Nintendo of America Allegedly Wanted to Give Pikachu Huge Tits to Make Pokémon More Appealing to Americans

Large breasted Pikachu is a bit of a mystery. This is the first I've heard of it, but apparently it has been a part of Pokémon lore for some time. It's possible that a key element of this story has been lost in translation. But there is strong evidence that points towards Nintendo trying to equip Pokémon's token character with a pair of natural heavies before their game was introduced to the United States.

The translation in question involves the Japanese word 'mune'. When translated to English, 'mune' could mean either "breasts" or "chest". In many ways, it would make a lot more sense that Nintendo of America would want to give Pikachu (a Pokémon who fights other Pokémon) a big shredded chest. As opposed to a "great rack".

However, according to a Japanese media outlet GameSpark, who cites an old interview with Pokémon CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara, it sounds like Nintendo of America might have actually thought Pokémon would not play in the United States unless Pikachu had rockin' cans.

Automaton – “When I first showed Pokémon to them, they told me it was too cute. The staff at Nintendo of America then suggested their own designs for the characters – I won’t show those illustrations to anyone as long as I live, but they kind of looked like the characters from the Cats musical. So, for example, Pikachu was changed into a character shaped like a kind of a tabby cat with huge breasts.” At this point, it’s still not clear whether the Japanese “mune” simply refers to pronounced pecs or feminine breasts, but the continuation gives important context. The interviewer proceeds to ask whether the proposed design was “like those girls who do Pikachu cosplays at anime conventions.” Ishihara replied, “Yes, exactly, they presented that kind of design to us for real. I thought it was interesting, in a sense of appreciating such cultural differences. However, I didn’t want to compete in the [overseas] market with that kind of thing.

Sounds to me like Tsunekazu Ishihara was presented with voluptuous breasts Pikachu. I love the idea of Nintendo of America having a sleazy, possibly cocaine-addicted advisor on staff who every time he's presented with a new game, his feedback is, "We really love what you have here. We think this game could be a huge hit here in the states. But I made a few changes that I think will make it appeal better to an American audience."

Then he slides across the desk a portfolio packed full of drawings where he gave every character in the game preposterously big tits. So big they defy the laws of physics. So big that they are the first and only thing a person will notice about the characters. To the point that the only feedback he ever has is to turn the video game into soft-core porn. Like Michael Scott at improv class where every time he's called on, the whole class thinks to themselves, "Please don't pull a gun. Please don't pull a gun. Please don't pull a gun."

But he always pulls the gun. 

"What is the most exciting thing that can happen on TV, or in movies, or in real-life? Somebody has a big fat tits."

In the end, the boobs-crazy Nintendo employee rarely gets his way. The meetings typically end up in a shouting match between him and the rest of his team who try to tell him Nintendo can't just make every game overtly horny. He almost always ends up storming out of the room in a huff. But every once in a while, he'll get a win, and manage to sneak a Candy Kong in there. 

I like to think that's what goes on at Nintendo of America. Although I would be remiss if I didn't mention the fact that there was also later interview done with Nintendo President, Satoru Iwata in 2008. In that interview, Iwata claimed that during those initial meetings, he was presented with the image of an "extremely muscular Pikachu".

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On the flip side, during Nintendo’s financial results briefing in 2008, late president Satoru Iwata stated that during the initial discussions regarding bringing Pokémon to overseas audiences, they were shown an image of an extremely muscular Pikachu, with an explanation that “Monsters should look stronger and scarier.” GameSpark notes that this statement contradicts what Ishihara said in his interview, suggesting that there were possibly two different designs presented by Nintendo or America, or perhaps that the design had both of the features mentioned – muscles and large feminine breasts. It seems, though, like those illustrations were quite traumatic for the staff at GameFreak and Nintendo, so it is very unlikely that we’ll ever be getting to see them.

So we have some conflicting information here. Did somebody at Nintendo really try to give Pikachu tits? Did he possibly try to give all the Pokémon tits, but only manage to land a pair (along with a healthy set of DSL's) on Jynx?

Or is this all a one big Japanese-to-English misunderstanding, and at no point were we even remotely close to living in a world where you could hit Pikachu with a motorboat attack?

I choose to believe the initial translation of Pokémon CEO, Tsunekazu Ishihara's interview was correct. That the dastardly horny Nintendo employee I invented for this blog actually existed. I also choose to believe that his recommendation was right. I know Pokémon blew up to be massive here in the United States, but think how much more massive it could have been if kids grew up wanting to fuck the Pokémon? Adding sex to the world of Pokémon would have brought a whole new layer to the game. It certainly would have made me think of Hypno in a different light.

So who knows? I could be that Pikachu with tits, or Blastoise with a monster hog would have been enough to win over the "I'm not playing that nerdy shit" crowd. Because there's nothing nerdy about soft-core Japanese hentai.