Traditionally, the Pokémon anniversary is celebrated on February 27, recounting the release of the first games in Japan in 1996. However, most copyright notices (disclaimers) for the games actually state a year of 1995, which is a year earlier than the above; I've regardless followed suit and stated the disclaimer as such in many of my creations involving Pokémon. Yet one might still wonder why the state of affairs is as such, and so I've decided to take a post to discuss why that state of affairs is so.
It turns out that with a little research, the answer is rather simple. The very first games, then Red and Green in Japan, were actually completed in late 1995 before their official release on the aforementioned date that is now the vernacular "Pokémon Day" for its anniversary as above. Therefore, it is their year of actual completion that is taken as the "epoch" for copyright (disclaimer) purposes, while everyone continues to celebrate Pokémon Day at the epoch of the first release to a grateful world.
Still, the selection of 1995 as the copyright epoch makes sense in some ways. One such way is that it affirms that work and efforts have been put into the games even in the year prior to their official release. It would be rather implausible to think that the very first and phenomenal games were only developed in the span of the first couple of months in the year of its release. Something had to have happened in the prior year, and at least that something is known, which is its completion as above.
No matter the year of relevance (and reference) for copyrights, celebrations, or otherwise, dedicated fans are likely to be just happy playing the games as they are back then and then the full breadth of the Pokémon games today. It may still be of interest to know at least why the difference is apparent without it being too much of a cause for concern. As far as fans (and myself) are concerned, the hope is that the output of Pokémon today remains as phenomenal as in yesteryears.
One year ago: Pokémon SM KFC Toys: The Rest, Part 2
Two years ago: Safe, Pleasant, and Beneficial for All
Three years ago: Best of the Rest: T-Shirt Contest
Four years ago: Read, Play, and Enjoy
Five years ago: A Camera and a Pikachu Doll
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