Digimon came out before pokemon
1. The clear release timeline—games and toys
The easiest way to settle "which came first" is to look at public releases: Nintendo’s Pocket Monsters (Pokémon) Red and Green for Game Boy were released in Japan in February 1996 (commonly cited as February 27, 1996) [1], while the original Digital Monster virtual pet was released by Bandai on June 26, 1997 [2] [4], making Pokémon the earlier franchise in terms of consumer products [5].
2. Broadcast history reinforces the order
The Pokémon anime began airing in 1997 in Japan and established the franchise’s multimedia momentum [6], whereas Digimon’s flagship television series, Digimon Adventure, did not premiere in Japan until March 7, 1999 (with later international broadcasts in 1999) [7] [3], again showing Pokémon’s media presence preceded Digimon’s TV rollout [8].
3. Origins and conceptions: overlapping development, not a simple copy
Public releases tell one story, but conception timelines overlap: Satoshi Tajiri’s Pokémon idea dates back to around 1989–1990 during the Game Boy era [8], and Bandai’s work on a "masculine" virtual pet concept related to Tamagotchi, which evolved into Digimon, was underway in the mid‑1990s with some internal development as early as 1995 according to contemporaneous accounts [9] [2]; this means teams were developing similar "monster" concepts in the same era, even though Pokémon reached consumers first [9] [8].
4. Why the confusion persists—similarities, fan narratives and poor sourcing
Fans point to shared surface elements (monsters, evolution, “‑mon” suffix) and near‑concurrent launches, which fuel claims that one copied the other; many forum posts and blog pieces repeat dates loosely or emphasize anecdotes rather than primary sources, leading to persistent myths such as Digimon predating Pokémon or one franchise stealing from the other [10] [11]. Careful sources—encyclopedic entries and timeline summaries—consistently place Pokémon releases in 1996 and Digimon products in 1997 and later [2] [5] [1], undercutting the "Digimon came out before Pokémon" claim.
5. Bottom line, limitations, and the broader context
On the strict question of which franchise "came out" first in public form, Pokémon is earlier: first game releases in 1996 and the franchise’s broader media rollout preceded Digimon’s 1997 toy debut and 1999 anime [1] [2] [3]. That said, available reporting shows overlapping internal development and influence from third parties like Tamagotchi on Digimon’s concept [2] [8], and the sources consulted here do not claim to include every internal memo or pre‑release discussion at Bandai or Nintendo—those private timelines could nuance the story but do not change the public release order established by the cited records [9] [8].