Pokémon Gold and Silver were released in Japan on 21 November 1999 for the Game Boy Color, developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo. Satoshi Tajiri directed them and designed them with Junichi Masuda, and Ken Sugimori was the artist.
The games add 100 new Pokémon, bringing the total to 251. The story is set in Johto, three years after Red and Blue, in a region inspired by Japan's Kansai and Tōkai; later the player returns to Kanto and finally battles Red on Mt. Silver. A real-time clock affects events and which Pokémon appear, and the games also introduced held items, berries, the Pokégear, breeding and the Steel and Dark types.
A third version, Pokémon Crystal, followed in Japan on 14 December 2000. The DS remakes HeartGold and SoulSilver arrived in Japan on 12 September 2009, and the originals returned on the 3DS Virtual Console worldwide on 22 September 2017.1
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Pokémon Gold / Pokémon Silver | Game Boy Color | Oct 15, 2000 | Nintendo | 1 |
| JP | ポケットモンスター 金・銀Poketto Monsutā Kin・Gin | Game Boy Color | Nov 21, 1999 | Nintendo | 1 |
| AU | Pokémon Gold / Pokémon Silver | Game Boy Color | Oct 13, 2000 | Nintendo | 1 |
| EU | Pokémon Gold / Pokémon Silveralso issued in Spanish, French, German and Italian | Game Boy Color | Apr 6, 2001 | Nintendo | 2 |
| KR | Pokémon Gold / Pokémon SilverKorean version, Game Boy Color only | Game Boy Color | Apr 24, 2002 | Daewon | 3 |
| JP | ポケットモンスター 金・銀Poketto Monsutā Kin・GinVirtual Console; the 3DS eShop closed on 27 March 2023 | Nintendo 3DS | Sep 22, 2017 | Nintendo | 3 |
| WW | Pokémon Gold / Pokémon SilverVirtual Console in North America, Europe, Australia, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan; the 3DS eShop closed on 27 March 2023 | Nintendo 3DS | Sep 22, 2017 | Nintendo | 3 |
Also known as: ポケットモンスター 金 JP1ポケットモンスター 銀 JP1Poketto Monsutā Kin JP1Poketto Monsutā Gin JP1Pokémon Oro y Pokémon Plata EU2Pokémon Versions Or et Argent EU3Pokémon Goldene Edition und Silberne Edition EU3Pokémon Oro e Argento EU3
Box art by region
JP ポケットモンスター 金・銀
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: Wikipedia.
Version differences
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ContentJP Gold/SilverInternational Gold/Silver
Phanpy/Donphan and Teddiursa/Ursaring swap versions: in Japan Phanpy is found in Gold and Teddiursa in Silver, while abroad it is the other way round. The Korean release keeps the Japanese split.3
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GameplayKorean version
The Korean versions work only on the Game Boy Color, which Daewon also released in Korea in 2000.3
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ContentCrystal
Pokémon Crystal, a third version released in Japan on 14 December 2000, keeps largely the same story and gameplay and adds several new features.1
Translations
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English Official
Nintendo2000Game Boy Color · Japanese versionReleased · complete
The English version came out in Australia and North America in October 2000 and in Europe in April 2001.1
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Spanish Official
Nintendo2001Game Boy Color · International versionReleased · complete
The Spanish edition was released in Europe as Pokémon Oro y Pokémon Plata, alongside French, German and Italian editions.2
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Korean Official
Daewon2002Game Boy Color · Japanese versionReleased · complete
Daewon published the Korean version in April 2002.3
Reception
Gold and Silver had sold 23 million copies combined by 2010, making them the best-selling Game Boy Color games and the third best-selling games for the Game Boy family. In Japan 1,425,768 copies sold on the first day, and about 1.4 million sold in the first week in the US. Critics praised the new features, the real-time clock and the added length; IGN gave Gold 10 out of 10.1
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
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