Pokemons TwoGame Tradition Started As A Way To OneUp Mario

Whenever a new mainline Pokemon game rolls around, you can expect not one but two versions of the same game to hit the shelves. That's a sales decision that was made with a primary goal in mind--to give Nintendo's iconic plumber Mario a run for his money.

During an investor Q&A this week, Nintendo veteran Shigeru Miyamoto spoke about a meeting he once had with Pokemon creator Satoshi Tajiri, who joked that the only way to beat Mario Kart in sales was to sell two copies of Pokemon to each consumer. Miyamoto says this was one of the reasons why the first Pokemon game was released as Pokemon Blue and Pokemon Red, which is a tradition that was continued since then with most mainline games.

"That is one reason why Pokémon started with both Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue," Miyamoto said. "I believe that new ideas are born precisely because of people like him, who challenge themselves to surpass what came before."