Pokemon is one of the most popular and successful entertainment franchises in the world, encompassing video games, the Pokemon Trading Card Game (TCG), mobile games and apps, animation and movies, Play! Pokemon competitive events, and licensed products. It was first established in Japan in 1996 with the launch of the Pokemon Red and Pokemon Green video games for the Game Boy system. The video games were released internationally in 1998 as Pokemon Red and Pokemon Blue. More than 20 years later, Pokemon continues to be a global entertainment mainstay and pop culture icon.