Pokémon Gold and Silver
Encyclopedia
are the second installments of the Pokémon series of role-playing video games developed by Game Freak
and published by Nintendo
for the Game Boy Color
. The games have dual-mode capabilities allowing them to also be played on earlier Game Boy
models. They were first released in Japan in 1999 and to Australia and North America in 2000 and Europe in 2001. Pokémon Crystal, a special edition version, was released for the same console roughly a year later in each region. In 2009, Nintendo remade Gold and Silver for the Nintendo DS
as Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver
.
The games introduce 100 new species of Pokémon, and follow the progress of the central character, whose name the player may choose, in his quest to master Pokémon battling. Both games are independent of each other but feature largely the same plot and, while both can be played separately, it is necessary to trade between them and their backward compatible
predecessors in order to fully complete the games' Pokédexes. The Johto Saga of the Pokémon anime
is based on the new region introduced in the games.
Pokémon Gold and Silver continued the enormous success of its predecessors
as Pokémon began to form into a multi-billion dollar franchise. The games almost matched the sales Pokémon Red and Blue and went on to jointly sell millions of copies worldwide. By 2010, the recorded sales of Gold and Silver were at 23 million units sold.
Like Pokémon Red, Blue and Yellow, Pokémon Gold and Silver are played from a top-down perspective, with players directly navigating the protagonist
around the fictional universe
, interacting with objects and people. As the player explores this world he or she will encounter different terrain
s, such as grassy fields, forests, caves, and seas in which different Pokémon species reside. As the player randomly encounters one of these creatures, the field switches to a turn-based "battle scene", where the Pokémon will fight.
There are two main goals within the games: following through the main storyline and defeating the Elite Four and Lance to become the new Champion, and completing the Pokédex by capturing, evolving, and trading to obtain all 251 creatures. A major aspect of this is developing and raising the player's Pokémon by battling other Pokémon, which can be found in the wild or owned by other Trainers. This system of accumulating experience point
s and leveling up, characteristic and integral to all Pokémon video games, controls the physical properties of the Pokémon, such as the battle statistics acquired, and the moves learned.
The games introduce Raikou, Entei, and Suicune
, a new type of legendary Pokémon that wander around Johto, changing locations frequently. They can be tracked by the Pokédex once encountered, and will always attempt to flee, but will retain HP loss. In addition there is the possibility of encountering a shiny Pokémon, which have a different coloration than normal Pokémon of their species, and appear very rarely. Two new Pokémon types were added, the Steel-type and the Dark-type. Steel-type Pokémon have very high defense and resistance to other types, while Dark-type Pokémon are immune to Psychic-type moves and are strong against Psychic-type Pokémon, as well as having few weaknesses. In Gold and Silver, new moves were added, but Pokémon knowing new moves are not allowed to be traded to the first generation games
. To solve this, a move deleter was introduced, capable of erasing moves known by the Pokémon. Another major change was the splitting of the Special stat into Special Attack and Special Defense, which increased aspects of strategy.
With the introduction of Pokémon breeding, Pokémon are assigned to one or two breeding groups. When a male and female Pokémon that share at least one breeding group are left at a Pokémon Daycare, they may produce an egg, which will hatch into a young Pokémon. The young Pokémon will inherit the species of its mother, and moves from its father. However, legendary Pokémon, among certain other species, cannot breed.
and Tokai
regions of Japan. This is one distinct region shown in the various Pokémon video games. It features a total of seven cities and three towns, along with different geographical locations and Routes connecting most locations to one another. Some areas are only accessible once the player learns a special ability or gains a special item; for instance, the player must acquire the HM Surf, which allows the character to ride certain Pokémon across the sea, in order to reach Cianwood City.
The silent protagonist
of Pokémon Gold and Silver is a young boy who lives in New Bark Town. At the beginning of the games, players may choose either Chikorita, Cyndaquil, or Totodile, as their starter Pokémon from Professor Elm. In addition, his rival will steal a Pokémon from Professor Elm and battle the player at certain points in the game to test the player's Pokémon.
The basic goal of the game is to become the best trainer in Johto and Kanto; which is done by raising Pokémon, completing the Pokédex, defeating the eight Gym Leaders in Johto for Gym Badges, and challenging the Elite Four and the Champion, and then defeating the eight Gym Leaders in Kanto. Finally, the player may face off against Red atop of Mt. Silver. Throughout the game, the player will have to battle against the forces of Team Rocket, a criminal organization that abuses Pokémon.
