Pokemon Red and Green took a lot of “trial and error” to get right

Pokemon Red and Green took a lot of "trial and error" to get right

By Sickr on January 19, 2026

Pokemon series boss Tsunekazu Ishihara has shared some insight into the development of the original Pokemon games Pokemon Red and Green at The New York Game Awards. He said that while the games seem straightforward today it took a lot of trial and error to get right and that the development team were hampered with the limited resources that they had at the time. Thankfully, as we know, the games turned out to be a gargantuan success and have brought the franchise to where it is today. Here's what he said:

"Pokemon originated from a small idea from the Game Freak development team: Wouldn't it be fun if you could catch creatures in a game and trade them with your friends? Everything started from that simple concept."

"The development process, however, was not quite as easy. It took a great deal of trial and error to figure out how to actualize that idea with the limited resources we had available. In the end, it took six years to complete the first games, Pokemon Red and Pokemon Green. Still, we all felt confident in the main gameplay elements that would become the foundation of the Pokemon video game series: catch, raise, trade, and battle."

"We felt this way because these elements were tied to experiences everyone had as children when we were out catching bugs and growing plants and raising animals. With a strong desire to let many people experience that fundamental experience more deeply through Pokemon within the game, we were finally able to bring it to completion."