Nintendo Of America’s Original Pokémon Pitch From E3 1998 Is Wild To Watch Nearly 30 Years Later - Kotaku

What the report says

Kotaku reports that the Video Game History Foundation has archived Nintendo of America’s original E3 1998 showcase reel for Pokémon, offering a look at how the company pitched the franchise to U.S. retailers before its American launch. The video was prepared at a time when Pokémon had already become a major success in Japan, but still needed to be introduced and sold to businesses in English-speaking markets.

According to Kotaku, the reel promoted the full Pokémon business push: the Game Boy titles, the animated series, the trading card game and merchandise. Rather than the fan-facing tone later associated with E3 presentations, the 1998 material is described as corporate and retailer-oriented, emphasizing sales figures, television viewership and the franchise’s commercial potential. Kotaku notes that the presentation reflects an earlier era of E3, when the trade show was aimed more directly at retail and industry buyers than at a mass online audience of players.

One notable detail in the archived video is an early version of the Pokémon anime theme. Kotaku says the familiar “Gotta catch ’em all!” line had not yet been finalized in the version shown at E3; the reel instead used the phrase “Catch ’em if you can!” The event took place in May 1998, ahead of Pokémon’s U.S. debut that September.

The rediscovered reel matters as a record of how Nintendo positioned one of gaming’s biggest franchises before it became globally recognizable. It also gives historical context for both Pokémon’s expansion outside Japan and the changing role of E3, which later became known for public-facing spectacle before the show was discontinued.