Satoshi Tajiri founded Game Freak in 1989 before creating Pokémon.
Game Freak began as a video-game fanzine that Tajiri wrote and edited. Ken Sugimori became involved as the magazine’s illustrator, and the two later transformed the publication into a video-game development company. Game Freak was formally incorporated on April 26, 1989.
Tajiri’s childhood interest in collecting insects helped inspire the idea of catching and exchanging creatures. The Game Boy’s link cable gave him a practical way to imagine Pokémon being traded between players, which became a defining feature of the first games.
Game Freak developed Pokémon Red and Green, while Nintendo published them and Creatures later became an important business partner. The original games took roughly six years to complete and nearly bankrupted Game Freak before their 1996 release.