. Instead, they would feature a new storyline, a new world, and new species of Pokémon. Gold and Silver were designed for the Game Boy Color
, allowing them full color support and more detailed sprites
. Other additions that were shown included Pokémon breeding, held items, an in-game gadget known as the PokéGear, a real-time internal clock, and backward compatibility
with the previous games in the series.
During an ABC News
interview, president of Creatures Inc.
Tsunekazu Ishihara gave insight into the brainstorming process for developing new Pokémon species. He explained, "[t]hese ideas for each of these monsters came from the imagination of the software developers at Game Freak who get these ideas from their childhood experiences, including from reading Manga, the name for Japanese comic books. Ideas come from scary experiences they had as kids, catching insects, and so forth. So from these experiences in childhood, these ideas for Pokemon came out." In the same vein as the Pokémon Mew
of the Red and Blue
versions, the exclusive Pokémon Celebi
was implemented in the Gold and Silver games but is only accessible after attending a Nintendo promotional event. The first official event offering Celebi was Nintendo Space World
2000 in Japan, in which 100,000 attendees would be awarded the rare Pokémon. In order to be selected, players had to send in a postcard to enter a lottery for one of 100,000 certificates of Celebi, allowing them to enter the event and obtain it.
The games were announced for release in Japan in November 1999 and at the same time a U.S. release date was estimated for September 2000. Nintendo announced the release of the Pocket Pikachu Color
, a full-color portable digital pet
similar to the one released the year before. The unit was made compatible with Gold and Silver, allowing the transfer of in-game currency known as "watt points." Pocket Pikachu Color was slated for release in Japan on November 21, 1999, the same day as the release of Gold and Silver. In addition, an officially-licensed Pikachu
-themed Game Link Cable developed by Kemco
was set for release in Japan on November 18, 1999. The product functions like a normal Game Link Cable and consists of a yellow cable with a figure of Pikachu on one end, and a Poké Ball on the other.
Anticipating high sales, Nintendo set its first production shipment for the games in Japan at three million, predicting that eventually more than eight million copies would be sold in the country alone. However, they were soon forced to cut the first shipment number in half following an earthquake in Taiwan
, which Nintendo claimed had damaged their cartridge manufacturing facilities. Regardless, speculation arose that Nintendo was instead using the event as an excuse to limit shipment and keep the demand high.
As a precursor to the North American release, Gold and Silver were displayed for audiences to interact with at the 2000 American International Toy Fair
in New York City
. To further promote the games, Nintendo modified five Chrysler PT Cruiser
s to resemble the new Pokémon Lugia
and had them driven around the U.S. The vehicles had fins and tails attached to them and were painted with logos and images of the Pokémon franchise. In addition, they were equipped with a television set hooked up to game consoles which allowed spectators to play Pokémon Puzzle League
, Hey You, Pikachu!
, and Pokémon Gold and Silver. The television series Pokémon GS, based on the games, was announced to be a part of the fall lineup on Kids' WB
. The show would feature the same protagonist Ash Ketchum
in a new region with different Pokémon species from the games. The Americanized names of the 100 new Pokémon were kept confidential by Nintendo, with the company releasing names periodically. The domain names 'pokemongold.com' and 'pokemonsilver.com' were registered for this very purpose, and such names released included Chikorita, Lugia
, Ho-Oh, Togepi
, Hoothoot, and Marill.
In May 2000 Nintendo announced the official North American release date of Gold and Silver to be on October 16 of that year. Nintendo started accepting pre-order
s for the games in August, and announced that consumers who pre-ordered one of the games would receive a free CD-ROM
with a Pokémon-themed web browser
developed by MediaBrowser
which featured floating Pokémon species and links
to Pokémon sites. The application was available for download on the official Pokémon website. The games broke record sales as approximately 600,000 copies of them were pre-ordered in just two months, compared to Pokémon Yellows number of 150,000. As the release date neared, retailers such as Electronics Boutique reported receiving shipments of games earlier than October 16, and opted to sell them immediately; first giving them to pre-orderers and then selling the leftover copies. The games were obtainable as early as October 11.
