Before its delay, when was Pokémon Red and Green originally scheduled to launch?

Pokémon Red and Green were originally scheduled to launch on December 21, 1995.

The games were delayed until February 27, 1996, when they were finally released in Japan. The postponement gave the developers and associated merchandise production more time before the debut of the new franchise.

By the time of release, the Game Boy was an older system, but its large installed audience and link-cable capability suited Pokémon’s collecting and trading concept. The eventual launch date became the franchise’s milestone anniversary date.

The delay is easy to miss because December 1995 is sometimes listed as the end of development rather than the retail release. The games were completed by October 1995, but the planned December launch did not happen.