Pokemon (ポケットモンスター, Poketto Monsutā?, IPA: /ˈpoʊkeɪmɒn, ˈpɒkimɒn/) is a media franchise owned by video game giant Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri around 1995. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games, Pokemon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video game-based media franchise in the world, falling only behind Nintendo's Mario series. Pokemon properties have since been merchandised into anime, manga, trading cards, toys, books, and other media. The franchise celebrated its tenth anniversary on 27 February, 2006, and as of 1 December, 2006, cumulative sold units of the video games (including home console versions, such as the "Pikachu" Nintendo 64) have reached more than 155 million copies.