, beginning the formation of Pokémon into a multi-billion dollar franchise. As of April 2000 roughly 6.5 million copies of the games had been sold in Japan. Silver proved to be the slightly more popular version, edging out Gold by approximately 100,000 copies. By the first week of their release in the U.S. the games had eclipsed Pokémon Yellow's previous record sales of a little over 600,000 copies; selling a combined total of 1.4 million copies to become the fastest selling games ever. The commercial success was expected, as Peter Main, the executive vice president of sales and marketing, stated "There's no question about it; kids love to play Pokemon. So far in 2000 the best-selling game in America for any home console is Pokemon Stadium(TM) for Nintendo(R) 64, and the best-selling game for any handheld video game system is Pokemon [sic] Yellow for Game Boy Color, but Pokemon [sic] Gold and Silver will eclipse even those impressive sales totals. We project sales of 10 million units total of these two games in less than six months time." By 2010, the recorded sales of Gold and Silver were at 23 million units sold.
Reviews from critics were mostly strong, with many saying that the extended length of gameplay and the new features were valued additions that kept the sequels as interesting as the original games. Craig Harris of IGN
gave the games a "masterful" 10 out of 10 rating, stating that "As awesome as the original Pokémon edition was, Pokémon Gold and Silver blow it away in gameplay elements, features, and goodies. There are so many little additions to the design it's impossible to list them all." There was particular praise given to the innovative internal clock feature, with Frank Povo of GameSpot
, noting "The first major addition to Pokémon GS is the presence of a time element... Although it may sound like a gimmick, the addition of a clock adds quite a bit of variety to the game." Povo went on to give the games a "great" 8.8 rating. Nintendo Power
listed the Gold and Silver versions of it combined as the sixth best Game Boy
/Game Boy Color
video game, praising it for its new Pokémon, features, and full-color graphics.
Overall, Gold and Silver were stated to be solid gaming additions that would please a large audience. "After playing the game dozens of hours, I really can't think of a bad point to make about Pokémon Gold and Silver. Nintendo and Game Freak have tweaked the original and built a sequel that's long, challenging and tremendous fun to play. There's a reason why Pokémon is so popular, and Pokémon Gold and Silver is going to help the series move further into the 21st century," said Harris.
The plot and gameplay of Pokémon Crystal is largely the same as in Gold and Silver, although it holds new features. It is the first game to allow players to choose the sex of their character, while previously the character was always male. Pokémon have animated sprites; for example, when a Cyndaquil enters battle, the flames on its back flicker. This feature was absent in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire
and Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, but appeared in all games following. In addition, a couple of subplots were added, one involving the legendary Pokémon Suicune
, featured on the front cover of the game, and the other involving the Unown
. The game's biggest addition was the Battle Tower, a new building which allows players to participate in Pokémon Stadium
-like fights. A feature exclusive to the Japanese version of Crystal allows the player to link up with others through the use of a mobile phone
.
Pokémon Crystal was received fairly well by critics, obtaining an aggregate score of 80% on Game Rankings
, but most commented that there were just not enough new additions and features to significantly set it apart from Pokémon Gold and Silver. "The final (hopefully) Game Boy Color edition is definitely the version to get if you aren't already one of the upteenth billion owners of the previous games, with Crystals slight updates to the design and graphics. But there's not much in this edition that makes it a "must buy" for folks who already own a copy or two of the previous editions," said Craig Harris of IGN
who still gave the game an "outstanding" 9 out of 10.
It was also one of the last games for Game Boy Color
and sold well.
s, and were developed by Game Freak
and published by Nintendo
for the Nintendo DS
. First released in Japan on September 12, 2009, the games were later released to North America, Australia, and Europe during March 2010.
Game director Shigeki Morimoto aimed to respect the feelings of those who played the previous games, while also ensuring that it felt like a new game to those that were introduced to the series in more recent years. Reception to the games was highly positive, with the two being amongst the highest rated DS games of all time on Metacritic
. Commercially, the two are among the highest-selling Nintendo DS games of all time, with their combined sales being 10 million units as of July 29, 2010.
Game Freak
is a Japanese video game developer that currently creates games exclusively for Nintendo. It has developed the Pokémon series of role-playing games and several other games.-History:...
and published by Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
for the Game Boy Color
Game Boy Color
The is Nintendo's successor to the 8-bit Game Boy handheld game console, and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan, November 19, 1998 in North America, November 23, 1998 in Europe and November 27, 1998 in the United Kingdom. It features a color screen and is slightly thicker and taller than...
. The games have dual-mode capabilities allowing them to also be played on earlier Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
models. They were first released in Japan in 1999 and to Australia and North America in 2000 and Europe in 2001. Pokémon Crystal, a special edition version, was released for the same console roughly a year later in each region. In 2009, Nintendo remade Gold and Silver for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
as Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver
Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver
are enhanced remakes of the 1999 video games Pokémon Gold and Silver. The games are part of the Pokémon series of role-playing video games, and were developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS...
