Pokémon Gold Version (Japanese: ポケットモンスター 金 Pocket Monsters: Gold) and Pokémon Silver Version (Japanese: ポケットモンスター 銀 Pocket Monsters: Silver) were the first core series games of Generation II for the Game Boy Color.
During development, the games had the tentative titles of Pocket Monsters 2 (Japanese: ポケットモンスター２) or Pokémon 2 (Japanese: ポケモン２)[6] and Pocket Monsters 2: Gold & Silver (Japanese: ポケットモンスター2 金・銀), along with a provisional release date of "late 1997". The number 2 was dropped as of Nintendo Space World ’97 in November 1997.
Originally announced for a March 1998 release in Nintendo Space World '97, the games had their launch date postponed, with Nintendo issuing a public apology where it was claimed that the developers were worn out but fully committed to the project and that they required more time to expand and improve the games further.[8] They were eventually released in Japan on November 21, 1999, in North America on October 15, 2000, and in Europe on April 6, 2001. In South Korea, Nintendo collaborated with Daewon to release the games in the country, which occurred on April 24, 2002; the Korean versions are solely compatible with the Game Boy Color, which was released there in 2000, also by Daewon.
Unlike earlier games, Pokémon Gold and Silver take place in the Johto region, west of the region that the original games take place in, Kanto. However, Kanto can be traveled to later in the games.
As Pokémon had become an international phenomenon already with the release of Pokémon Red and Blue and Pokémon Yellow in North America and other regions, the localized versions of these games were greatly expected. Much like Red and Green (Red and Blue overseas), Gold and Silver were followed shortly by a solitary version with minor changes, Pokémon Crystal, as well as remakes two generations later in the form of Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver for the Nintendo DS.
The games are available on the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console between September 22, 2017, and the discontinuation of the 3DS Nintendo eShop in March 2023.
