Details from a recent meeting at Nintendo has revealed one reason that mainline Pokemon games are built to be released two at a time. There have been nine generations of paired mainline Pokemon games released so far, but the nature of their dual releases is tied to an even more timeless Nintendo mascot.
Starting with the Japanese release of Pokemon Red and Green in 1996, the monster-catching franchise has become an incredibly powerful pop culture force over the span of nearly three decades, having reportedly hauled in more than $103 billion from the time of its launch through 2024. As its most recent mainline release in 2022, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's sales, including related merchandise, have accounted for an estimate of $2.5 to $3 billion of that amount as of October 2025, following the time-tested formula of Nintendo releasing two nearly identical games with monsters exclusive to one version or another.
Now, with the release of a transcript from a recent Nintendo shareholder meeting, Mario franchise creator Shigeru Miyamoto has revealed one of the reasons behind how the two-game format of mainline Pokemon games came to be. Responding to a question about the sales potential of the Mario...