.
The games introduce 100 new species of Pokémon, and follow the progress of the central character, whose name the player may choose, in his quest to master Pokémon battling. Both games are independent of each other but feature largely the same plot and, while both can be played separately, it is necessary to trade between them and their backward compatible
Backward compatibility
In the context of telecommunications and computing, a device or technology is said to be backward or downward compatible if it can work with input generated by an older device...
predecessors in order to fully complete the games' Pokédexes. The Johto Saga of the Pokémon anime
Pokémon (anime)
, abbreviated from , is a children's TV anime series, which has since been adapted for the North and South American, Australian and European television markets...
is based on the new region introduced in the games.
Pokémon Gold and Silver continued the enormous success of its predecessors
Pokémon Red and Blue
Pokémon Red Version and Blue Version, originally released in Japan as , are role-playing games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. They are the first installments to the Pokémon series. They were first released in Japan in 1996 as Red and Green, with Blue being...
as Pokémon began to form into a multi-billion dollar franchise. The games almost matched the sales Pokémon Red and Blue and went on to jointly sell millions of copies worldwide. By 2010, the recorded sales of Gold and Silver were at 23 million units sold.
Gameplay
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
around the fictional universe
Fictional universe
A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with elements that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed or fictional realm ....
, interacting with objects and people. As the player explores this world he or she will encounter different terrain
Terrain
Terrain, or land relief, is the vertical and horizontal dimension of land surface. When relief is described underwater, the term bathymetry is used...
s, such as grassy fields, forests, caves, and seas in which different Pokémon species reside. As the player randomly encounters one of these creatures, the field switches to a turn-based "battle scene", where the Pokémon will fight.
There are two main goals within the games: following through the main storyline and defeating the Elite Four and Lance to become the new Champion, and completing the Pokédex by capturing, evolving, and trading to obtain all 251 creatures. A major aspect of this is developing and raising the player's Pokémon by battling other Pokémon, which can be found in the wild or owned by other Trainers. This system of accumulating experience point
Experience point
An experience point is a unit of measurement used in many role-playing games and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's progression through the game...
s and leveling up, characteristic and integral to all Pokémon video games, controls the physical properties of the Pokémon, such as the battle statistics acquired, and the moves learned.
New features
While Pokémon Gold and Silver retain the basic mechanics of capturing, battling, and evolving introduced in Pokémon Red and Blue, new features were added. A time system was introduced using a real-time internal clock that keeps track of the current time and day of the week. Certain events, including Pokémon appearances, are influenced by this feature. New items were added, with some designed to exploit a new mechanic: Pokémon being able to hold items. A new type of item able to be held was the berry, which comes in varieties and can restore health or cure status effects. Other held items can give boosts to the Pokémon during battle. More specialized Poké Balls were introduced, which make Pokémon catching easier in certain situations. A new item called the was introduced, functioning as a watch, map, radio, and phone, allowing the player to call other characters who offer their phone number. Trainers will call for a rematch and others will call about rare Pokémon that can be caught in a certain area.The games introduce Raikou, Entei, and Suicune
Suicune
is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, Suicune first appeared in the video games Pokémon Gold and Silver and subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise, spinoff titles, animated adaptations, and printed adaptations of the...
, a new type of legendary Pokémon that wander around Johto, changing locations frequently. They can be tracked by the Pokédex once encountered, and will always attempt to flee, but will retain HP loss. In addition there is the possibility of encountering a shiny Pokémon, which have a different coloration than normal Pokémon of their species, and appear very rarely. Two new Pokémon types were added, the Steel-type and the Dark-type. Steel-type Pokémon have very high defense and resistance to other types, while Dark-type Pokémon are immune to Psychic-type moves and are strong against Psychic-type Pokémon, as well as having few weaknesses. In Gold and Silver, new moves were added, but Pokémon knowing new moves are not allowed to be traded to the first generation games
Pokémon Red and Blue
Pokémon Red Version and Blue Version, originally released in Japan as , are role-playing games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. They are the first installments to the Pokémon series. They were first released in Japan in 1996 as Red and Green, with Blue being...
. To solve this, a move deleter was introduced, capable of erasing moves known by the Pokémon. Another major change was the splitting of the Special stat into Special Attack and Special Defense, which increased aspects of strategy.
