Our Favorite Toy Crazes: Pokémon Captured the U.S. in 1999

Nintendo’s Satoshi Tajiri created Pokémon in 1996 as an inter-linkable Game Boy video game. By the end of that decade it had a cartoon show, trading cards, toys and books. After its introduction to the United States in fall of 1998, the brand generated approximately $700 million in retail sales revenue by the end of 1999. The franchise is still a titan thanks to a steady stream of new video games and its ability to grow into new markets like mobile apps (Pokémon Go) and feature films. In fact, Pokemon is the second-most profitable video game-based brand on the planet (number one is Nintendo’s Mario). Thanks to that initial popularity and the franchise’s consistent marketing efforts over the years, the undeniable success of Pokémon goes down as one of our favorite toy crazes of all-time.