.
Most importantly, it reminded me to approach mobile games as a gamer first, not only as an industry professional, and it made daily dog walks far more entertaining, which made my dogs very happy because we walked a lot more.
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