With the introduction of Pokémon breeding, Pokémon are assigned to one or two breeding groups. When a male and female Pokémon that share at least one breeding group are left at a Pokémon Daycare, they may produce an egg, which will hatch into a young Pokémon. The young Pokémon will inherit the species of its mother, and moves from its father. However, legendary Pokémon, among certain other species, cannot breed.
Setting and plot
Pokémon Gold and Silver take place in Johto three years after the events of the games' predecessors "Red" and "Blue", which take place in the Kanto region. Johto is a fictional region modeled after the KansaiKansai
The or the lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Mie, Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo, and Shiga. Depending on who makes the distinction, Fukui, Tokushima and even Tottori Prefecture are also included...
and Tokai
Tokai region
The is a sub-region of the Chūbu region in Japan that runs along the Pacific Ocean. The name means "East sea" and comes from the Tōkaidō, one of the Edo Five Routes...
regions of Japan. This is one distinct region shown in the various Pokémon video games. It features a total of seven cities and three towns, along with different geographical locations and Routes connecting most locations to one another. Some areas are only accessible once the player learns a special ability or gains a special item; for instance, the player must acquire the HM Surf, which allows the character to ride certain Pokémon across the sea, in order to reach Cianwood City.
The silent protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
of Pokémon Gold and Silver is a young boy who lives in New Bark Town. At the beginning of the games, players may choose either Chikorita, Cyndaquil, or Totodile, as their starter Pokémon from Professor Elm. In addition, his rival will steal a Pokémon from Professor Elm and battle the player at certain points in the game to test the player's Pokémon.
The basic goal of the game is to become the best trainer in Johto and Kanto; which is done by raising Pokémon, completing the Pokédex, defeating the eight Gym Leaders in Johto for Gym Badges, and challenging the Elite Four and the Champion, and then defeating the eight Gym Leaders in Kanto. Finally, the player may face off against Red atop of Mt. Silver. Throughout the game, the player will have to battle against the forces of Team Rocket, a criminal organization that abuses Pokémon.
Development and release
Gold and Silver were first publicly showcased at the 1999 Nintendo SpaceWorld Expo in Japan, becoming the most popular exhibit at the program. Unlike the last game of the series, Pokémon Yellow, the new titles were announced to be more than a small upgrade to Pokémon Red and BluePokémon Red and Blue
Pokémon Red Version and Blue Version, originally released in Japan as , are role-playing games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. They are the first installments to the Pokémon series. They were first released in Japan in 1996 as Red and Green, with Blue being...
. Instead, they would feature a new storyline, a new world, and new species of Pokémon. Gold and Silver were designed for the Game Boy Color
Game Boy Color
The is Nintendo's successor to the 8-bit Game Boy handheld game console, and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan, November 19, 1998 in North America, November 23, 1998 in Europe and November 27, 1998 in the United Kingdom. It features a color screen and is slightly thicker and taller than...
, allowing them full color support and more detailed sprites
Sprite (computer graphics)
In computer graphics, a sprite is a two-dimensional image or animation that is integrated into a larger scene...
. Other additions that were shown included Pokémon breeding, held items, an in-game gadget known as the PokéGear, a real-time internal clock, and backward compatibility
Backward compatibility
In the context of telecommunications and computing, a device or technology is said to be backward or downward compatible if it can work with input generated by an older device...
with the previous games in the series.
During an ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
interview, president of Creatures Inc.
Creatures Inc.
is a subsidiary of the Japanese game development company Nintendo. It was founded by Tsunekazu Ishihara in November 1995, as a successor to Shigesato Itoi's company Ape Inc. Its current president is Hirokazu Tanaka. The company has its headquarters on the second floor of the in Chiyoda, Tokyo, in...
Tsunekazu Ishihara gave insight into the brainstorming process for developing new Pokémon species. He explained, "[t]hese ideas for each of these monsters came from the imagination of the software developers at Game Freak who get these ideas from their childhood experiences, including from reading Manga, the name for Japanese comic books. Ideas come from scary experiences they had as kids, catching insects, and so forth. So from these experiences in childhood, these ideas for Pokemon came out." In the same vein as the Pokémon Mew
Mew (Pokémon)
is one of the fictional species of Pokémon creatures from Nintendo's and Game Freak's multi-billion-dollar Pokémon media franchise—a collection of video games, anime, manga, books, trading cards, and other media created by Satoshi Tajiri...
of the Red and Blue
Pokémon Red and Blue
Pokémon Red Version and Blue Version, originally released in Japan as , are role-playing games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. They are the first installments to the Pokémon series. They were first released in Japan in 1996 as Red and Green, with Blue being...
versions, the exclusive Pokémon Celebi
Celebi (Pokémon)
is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, they first appeared in the video games Pokémon Gold and Silver and subsequent sequels. They have later appeared in various merchandise, spinoff titles and animated and printed adaptations of the franchise...
was implemented in the Gold and Silver games but is only accessible after attending a Nintendo promotional event. The first official event offering Celebi was Nintendo Space World
Nintendo Space World
Nintendo World, formerly called Nintendo Space World, Nintendo 64 Space World, Super Famicom Space World, Famicom Space World, and , is a video game trade show hosted by Nintendo, typically to unveil new consoles or handhelds...
