‘Pokemon’ Developer Was Initially Told It Was Too Cute To Succeed In the U.S

Pokemon is one of the most valuable IP in the world. But apparently, before it became the worldwide phenomena it is today, there was some doubt about whether it would be able to appeal to a global audience, specifically to the market of the United States.

Speaking to USGamer, Pokemon director, composer, and designer Junichi Masuda revealed that he and his team were worried that not only would Pokemon’s turn-based RPG nature be off-putting to the U.S. market, but that there was fear it was also “too cute.”

“At first, we were told that the Pokemon were too cute to be successful in the U.S. and that we should change the design of the characters,” said Masuda. “At the time, it wasn’t common for RPGs from Japan to be popular overseas. I remember being worried that players outside of Japan wouldn’t accept Pokemon for what it was.”

According to Masuda, there wasn’t any fear that Pokemon like Mewtwo and Charizard would find an audience in the U.S., after all they are “tough and cool,” but there was worry about cuter Pokemon, such as Jigglypuff.

“Thankfully, my worries proved to be unfounded, and all of the Pokemon found their fans even outside of Japan,” said Masuda.

Masuda also notes that having the Pokemon anime come alongside the games probably helped it penetrate foreign markets. Endless merchandise and the card game followed not longer after, but according to Masuda, bringing the anime to the west was a top priority, and one he feels “really paid off.”

However, it still took Masuda a little while to completely toss his worries aside. In fact, it wasn’t until 1999 when attending a screening of Mewtwo Strikes Back (Pokemon: The First Movie) in LA that he realized just how big the IP was in the United States.

“Once I arrived in the U.S., I saw just how many Pokemon products were on store shelves. There were far more products than I expected, and I remember being very surprised,” he recalls. “Seeing the sheer number of products available in the shops was probably the first time I truly realized just how big Pokemon had become.”