An old interview recently brought to light reveals that Nintendo of America (NoA) had unusual ideas for Pokémon`s localization, including giving Pikachu “huge breasts” and making the creatures resemble characters from the “Cats” musical.
Conducted around the release of Pokémon Gold and Silver, the interview features Tsunekazu Ishihara, who remains the President and CEO of The Pokémon Company. Ishihara recounted that upon seeing the original Pokémon designs for localization, Nintendo of America found them “too cute.”
NoA then presented its own alternative Pokémon character designs, which Ishihara described as so disturbing he vowed never to reveal them. He elaborated that these designs “kind of looked like the characters from the Cats musical,” with Pikachu specifically transformed into a “tabby cat with huge breasts.”
When pressed for more details, Ishihara confirmed the proposed Pikachu design bore a striking resemblance to how women sometimes cosplay Pikachu at anime conventions. He found the cultural difference “interesting” but decided against adopting such designs for the international market.
Fortunately for fans, Pokémon was released internationally with minimal alterations from its Japanese origin, evolving into the massive multimedia franchise it is today. It`s plausible that this success wouldn`t have materialized had the proposed anthropomorphic, sexualized designs been adopted, a style more commonly associated with certain other monster-collecting franchises.
In other recent Pokémon news, a trading card game title addressed issues concerning plagiarized artwork. Looking ahead, a significant new Pokémon game, “Pokémon Legends: Z-A,” is scheduled for release on October 16, with a console bundle also available for pre-order.