2000 in Japan, in which 100,000 attendees would be awarded the rare Pokémon. In order to be selected, players had to send in a postcard to enter a lottery for one of 100,000 certificates of Celebi, allowing them to enter the event and obtain it.
The games were announced for release in Japan in November 1999 and at the same time a U.S. release date was estimated for September 2000. Nintendo announced the release of the Pocket Pikachu Color
Pokémon Pikachu
Pokémon Pikachu, also known as in Japan, is a series of portable Pokémon digital pets featuring the famous yellow electric Pokémon, Pikachu. This product was intended as an exercise toy and mentioned by Guinness World Records as the most popular exercise toy of its time...
, a full-color portable digital pet
Digital pet
A digital pet is a type of artificial human companion. They are usually kept for companionship or enjoyment. People may keep a digital pet in lieu of a real pet....
similar to the one released the year before. The unit was made compatible with Gold and Silver, allowing the transfer of in-game currency known as "watt points." Pocket Pikachu Color was slated for release in Japan on November 21, 1999, the same day as the release of Gold and Silver. In addition, an officially-licensed Pikachu
Pikachu
is one of the species of Pokémon creatures from the Pokémon media franchise—a collection of video games, anime, manga, books, trading cards, and other media created by Satoshi Tajiri. As do all Pokémon, Pikachu fight other Pokémon in battles central to the anime, manga, and games of the series...
-themed Game Link Cable developed by Kemco
KEMCO
, sometimes referred to as Kotobuki System Co., Ltd., is a Japanese video game developer and publisher established in 1984 as a subsidiary of Kotobuki Engineering & Manufacturing Co., Ltd, located in: Seika, Japan....
was set for release in Japan on November 18, 1999. The product functions like a normal Game Link Cable and consists of a yellow cable with a figure of Pikachu on one end, and a Poké Ball on the other.
Anticipating high sales, Nintendo set its first production shipment for the games in Japan at three million, predicting that eventually more than eight million copies would be sold in the country alone. However, they were soon forced to cut the first shipment number in half following an earthquake in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, which Nintendo claimed had damaged their cartridge manufacturing facilities. Regardless, speculation arose that Nintendo was instead using the event as an excuse to limit shipment and keep the demand high.
American International Toy Fair
The American International Toy Fair is one of a few major toy industry trade shows held around the world. It is held annually in mid February in New York City's Toy Center, located at 23rd Street at the crossover of Fifth Avenue and Broadway and at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, and is...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. To further promote the games, Nintendo modified five Chrysler PT Cruiser
Chrysler PT Cruiser
The Chrysler PT Cruiser is a retro styled compact automobile launched by Chrysler as a 5-door hatchback in early 2000 and as a 2-door convertible in early 2005 ....
s to resemble the new Pokémon Lugia
Lugia
is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, Lugia first appeared as a central character in the film Pokémon: The Movie 2000, and later serves as the version mascot of the video game Pokémon Silver and its remake, Pokémon SoulSilver, appearing on the...
and had them driven around the U.S. The vehicles had fins and tails attached to them and were painted with logos and images of the Pokémon franchise. In addition, they were equipped with a television set hooked up to game consoles which allowed spectators to play Pokémon Puzzle League
Pokémon Puzzle League
Pokémon Puzzle League is a puzzle game for the Nintendo 64 console. It is based on Nintendo's Panel de Pon puzzle games, but with Pokémon likenesses. It was only available in North America starting in 2000, and in Europe in 2001, making it the first Pokémon game produced for North America first...
, Hey You, Pikachu!
Hey You, Pikachu!
Hey You, Pikachu!, known in Japan as , is a Nintendo 64 video game developed by Ambrella and published by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 1998, and in North America on November 6, 2000....
