Pokemon Blue Version - Japanese

[steveg]

Good evening guys,
I need help since it seems that I can’t find answers with google.

Why these boxes have different backs?

The game is pokemon blue version in japanese.

The first one says:”No resale” (meaning no selling secondhand allowed).
Is this some kind of first edition/promo box?

Any help is appreciated, thanks guys.

[melchior]

The one without the barcode is the limited CoroCoro Comic version which was distributed on October 15, 1996. The one with the barcode is the regular retail version which was released on October 10, 1999, almost 3 full years later.

[steveg]

Are you sure? I mean you are 100% sure?
(thanks for the reply)

[melchior]

@steveg

Are you sure? I mean you are 100% sure?
(thanks for the reply)

999% sure, check your PMs.

[steveg]

Thank you so much!

[merciersj]

Such a cool find, thank you for sharing! I learn something new every day on this forum.

[melchior]

@merciersj

Such a cool find, thank you for sharing! I learn something new every day on this forum.

Here’s another fun fact, which always struck me as funny as a Westerner. Pocket Monsters: Pikachu (aka Pokémon Yellow or Special Pikachu Edition in the West) had its retail release in Japan on September 12, 1998, a full 393 days before the commercial retail release of Pocket Monsters: Blue on October 10, 1999.

[steveg]

As I said to Melchior in private…he is an encyclopedia ! Thanks bud for clarifying !

[DeSiech]

Hey There!

Reviving this cause I saw a Blue version titled “coro coro limited Edition rare” on a japanese site. It’s the one without the barcode.

I started doing some research and I found alot of listings without barcodes but nothing about the coro coro version was mentioned in the description.

So my questions here are: Is the coro coro version really that rare? is there a difference between the normal CIB and the coro coro one?

Thank you!

[melchior]

Everything is the same inside the box. The only tiny difference is the back of the box missing a barcode for the Coro Coro version. Some grading companies make the distinction on the label and call it the mail order or the CoroCoro version.

@Bulbapedia

Pokémon Blue was originally announced at the cover-dated November 1996 issue of CoroCoro Comic, which was distributed on October 15, 1996. This CoroCoro issue had an application form to request Pokémon Blue via mail. This was originally the only way to obtain this game. The period to request Pokémon Blue was between October 15 and December 27.

The game was originally released to celebrate 1 million sales of Pokémon Red and Green. It was later re-released (again as mail order) in 1997 to celebrate 4 million sales of Red, Green, and Blue combined, and then was ultimately released to general retail on October 10, 1999.

You can read more here.

As for rarity. I don’t have the exact numbers either way. But if we take the Masaki cards as an example, we know Japanese kids who were avid fans of the Pokémon franchise loved to mail in to receive merchandise so I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s more CoroCoro versions than regular retail versions. Because most kids probably already had the game after those 2 mail in waves.

[kpod]

I believe the vast majority of Japanese Blue copies were distributed through the CoroCoro offer, so the retail stamped version is actually more scarce as the CoroCoro release was available for 3 years before it hit the retail shelf. At least that’s what I’ve read from multiple sources. As far as price differences, there seems to be none established (yet) between the two different prints.

Here is a really good read on the Blue CoroCoro release if you seen it: Translation: Forgotten Story of Pokemon Blue’s Release – Lava Cut Content