On what date were the original Japanese Pokémon Red and Green games released for Game Boy?

The original Japanese Pokémon Red and Green games were released for Game Boy on February 27, 1996.

These games launched the Pokémon franchise as a pair of role-playing games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo. Their central innovation was allowing players to trade Pokémon between separate versions, making it impossible to collect every species using only one cartridge.

The games were initially known in Japan as Pocket Monsters Red and Green. The later Japanese Pokémon Blue version was reworked into the international Pokémon Red and Blue releases. This is why Pokémon Green is often mistakenly described as the worldwide counterpart to Pokémon Blue; the original Green version was not released outside Japan.

February 27 is now celebrated as Pokémon Day because it marks the anniversary of the first games' Japanese release. The date became especially important as the franchise reached its 30th anniversary in 2026.