Game Freak spent six years producing the original Pokémon Red and Green games.
The project began after Satoshi Tajiri proposed a Game Boy game built around collecting and exchanging creatures. The concept depended on the handheld’s link capability, but turning that idea into a large role-playing game required extensive programming, design, balancing, and testing.
The lengthy production placed severe financial pressure on Game Freak. According to accounts of the project, the company nearly went bankrupt, several employees left, and Tajiri did not take a salary during development. Investment from Creatures helped the team finish the games, while Shigeru Miyamoto provided mentorship during the process.
The result was released in Japan on February 27, 1996. The six-year development period is easy to overlook because Pokémon later became known for frequent releases, but it explains why the original games were such a carefully built foundation for the franchise’s systems and world.