Old-school Pokemon fans might remember the electronic Pokedex toy from Tiger Electronics and Hasbro Toys, but it was almost nixed by Nintendo. In the Pokemon games and anime, the Pokedex is a digital encyclopedia that keeps track of all the different creatures that Trainers encounter on their journey, listing the various backstories, traits, and weaknesses of each and every Pokemon. Players can even unlock special rewards by completing the Pokedex in each game, giving them another incentive to catch every Pokemon.Ash Ketchum’s Pokedex from the long-running Pokemon anime was especially popular with fans, and a toy version of it was released during the show’s first season in the late 1990s. Produced by Hasbro and Tiger Electronics, this physical version of the Pokedex featured a digital screen, a keypad that players could use to input special passwords, and information on every Generation 1 Pokemon save for the then-unrevealed Mew. Fans could view each Pokemon’s bio from Pokemon Red and Blue, watch limited attack animations, and use the built-in clock and calculator. As fun as the original Pokedex toy was, fans might be surprised to learn that it almost wasn’t released at all. In a recent interview with Johto Times, former Tiger Electronics and Hasbro senior game producer Chris Nicolella revealed that Nintendo’s Japanese team was originally concerned that the Pokedex toy would take sales away from the Game Boy. As such, obtaining assets for the toy’s digital display was difficult, as Nintendo Japan refused to allow Tiger to give the Pokedex any detailed animations or game functions. Eventually, a meeting was called to resolve these issues, allowing the Pokedex toy to be released after a six-month delay.
Once it was finally approved, the electronic Pokedex toy was very successful, selling out at retailers almost as quickly as Nicolella and his team could make them. Nicolella mentioned that co-workers from other departments would ask him for one for their children in exchange for whatever toy they were working on, and even old classmates were calling him up to ask if he could get them one. In addition to the standard Pokedex, Nicolella also worked on a special gold variant that was sadly never released, along with a similar electronic Pokeball toy and an ultimately canceled pair of interactive Pikachu and Meowth dolls.
The highly successful electronic Pokemon Pokedex toy almost joined them in the list of promising toys that never made it to market, thanks to hesitation from Nintendo’s Japanese branch that was worried about it upstaging the Game Boy. This was never to be the case, and thankfully Tiger and Hasbro were able to bring the Pokedex to life.
Source Johto Times (via NintendoLife)