To commemorate the phenomenal franchise, Nintendo announces plans for Pokémon’s 20th anniversary celebration for all of 2016. Since the franchise’s debut in February 27, 1996, in Japan with the release of Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green for the Game Boy, more than 275 million games and 21.5 billion TCG card have been sold. Along with 18 seasons of the anime, it is hard to ignore Pokémon as it is one of the most successful entertainment franchises worldwide.
Here’s a brief of the activities The Pokémon Company has planned:
- To start the celebration, Nintendo will air a brand-new ad during Super Bowl 50 to encourage all fans to “Train On” by sharing their best Pokémon moments via Twitter, Instagram and YouTube using the #Pokemon20 hashtag.
- Pokkén Tournament will be released this Spring.
- Pokémon GO, the mobile app to encourage fans to catch Pokémon in the real world, will make its debut later this year.
- New merchandise on PokemonCenter.com including apparel, accessories (including for TCG fans) and more, even a special Pokémon 20th baseball cap.
- Twelve Pokémon films available for digital download via iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon. This includes the digitally-remastered version of Pokémon: The First Movie and Pokémon the Movie 2000. Also, the Pokémon TV app (on Roku, Chromecast and Amazon Fire) will feature one film per month. For fans who want the DVD or Blu-Ray versions, the first three movies will be on sale by Viz Media.
- Four Mythical Pokémon characters will be distributed at GameStop locations during 2016, one character per quarter. To get them all four, fans will need Pokémon Omega Ruby, Pokémon Alpha Sapphire, Pokémon X, or Pokémon Y, and a 3DS for receive Mew, Darkrai, Arceus, and Genesect.
- A new Generations expansion for TCG fans which covers all stages in the journey of a Trainer (which includes Mega characters). Also, Generations booster packs will be included in Pokémon TCG products.
And on February 27:
- There will be special events for fans at retail stores across the US. It’s the same day Nintendo will release the digital versions of Pokémon Red Version, Pokémon Blue Version and Pokémon Yellow Version, as well as the New Nintendo 3DS Pokémon 20th Anniversary bundle (which includes Pokémon Red Version and Pokémon Blue Version pre-installed, two unique cover plates featuring artwork from the original Pokémon Red Version and Pokémon Blue Version game boxes and the Pokémon 20th logo, and a download code for an exclusive Nintendo 3DS Pokémon HOME Menu theme). More info can be seen at Pokemon.com/20.
- More Pokémon amiibo -including the ones for Charizard, Jigglypuff, Greninja, and Lucario- will be available at selected stores.
[Source]: Nintendo: Pokémon Celebrates 20 Years with Ad in Super Bowl 50.
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