This page is referenced by:

• 1 media/pokemon.jpg media/pokemon.jpg 2016-12-13T08:55:31-08:00 Pokémon 16 How the World Started Catching Them All image_header 2016-12-15T16:40:32-08:00            In 1989, Satoshi Tajiri, along with the help of Ken Sugimori and Junichi Masuda, went on to create the company Game Freak Inc. The company would soon become responsible for one of the world’s most popular video game series, Pokémon.  Tajiri, was inspired by his childhood in Japan catching insects and tadpoles near his home and by Nintendo’s latest hand held GameBoy. He based the game around collecting, training, trading, and battling small creatures. By February 27, 1996, Japan was catching all 151 of the original Pokémon, today, that number spans to more than 721.
             
              The game quickly skyrocketed to fame, leading to anime and manga artists to be inspired by the game to create series following the characters and their journeys catching Pokémon. The series is one of the longest running anime. The original series from Japanese artist  stared a young ten-year-old Satoshi, named after the game originator, and two of his friends. Satoshi was later renamed Ash Ketchum in the English versions.  Its growing list of characters makes it incredibly easy to continue following Ash and his friends as they venture to become Pokémon masters.
               Following the success in Japan, the company released a version of the game as well as the anime series to North America in the next year. The video game created tons of variations of different manga/comics, books, a successful, still-running television show, and more than 20 movies..  
  
               On July 6, 2016, the world of Pokemon GO made a revival from its hiatus. Video game designer, John Hanke, released a new version of the classic game that took millennials by storm. The app Pokemon Go, was designed as an augmented reality game. Augmented reality has the ability to take the digital overlays that display all types of information, from restaurants to parking, and place them into the real world. The app made approximately $35 million dollars in the first two weeks from its launch date, and continues to generate around $1.6 million a day simply from iPhone users. Users are tasked with the job of being Pokémon trainer, based on the ideas of the popular show. In order to catch the Pokémon, the users have to go to different locations to find various types of Pokémon. The augmented reality screen places pokemon in the middle of their screens showing in real time and location which ever pokemon they have been able to find. The popular app was designed to get its participants out of the house and moving, it has also has allowed users to become more social, gaining friends along their journeys.  The phenomenon of Pokemon generated news stories across the country when players began swarming areas in large quantities. .