, and Pokémon Gold and Silver. The television series Pokémon GS, based on the games, was announced to be a part of the fall lineup on Kids' WB
Kids' WB
Kids' WB! was Warner Bros. American childrens programing division brand for The WB Television Network. In September 2006, the block moved to The CW Television Network. The CW is the result of The WB's merger with UPN in 2006...
. The show would feature the same protagonist Ash Ketchum
Ash Ketchum
Ash Ketchum, known as for all appearances in Japan, is a fictional character in the Pokémon franchise owned by Nintendo. He was created by, and named after, Satoshi Tajiri as the protagonist of the anime and manga series, as well as on various merchandise related to the franchise...
in a new region with different Pokémon species from the games. The Americanized names of the 100 new Pokémon were kept confidential by Nintendo, with the company releasing names periodically. The domain names 'pokemongold.com' and 'pokemonsilver.com' were registered for this very purpose, and such names released included Chikorita, Lugia
Lugia
is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, Lugia first appeared as a central character in the film Pokémon: The Movie 2000, and later serves as the version mascot of the video game Pokémon Silver and its remake, Pokémon SoulSilver, appearing on the...
, Ho-Oh, Togepi
Togepi
is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, Togepi first appeared in the Pokémon anime. It then appeared in the video games Pokémon Gold and Silver and subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise, spinoff titles, and animated and...
, Hoothoot, and Marill.
In May 2000 Nintendo announced the official North American release date of Gold and Silver to be on October 16 of that year. Nintendo started accepting pre-order
Pre-order
A pre-order is an order placed for an item which has not yet been released. The idea for pre-orders came when people found it hard to get popular items in stores due to their popularity. Companies were then given the idea to allow people to reserve their own personal copy, before the release, ...
s for the games in August, and announced that consumers who pre-ordered one of the games would receive a free CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
with a Pokémon-themed web browser
Web browser
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
developed by MediaBrowser
MediaBrowser
MediaBrowser was an Internet browser branding company that started in 2000. They made specially branded versions of Internet Explorer for various company brands and themes. Because the branded web browsers made by MediaBrowser require Internet Explorer 5 or higher it is only supported under...
which featured floating Pokémon species and links
Hyperlink
In computing, a hyperlink is a reference to data that the reader can directly follow, or that is followed automatically. A hyperlink points to a whole document or to a specific element within a document. Hypertext is text with hyperlinks...
to Pokémon sites. The application was available for download on the official Pokémon website. The games broke record sales as approximately 600,000 copies of them were pre-ordered in just two months, compared to Pokémon Yellows number of 150,000. As the release date neared, retailers such as Electronics Boutique reported receiving shipments of games earlier than October 16, and opted to sell them immediately; first giving them to pre-orderers and then selling the leftover copies. The games were obtainable as early as October 11.
Reception
Pokémon Gold and Silver continued the enormous success of its predecessorsPokémon Red and Blue
Pokémon Red Version and Blue Version, originally released in Japan as , are role-playing games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. They are the first installments to the Pokémon series. They were first released in Japan in 1996 as Red and Green, with Blue being...
, beginning the formation of Pokémon into a multi-billion dollar franchise. As of April 2000 roughly 6.5 million copies of the games had been sold in Japan. Silver proved to be the slightly more popular version, edging out Gold by approximately 100,000 copies. By the first week of their release in the U.S. the games had eclipsed Pokémon Yellow's previous record sales of a little over 600,000 copies; selling a combined total of 1.4 million copies to become the fastest selling games ever. The commercial success was expected, as Peter Main, the executive vice president of sales and marketing, stated "There's no question about it; kids love to play Pokemon. So far in 2000 the best-selling game in America for any home console is Pokemon Stadium(TM) for Nintendo(R) 64, and the best-selling game for any handheld video game system is Pokemon [sic] Yellow for Game Boy Color, but Pokemon [sic] Gold and Silver will eclipse even those impressive sales totals. We project sales of 10 million units total of these two games in less than six months time." By 2010, the recorded sales of Gold and Silver were at 23 million units sold.
Reviews from critics were mostly strong, with many saying that the extended length of gameplay and the new features were valued additions that kept the sequels as interesting as the original games. Craig Harris of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave the games a "masterful" 10 out of 10 rating, stating that "As awesome as the original Pokémon edition was, Pokémon Gold and Silver blow it away in gameplay elements, features, and goodies. There are so many little additions to the design it's impossible to list them all." There was particular praise given to the innovative internal clock feature, with Frank Povo of GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
, noting "The first major addition to Pokémon GS is the presence of a time element... Although it may sound like a gimmick, the addition of a clock adds quite a bit of variety to the game." Povo went on to give the games a "great" 8.8 rating. Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
listed the Gold and Silver versions of it combined as the sixth best Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
/Game Boy Color
Game Boy Color
The is Nintendo's successor to the 8-bit Game Boy handheld game console, and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan, November 19, 1998 in North America, November 23, 1998 in Europe and November 27, 1998 in the United Kingdom. It features a color screen and is slightly thicker and taller than...
video game, praising it for its new Pokémon, features, and full-color graphics.
