Pokémon Was Supposed to End With Gold/Silver

With Pokémon HeartGold/SoulSilver just round the corner, and a fifth generation supposedly coming out this year, most people would think that the series was meant to go on forever. But according to the President of the Pokémon Company; Tsunekazu Ishihara it was all supposed to end with the second generation.

In the latest Iwata Asks he says:

I worked with the assumption that after we put out Gold and Silver, my work as far as Pokémon was concerned would be done, I didn't intend to make any more Pokémon titles. I even thought that once we entered the twenty-first century, it would be time for me to do something else entirely.

I remember that when Gold and Silver were released, I felt like a burden had finally been lifted from my shoulders. We'd had our sights set on the finish line of Gold and Silver for so long, and now that we'd finally completed the major series running right through from Red and Blue, I felt I could say to Tajiri-san: "I've fulfilled my duty!"

Once we'd released Gold and Silver and it was selling even faster than Red and Green, I couldn't very well get off the ride halfway through saying: "Nice work everyone. Good luck from here on in!"

-Tsunekazu Ishihara

Thanks to Official Nintendo Magazine.

What do you think of the significance of the decision to carry on with the Pokémon series? Would you have been disappointed if it stopped at Gold/Silver?