Pokémon Day draws crowds to Nintendo Store in San Francisco
Looking back, 1996 was a momentous time for video games. It’s the year “Resident Evil” launched and “Super Mario 64” won Game of the Year in several publications. Lara Croft’s first adventure impressed everyone on PlayStation, and the first “Pokémon” game launched on the Game Boy.
The series focused on pocket monsters has easily surpassed all of them when it comes to the highest-grossing media franchise across games, merchandise and more, according to experts. Today, on its 30th anniversary, The Pokémon Company had several announcements highlighted by the latest upcoming entries to the main series games – “Pokémon Winds” and “Pokémon Waves.”
Coming in 2027, the two titles feature three new starters, Browt, Pombon and Gecqua, and it’s also only coming to the Nintendo Switch 2. That means fans will have to upgrade to play a game that looks more impressive and hopefully runs smoothly on the new console.
At the Nintendo Store in San Francisco, fans had lined up around the block to check out the new gear for the 30th anniversary. It includes hats, ornaments, tumblers, lanyards and shirts, but by far, the most sought-after item was the Game Music Collection: Game Boy Jukebox that featured a small replica of the iconic hand-held along with 45 cartridges that play music from the iconic original.
“We’re from San Jose, and we got a hotel room so we can be here at the crack of dawn,” said Rhees Crouse, of San Jose. He said he has been playing since the original and couldn’t resist an opportunity to spend the day at the store.
“We’re Pokémon superfans,” he said. “I told my boss, ‘I’m taking the day off, and there’s no way you can tell me no.'”
He picked up the Jukebox and was in line for some of the other events, which included a photo-op where fans could take photos behind a map of their favorite region. Elsewhere, Pokémon fans lined up for posters that featured 1,025 pocket monsters discovered so far.
Jorge Apanco, from Mexico, used to play competitively but said, “I stopped playing years ago” as he grew older. That didn’t stop him from visiting the Nintendo Store to check out the merchandise and partake in the festivities.
Beyond the festivities in the store, Nintendo also released “Pokémon FireRed Version” and “Pokémon LeafGreen” version oon the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. The games are 2004 Game Boy Advance ports of the original titles. Even Stern Pinball got into the act and developed a Pokémon pinball machine. It’s a beautiful machine that captures the spirit of the games.
The festivities will continue further next week with the release of “Pokémon Pokopia” on March 5. It’s a cozy-style game, in which players take on the role of a Ditto that builds a Pokémon village from the groundup. It’s reported to be a blend on “Minecraft,” “Animal Crossing” and “Viva Pinata.”
When it comes to “Pokémon Go,” the popular mobile game will be bringing back MewTwo as part of the 30th anniversary along with Pokémon from the Kanto region, running from March 3 to March 9. It’s been a long time since Mewtwo was available in the game. Even bigger than that, from March 7 to March 9, the game will be holding an All Out event, which will feature most Pokémon that has appeared in the game. That’s a lot. It doesn’t include Mythicals, Ultra Beasts and certain species that require special requirements to capture. The Ultra Beasts and some legendaries will be in Five-Star Raids.
Looking ahead, San Francisco will be home to the 2026 Pokémon World Championships and the inaugural PokémonXP fan experience, which will be held Aug. 28 to Aug. 30. Fans can register their interest in picking up tickets for the event from April 2 to April 23. That will put them on a list for a chance to purchase a multi-day pass to PokemonXP and the World Championships. Those who don’t get a multi-day pass can still have a chance to attend via a single-day interest list coming in the summer. More details are here.