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Entertainment & Media
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Tiger Stripes and Huge Breasts: The Bizarre Pikachu Redesign Satoru Iwata Saved Us From
Before Pokémon's US launch, Nintendo of America suggested a radical Pikachu redesign: a tiger with large breasts. The idea, meant to appeal to Americans, was personally rejected by Satoru Iwata, who protected the original design and ensured its global success.
Pikachu is more than a Pokémon; it's a global icon, a universally recognized symbol of joy and friendship. Its simple, cute, and cuddly design is a masterclass in character creation. But in an alternate timeline, the face of the Pokémon franchise could have been vastly different—and frankly, bizarre. Before Pokémon landed on American shores in the late 1990s, Nintendo of America staff proposed a radical redesign: a buff, tiger-like creature with, in the words of the late Satoru Iwata, “huge breasts.”
The 'Americanization' of the 90s
To understand how such a strange idea came to be, we have to look at the context of 90s video game localization. It was common practice for Japanese games and media to be heavily altered for American audiences. Characters were often made to look tougher, angrier, or more “extreme” to appeal to what was perceived as Western taste. The most famous example is Kirby, who consistently sports a cheerful smile on Japanese box art but is given angry, determined eyebrows for his American releases. Nintendo of America (NoA) was operating under this assumption: that the cute, rounded aesthetic of Pikachu wouldn't connect with American kids.
A Tiger in Mouse's Clothing
According to a 2010 “Iwata Asks” interview with The Pokémon Company CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara, the American staff's feedback on the original Pokémon designs was blunt. They couldn't believe that Japanese audiences found the cute characters appealing. Ishihara recalled the shock, stating, “The staff in America submitted their ideas for replacement designs, but we couldn't believe the kind of stuff they were proposing.”
The most shocking proposal was for Pikachu. The feedback suggested transforming the lovable electric mouse into something that resembled a tiger. Satoru Iwata, then a producer at HAL Laboratory who was instrumental in Pokémon's development, later recounted the design in more detail. He described the American proposal as making Pikachu look like “a tiger with huge breasts.” The goal was to replace what they saw as a weak, passive character with a powerful, aggressive-looking animal, a concept that completely misunderstood the core appeal of Pokémon.
Satoru Iwata Draws the Line
This is where Satoru Iwata became the hero of the story. Presented with this baffling redesign, Iwata had a choice. He could have passed the feedback along to the artists at Game Freak, pressuring them to conform to the American marketing team's vision. Instead, he flat-out refused. Iwata understood that Pikachu's appeal was universal and that changing its fundamental design would be a betrayal of the creators' original vision. He put his foot down and ensured the bizarre memo never even reached the original designers. He and Ishihara insisted that Pokémon be released in the U.S. with its original art style intact.
A Legacy Preserved
Of course, we all know how the story ends. Pokémon, with its original Japanese designs, became a cultural juggernaut in the United States and across the globe. Pikachu is now more recognizable than most world leaders, and the franchise's success is built on the very “cuteness” that NoA's marketing team initially dismissed. Iwata's decision was a pivotal moment, not just for Pokémon, but for the future of game localization. It was a powerful statement that authentic creative vision could transcend cultural boundaries without being warped by misguided marketing. We can all be thankful that we live in a world with the cute electric mouse we know and love, and not the strange, top-heavy tiger that almost was.