What was the original planned Japanese release date for Pokémon Red and Green before it was delayed?

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

The games’ release was delayed until February 27, 1996. The delay was connected to the readiness of derivative products, which included merchandise and other parts of the planned Pokémon launch. The final February release date became the franchise’s official starting point.

Development had been completed by October 1995, but completing a game is not the same as preparing a coordinated commercial launch. Pokémon was designed from the beginning as a broader property involving games, characters, products, and later media. That wider strategy helped explain why launch timing mattered beyond the cartridge itself.

The date is easy to confuse with the actual Japanese release date, December 21, 1995, and with the later North American launch in 1998. December 21 is the planned date; February 27, 1996 is the date the games actually reached Japanese players.