Pokémon: How Mew Is Responsible For The Series’ Popularity
Mew is the reason why Pokémon Red & Green became so popular in Japan, as the rumors of a secret Mythical Pokémon ignited the imagination of fans.
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The success of the Pokémon franchise can be squarely placed on the shoulders of Mew, as the secret of its existence helped propel the series to mainstream success in Japan. Mew was the first Mythical Pokémon in the series, which meant that it couldn’t be acquired through legitimate means.
The interest in Mew was just as high internationally as it was in Japan. The schoolyard was filled with rumors of how to acquire the Mythical Mew, ranging from snooping under the truck near the S.S. Anne, to finding a way into Bill’s secret garden. The idea of there being a Pokémon that fans couldn’t catch through conventional means sent the internet rumor mill into overdrive, with some of the most popular Pokémon urban legends centering about Mew.
Nowadays, The Pokémon Company just gives Mew away as part of special events, including with physical accessories. This is partly due to the many online giveaways for Legendary and Mythical Pokémon that have taken place over the years. Back in the days of Pokémon Red & Green, though, the fans had to work a little harder to catch a Mew.
How A Pokémon Giveaway Helped Make Mew & The Games Popular
Tsunekazu Ishihara and Shigeki Morimoto of The Pokémon Company discussed the launch of Pokémon Red & Green during an Iwata Asks interview. They revealed that the initial sales for Pokémon Red & Green were slow, and things were looking bad for their overall performance. The thing that kicked Pokémon into overdrive was Mew. The developer who added Mew to the game made sure that it wasn’t possible to acquire through legitimate means, but some fans found a way to encounter it through glitches. A promotion was held in CoroCoro Comic called the “Legendary Pokémon Offer”, where twenty lucky applicants could receive a free Mew. Nearly eighty thousand people applied, which was the event that kicked off the popularity of Pokémon as a franchise. It was at this point that the sales of Pokémon Red & Green exploded, and it all continued from there.
The inclusion of Mew in Pokémon Red & Green was an unintentional act of genius. Video game secrets had already been the subject of urban legends for years, with fans making up ridiculous claims for established titles. Mew was one of the first video game urban legends to be true, causing a massive search for ways to unlock it in the game. Fans did eventually discover a glitch that is guaranteed to make Mew appear in the original Pokémon games, but many still fondly remember the initial hunt for the first Mythical being.
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