Why are there two versions of every Pokémon game?

Satoshi Tajiri's original concept, pitched to Nintendo in 1990 as Capsule Monsters and developed over six difficult years, was a single game about collecting creatures and trading them across the Game Boy link cable. The two-version structure came from Shigeru Miyamoto, who suggested dividing the game so that each version would hold Pokémon the other lacked.

The suggestion turned a feature into a system. With species exclusive to each cartridge, finishing the Pokédex required a second player by design, and the link cable stopped being an accessory and became the point of the game. Red and Green launched together on February 27, 1996, each incomplete on its own.

The personalization ran deeper than rosters: Miyamoto's thinking also shaped a game that could differ from player to player, with names, trades and collections making no two cartridges alike. The pattern set in 1996 still governs the series: paired versions, split exclusives, and a Pokédex that quietly assumes you know someone with the other box.

Game Freak's circumstances made the gamble real. The studio developed the games from 1990 to 1996 while close to collapse, and the pair that finally shipped carried the whole company with them.