How long have Pokémon cards been around? History and the start in Switzerland

How long have Pokémon cards been around and who invented Pokémon?

Pokémon did not originally start as a trading card game, but as a video game. In the early 1990s the Japanese game developer Satoshi Tajiri developed the idea for a game in which players could collect, train and trade creatures. Pokémon later grew out of this idea.

His motivation was Tajiri’s great passion for insects, which he developed in early childhood. But when he noticed that the insects’ habitat was gradually being threatened by the rapid expansion of Japan’s big cities, the idea of creating a digital habitat for them was born.

Alongside Tajiri, Ken Sugimori is also regarded as an important founder of Pokémon. He designed many of the first Pokémon and thereby gave the game its unique style.

The video game, which was created together with the development studio Game Freak, was first released for the Nintendo Game Boy. On 27 February 1996 it had its big breakthrough, when Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green conquered the Japanese market.

Within a very short time the game gained international attention and the potential to rise to become one of the most successful entertainment brands.

And so, only a few months after the video games were released, the trading card game was launched as well. The answer to the question “How long have Pokémon cards been around?” is: since 20 October 1996.

What is the oldest Pokémon card in the world?

With the question “What is the first Pokémon card in the world?” a distinction has to be made between two publishers: Bandai and Media Factory.

The very first Pokémon trading cards were published by the company Bandai. However, these were not the classic playing cards as we know them today, but Bandai Carddass trading cards that could be obtained from Japanese vending machines.

Because they are the first cards with well-known Pokémon such as Charizard, they carry a big piece of Pokémon history and are still among the most popular collector’s items today.

The world’s first Pokémon card for players

The first playing cards (Pokémon Trading Card Game) were released on 20 October 1996 by the company Media Factory. The first set, named “Expansion Pack”, contained 102 cards, including numerous well-known Pokémon of the first generation as well as Trainer and Energy cards.

The Expansion Pack contains the three starter Pokémon Charmander, Squirtle and Bulbasaur, which are among the oldest Pokémon cards in the world.

The basic gameplay, which has hardly changed to this day, was also defined at that time.

Interestingly, special promo cards were published on 15 October, five days before the official launch, in the Japanese magazine “CoroCoro Comic”. These included Pikachu and Jigglypuff, among others. These cards were issued in limited numbers and are therefore among the important items in the collector world.

For this reason collectors still discuss today whether the promo cards or the cards from the Expansion Set count as the world’s first Pokémon cards.

You will find graded vintage promos and other early Pokémon cards at AMAZINGTOYS® in our PSA Graded Cards. Take a look right away.

No matter whether the promo cards or the cards from the first Base Set are the world’s first Pokémon cards, the success of the card game did not take long to arrive and grew into a worldwide boom within a very short time.

How long have Pokémon cards been around in Switzerland and Germany?

While Japanese fans were already able to play with the cards in 1996, European collectors had to be a little more patient. It was only three years later, in 1999, that the international expansion of the Pokémon Trading Card Game began.

After the breakthrough in North America in 1999, the game also conquered the European market in the same year. The first German-language Pokémon cards appeared in the early 2000s and, as in the countries before, triggered a real hype.

In Switzerland too, the cards went on sale from 1999 as part of this European launch. To this day, people here mainly play and collect with the German and French versions, while English cards are in demand among collectors and in the tournament scene.

The first booster packs were bought in toy shops, played with and traded in school playgrounds. Holographic cards and the first editions of the Base Set were especially sought after.

Anyone who pulled a Charizard from the first print run back then probably had no idea that this card could be worth several thousand francs decades later.

Pokémon fever arrived in Germany at the end of the 90s and has fundamentally changed the market for trading cards to this day.

The release date of the first generation of Pokémon cards is as follows, depending on the market:

• Japan: 20 October 1996
• USA: 9 January 1999
• Germany: 1999 as part of the European launch of the Pokémon Trading Card Game

Why are the world’s first Pokémon cards so valuable?

The enormous global success of Pokémon has meant that early cards in particular are in high demand and rank among the most valuable trading cards in the world. Cards from between 1996 and 1999 in particular regularly achieve three- to four-figure prices at auctions.

PSA grading also plays a particularly important role here. Because many of the early cards were played and traded intensively, it is hard to find well-preserved copies. A perfect PSA 10 grading is therefore extremely rare and highly valuable.

As an official PSA Dealer, AMAZINGTOYS® has been sending your trading cards for grading directly to the new PSA headquarters in Frankfurt since 1 July. How that works is explained in our article on PSA Grading in Frankfurt.

One of the best-known collector’s items is the Pikachu Illustrator, which is regarded as one of the rarest Pokémon cards of all and exists only in very small numbers. The most valuable Pokémon card collection contains this rare copy not just once, but twice.

The famous 1st Edition Charizard also enjoys cult status. For many collectors it is the best-known Pokémon card of all. Well-preserved copies are therefore regularly traded for high five- or even six-figure sums.

Of course the nostalgia factor also plays an important role with Pokémon. Many adults who grew up with Pokémon at the end of the 1990s want to complete their old collections today or buy back cards they have lost.

This high demand meets a limited supply and ensures that the prices of many cards keep rising.

Beyond that, early Pokémon cards are regarded as important witnesses to the history of the trading card game. They mark the beginning of a brand that has grown from a simple Game Boy game into a worldwide billion-dollar company.

That is exactly why cards from the first generation have a special emotional and historical value for many collectors.

Conclusion: the world’s first Pokémon card is disputed

The Pokémon Expansion Set was officially launched in Japan on 20 October 1996. A few days earlier, the CoroCoro promo cards appeared as the very first Pokémon playing cards of all. They include cards such as Pikachu and Jigglypuff.

The basis for the trading card game was laid by Satoshi Tajiri’s Pokémon video game series, which he brought to market for the first time in February 1996. Within a few years Pokémon developed into a global phenomenon.

Today many cards of the 1st generation are among the most sought-after copies among collectors worldwide. They recall the beginnings of a very special era that continues to this day and unites Pokémon fans all over the world. So the question is not only “How long have Pokémon cards been around?”, but also “How much longer will Pokémon cards be around?”.

Frequently asked questions