What date had Pokémon Red and Green originally been planned to release in Japan?

Pokémon Red and Green were originally planned for release in Japan on December 21, 1995.

The games did not meet that target because their associated derivative products were not ready for sale. Development was completed by October 1995, but the final launch was delayed until February 27, 1996. That later date became the actual start of the Pokémon video-game franchise.

The delay is easy to overlook because Pokémon is commonly identified with 1996, while 1995 appears in development timelines and early planning documents. The finished games were released for the original Game Boy and initially received limited attention from parts of the Japanese media.

Their sales grew steadily after launch, helped by word of mouth, magazine coverage, and the mystery surrounding Mew. The eventual success transformed a delayed handheld project into a multimedia franchise spanning games, animation, cards, films, merchandise, and licensed products.