From Red and Blue to Scarlet and Violet, Pokémon is known for frequently releasing its games in two different versions – and now Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto has discussed one of the reasons why: a desire to compete in sales with his own creation, Super Mario.
Since its inception on the Game Boy, Pokémon has typically released its mainline games twice, making die-hard fans pay double to own both variations. Over the years, the decision turned out to be lucrative – and of course, that was the plan all along.
Presentation during questions and answers for investors meeting this week, in response to a question about whether Mario Kart would ever achieve massive sales, Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto said that he once talked to Pokémon creator Satoshi Tajiri and heard about his plan to defeat Mario.
“Long ago, before he created the first Pokémon game, Satoshi Tajiri, the director of Pokémon, joked with me that to outdo Nintendo’s Mario, he would have to sell two copies of the game to every consumer,” Miyamoto revealed.
“That’s one of the reasons why Pokémon started with Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue,” he continued. “I believe that new ideas come from people like him who challenge themselves to surpass what came before.”
In the past, official discussion about why Pokémon often come in two versions has focused on the possibilities for player interaction this opens up. Each version of Pokémon traditionally offers a different set of creatures to collect, encouraging players to meet and trade. Newer Pokémon games have also offered slight plot differences between versions, tempting fans to play both games to get the full experience. Often, Nintendo would sell double packs of both versions together, sometimes at a slight discount.
As for whether any game could ever beat Mario Kart – specifically, the massive sales of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on Switch 1 – Miyamoto was coy.
“If any of Nintendo’s intellectual property or innovations are widely accepted by consumers as something new and never-before-seen, these numbers could potentially push the boundaries of entertainment,” he suggested. “One of the things that’s intriguing about Nintendo is that you can try anything.
“On the other hand, even if something like this happens, Mario Kart will probably still sell well in this venture, so it may never be surpassed!”
Last month saw the release of Pokémon Legends: ZA, the latest spin-off of the series that features a menagerie of novel Mega Evolutions. Fans widely expect that next year – the 30th anniversary of the Pokémon brand – will see the next major Pokémon games: 10th generation titles in the series. And yes, recently leaked information suggested that they will also be sold in two different versions.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s news editor. You can contact Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
