The Pokémon Trading Card Game officially launched nationwide in North America on January 9, 1999.
Nintendo licensed Wizards of the Coast, the company known for creating Magic: The Gathering, to localize and publish the Pokémon card game in North America. Some stores offered cards before the official nationwide launch.
The card game expanded Pokémon beyond video games and television by letting players build decks, battle opponents, and collect illustrated cards. Its first English expansion is commonly called the Base Set.
The launch followed the North American debut of the Pokémon anime and video games. Because those releases happened close together, fans sometimes treat September 1998, the video games’ North American launch, as the card game’s release date.