Before The Game Awards became the Oscars of the video game industry, E3 was the major gaming event that took place annually from 1995 to 2019. It allowed video game developers to showcase their products and captivate the interest of an audience, be it from people within the industry or players. Many gamers looked forward to watching their favorite company’s E3 presentations, as they knew that they would either make exciting announcements, show new trailers, or reveal gameplay for upcoming games.
Nintendo was present at E3 from the very start. Its panels were some of the most anticipated, as those interested knew they would get news on beloved franchises, such as Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda. Pokémon wasn’t part of these presentations from the start, as the game series was a purely Japanese phenomenon in its early years. That ended in May 1998, when the franchise was officially announced and introduced in the United States for the first time at an E3 presentation back. The Video Game History Foundation has made public several early E3 events, including the one where Nintendo reveals the launch of the Pokémon anime and games outside of Japan.
Fans can watch all Pokémon announcements between minutes 23 and 29. Many gamers and anime fans were certainly anticipating the franchise’s arrival in the US, as it is mentioned how word of the series had already reached various parts of the world. To attract the attention of potential consumers, the presentation featured a promotional video with information on its popularity in Japan. It reported these impressive stats in Japan within two years of the franchise’s creation:
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