Which Pokémon game was the series’ first photography spin-off?

Pokémon Snap was the series’ first photography spin-off game.

Released for the Nintendo 64, Pokémon Snap placed players in the role of photographer Todd Snap rather than a conventional Pokémon Trainer. Players traveled through Pokémon Island in the Zero-One vehicle and photographed Pokémon in natural-looking environments.

HAL Laboratory developed the game and Nintendo published it. It was first released in Japan on March 21, 1999, followed by North America in July 1999 and PAL regions in 2000. The Nintendo 64 cartridge featured 63 Pokémon from the original generation.

The project did not begin as a Pokémon game. It started as a photography title called Jack and the Beanstalk and was later redesigned around Pokémon. Its original printing partnerships also let players turn selected in-game photographs into physical stickers.