Overall, Gold and Silver were stated to be solid gaming additions that would please a large audience. "After playing the game dozens of hours, I really can't think of a bad point to make about Pokémon Gold and Silver. Nintendo and Game Freak have tweaked the original and built a sequel that's long, challenging and tremendous fun to play. There's a reason why Pokémon is so popular, and Pokémon Gold and Silver is going to help the series move further into the 21st century," said Harris.
Pokémon Crystal
, for the Game Boy Color, is the seventh game in the Pokémon video game series in Japan, and the sixth in North America and Europe. The game is an updated version of the previous two versions, Pokémon Gold and Silver, and was released in Japan on December 14, 2000. It was released in North America on July 29, 2001 and in Europe on November 1, 2001.The plot and gameplay of Pokémon Crystal is largely the same as in Gold and Silver, although it holds new features. It is the first game to allow players to choose the sex of their character, while previously the character was always male. Pokémon have animated sprites; for example, when a Cyndaquil enters battle, the flames on its back flicker. This feature was absent in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire
Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire
are the third installments of the Pokémon series of role-playing games, developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. The games were first released in Japan in late 2002 and later released to the rest of the world in 2003 . Pokémon Emerald, a special edition version,...
and Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, but appeared in all games following. In addition, a couple of subplots were added, one involving the legendary Pokémon Suicune
Suicune
is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, Suicune first appeared in the video games Pokémon Gold and Silver and subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise, spinoff titles, animated adaptations, and printed adaptations of the...
, featured on the front cover of the game, and the other involving the Unown
Unown
is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, Unown first appeared in the video games Pokémon Gold and Silver and in subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise, spinoff titles and animated and printed adaptations of the franchise...
. The game's biggest addition was the Battle Tower, a new building which allows players to participate in Pokémon Stadium
Pokémon Stadium
Pokémon Stadium, known as in Japan, is a strategy game developed by Nintendo EAD with the assistance of Creatures and HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64 video game console. It was released on April 30, 1999 in Japan, February 29, 2000 in North America, and April 7, 2000...
-like fights. A feature exclusive to the Japanese version of Crystal allows the player to link up with others through the use of a mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
.
Pokémon Crystal was received fairly well by critics, obtaining an aggregate score of 80% on Game Rankings
Game Rankings
GameRankings is a website that collects review scores from both offline and online sources to give an average rating. It indexes over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 games.GameRankings is owned by CBS Interactive...
, but most commented that there were just not enough new additions and features to significantly set it apart from Pokémon Gold and Silver. "The final (hopefully) Game Boy Color edition is definitely the version to get if you aren't already one of the upteenth billion owners of the previous games, with Crystals slight updates to the design and graphics. But there's not much in this edition that makes it a "must buy" for folks who already own a copy or two of the previous editions," said Craig Harris of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
who still gave the game an "outstanding" 9 out of 10.
It was also one of the last games for Game Boy Color
Game Boy Color
The is Nintendo's successor to the 8-bit Game Boy handheld game console, and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan, November 19, 1998 in North America, November 23, 1998 in Europe and November 27, 1998 in the United Kingdom. It features a color screen and is slightly thicker and taller than...
and sold well.
Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver
are enhanced remakes of Pokémon Gold and Silver. The games are part of the Pokémon series of role-playing video gameRole-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
s, and were developed by Game Freak
Game Freak
is a Japanese video game developer that currently creates games exclusively for Nintendo. It has developed the Pokémon series of role-playing games and several other games.-History:...
and published by Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
. First released in Japan on September 12, 2009, the games were later released to North America, Australia, and Europe during March 2010.
Game director Shigeki Morimoto aimed to respect the feelings of those who played the previous games, while also ensuring that it felt like a new game to those that were introduced to the series in more recent years. Reception to the games was highly positive, with the two being amongst the highest rated DS games of all time on Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
. Commercially, the two are among the highest-selling Nintendo DS games of all time, with their combined sales being 10 million units as of July 29, 2010.
See also
- Pokémon video game series