What America Was Like When Pokémon Launched 20 Years Ago: Titanic, Google and the Musical Birth of Britney Spears

The iPhone game was first introduced in Japan as a Gameboy program

By Samantha Schnurr Jul 13, 2016 3:20 PMTags
Pokémon GoYouTube/Pokémon Go

Two decades later, the world is still trying to catch 'em all. 

With the introduction of the Pokémon franchise's newly minted phone app, Pokémon Go, adults who grew up with the beloved cartoon characters are breathing in in a brand new whiff of nostalgia. 

However, unlike the iPhones and other smart technology in the hands of avid players today, gamers in the late '90s had very different tools at their fingertips when Pokémon Red and Blue first launched in Japan for the Nintendo GameBoy in 1996. 

Two years after the debut, Pikachu and his pals made their way to North America where they took the United States by storm, causing a swift frenzy similar to the one ignited by the virtual reality game today. However, unlike the social media age were currently cruising through, 1998 marked the dawn of the millennium, the brewing Internet Age and the origin of Britney Spears, Pop Icon. 

Bill Clinton was a president swarmed by scandal, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet stole hearts as a first-time on-screen couple in the country's biggest blockbuster yet and one life-changing website had just gotten started. Here's a walk down memory lane to remember what the United States was like back when we were still clutching our Game Boys, not our iPhones. 

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  • Bill Clinton was president of the United States.
  • The same year, he was impeached following his affair with former White House employee, Monica Lewinsky. Clinton was later acquitted of his perjury and obstruction of justice charges. 
  • Titanic won 11 Academy Awards at the annual ceremony, including Best Picture and Best Original Song for "My Heart Will Go On."
  • Newcomer Britney Spears debuted her first single, "...Baby One More Time"—and just like that, an icon with pigtails was born. 
  • A dozen eggs cost roughly 88 cents. 
  • Lindsay Lohan made her silver screen debut—and simultaneously won over Hollywood—in the Parent Trap. 
  • Malia Obama, President Barack Obama's oldest daughter, was born. Paris Jackson and actresses Maude ApatowElle Fanning and Modern Family's Ariel Winter were also welcomed into the world. 
  • Shania Twain's "You're Still the One," Savage Garden's "Truly Madly Deeply" and LeAnn Rimes' "How Do I Live" were among Billboard's Hot 100 hits. 
Lionsgate / Miramax Films
  • Robin Williams won his first and only Academy Award for his performance in Good Will Hunting."This might be the one time I'm speechless," he said at the podium.
  • Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park officially opened to visitors. 
  • Google was launched to finally answer everyone's pressing questions on the World Wide Web. 
  • Apple released its first iMac computer. 
Watch: Tia and Tamera Mowry Reveal '90s Favorites!
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