A recently unearthed interview sheds light on a bizarre moment in Pokémon`s early development history: Nintendo of America (NoA) reportedly considered giving Pikachu “huge breasts” and reimagining other Pokémon to resemble characters from the musical “Cats” for their Western release.
This revelation comes from an interview conducted around the time of Pokémon Gold and Silver`s launch with Tsunekazu Ishihara, the current President and CEO of The Pokémon Company. As translated by the Japanese gaming outlet Game*Spark, Ishihara revealed that when Pokémon was first presented to NoA for localization, their initial reaction was that the designs were “too cute.”
Following this, Nintendo of America`s staff presented their own alternate Pokémon character designs. Ishihara described these proposed illustrations as so “traumatic” that he has vowed never to show them publicly. He specifically recalled Pikachu being transformed into a “tabby cat with huge breasts,” stating that the overall aesthetic was akin to the “Cats musical” characters.
When asked for clarification, particularly if the design was similar to how women might cosplay as Pikachu at anime conventions, Ishihara affirmed, “Yes, exactly.” He found the proposal interesting from the perspective of cultural differences, but firmly stated his unwillingness to compete in the overseas market with such a visual direction.
Fortunately for fans, Pokémon ultimately launched internationally with minimal alterations from its original Japanese version, subsequently becoming a monumental global multimedia franchise. It`s widely speculated that the franchise`s enduring success might have been severely jeopardized had it adopted the anthropomorphized, exaggerated animal designs that NoA initially put forward, a style more commonly associated with a rival franchise like Digimon.
In other news from the Pokémon universe, Pokémon TCG Pocket recently removed two instances of plagiarized artwork found in its new “Wisdom of the Sea and Sky” expansion, initiating an internal investigation to prevent similar issues. Meanwhile, the highly anticipated next major Pokémon release, Pokémon Legends: Z-A, is scheduled to arrive on October 16.