{"product_id":"pokebook-gen-i-signed","title":"POKEBOOK GEN I (SIGNED)","description":"\u003cp\u003eThirty years ago, a pair of role-playing strategy games launched in Japan. Almost identical, save for the selection of creatures available in each, the games tasked you with capturing a myriad of adorable monsters and battling others, becoming the finest trainer in the land. The success of these games would give birth to an absolute behemoth of a franchise, which today we now know is the biggest media franchise on the planet. As well as video games, there are TV shows, movies, trading card games - physical and digital - and merchandise galore. It generates a huge amount of cash with an estimated $170 billion in revenue and almost 500 million game units shipped combined across the globe in three decades.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBack in the mid 1990s, it arguably staved off a new generation of portable hardware for Nintendo, with enough people still buying the ageing GameBoy platform just to get their Pocket Monster fix, playing with their friends and using the link cable to trade and battle. It was the very definition of a phenomenon. To commemorate this juggernaut of a series, we wanted to celebrate everything about that first generation cycle, and that is where POKEBOOK The Unofficial Companion: Generation I comes in.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"mb3\"\u003eWe've been making books for more than 5 years now, with Paul Murphy (Ninty Media's owner) having tackled the trio of Game Boy platforms in recent years (DMG, 2023, COLOR, 2024, ADVANCE, 2025) as well as writing about all the amiibo way back in 2021. Earlier this year we also published the NESBOOK, a tome dedicated to the NES, predominantly written by Stuart Gipp. We've longed to get involved with other coverage, and it's fair to say that our favourite series is probably those pesky Pocket Monsters. \u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"mb3\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"mb3\"\u003eHaving had the idea to make a book themed around the series, we felt it best to split it off into individual generations and the 30th anniversary seemed the best place to start the coverage. Like our other books, it'll be split into a historical analysis, a series of retrospectives celebrating the best of the games as well as mini-reviews of all of the games that released for Generation One. The bulk of the writing has been tackled by Joe Wescott, who is a huge Poke-fanatic and a long-time member of the Ninty Media writing stable.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"mb3\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"mb3\"\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eThe book will cover the history of the first generation, chronicling the cycles of the games, intertwined with other aspects of the franchise. This historical dive will also cover the transition to the western launch and the spin offs onto other Nintendo hardware. There's a comprehensive, hand-drawn timeline and there will also be deeper, nostalgic retrospectives which have been written by some outstanding freelance writers. These pieces will go into more detail about these iconic games, with these pieces accompanied by some mesmerising artwork, as also happened in the GAMEBOOK series. If you loved those, then you'll both love this and know what to expect. Finally the book will round up with mini-reviews of all the games that are considered part of that initial cycle.\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"mb3\"\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"mb3\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThere are so many games, so many systems and so many creatures - well over 1000 at the time of this release- to adequately cover everything in enough detail in a smaller book. To give the franchise enough respect and love, we felt it appropriate, not to mention in keeping with our overall approach, to give each chapter its own time in the spotlight. It also enables those that only appreciated certain generations to tap into the experiences that most resonated with them. The plan will be a second volume, covering Generation II. Rinse and repeat. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"mb3\"\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"mb3\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe games that will be featured in this book are Red and Green, Blue (GB, all Japan, as well as Red and Blue for their western launch), Yellow, Stadium (as well as the original Japanese release for the N64), Snap (N64), Hey You Pikachu (N64), Puzzle League (N64), Pinball (GB)and the TCG (GB). These all encompass the original 151 monster series. All will feature mini-reviews with a selection being given more in-depth retrospectives.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"mb3\"\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"mb3\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAs well as some interesting pieces celebrating Generation I, as well as discussion on the anime, trading card game and other topics, it's also going to have some brilliant photography inside the book as well, showcasing the games, the hardware and other aspects of the period. The book will be 21cm x 21cm in size, identical to its predecessors, the GAMEBOOK, the GAMEBOOK COLOR, the GAMEBOOK ADVANCE and the NESBOOK. Coming with a hardcover finish, the book will be printed on high-quality, uncoated paper stock and all sorts of cool content across a 300 pages.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"mb3\"\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"mb3\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA wide range of contributors chipped in with the writing, including:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDani Cross (Freelance Journalist), Nathan Ellingsworth (Channel Manager for Culture Dex), Jonathon Greenall (Freelance Journalist), Jamie Moorcraft-Sharp (Freelance Journalist), Chelsea Reed (Freelance Journalist, Zelda Universe) with the foreword being written by Kinda Funny's Tim Gettys and the book's epilogue being provided by Serebii's Joe Merrick.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe illustrations that accompany the features have been beautifully created by Thiago Radice, Iago Machado, Raphaella Silva, Darren Palma and many more. The cover was designed by Jonathan Traynor, and we personally think it's one of the finest covers we have ever had. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis signed option for the book is for a physical copy of the book, digital copy, a Pokeball and Masterball pin, 12 art prints, a green foil bookmark, it's also been numbered out of 151 and signed by Joe.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Ninty Media","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48532071907522,"sku":"PKBKGENISGN","price":75.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0576\/3599\/5842\/files\/BOOKsigned.png?v=1786557631","url":"https:\/\/www.nintymedia.net\/products\/pokebook-gen-i-signed","provider":"Ninty Media","version":"1.0","type":"link"}