It was the talk of the web back in 2014 – and now it’s back. Twitch Plays Pokemon is four years old today, and it’s celebrating the occasion in the only way it knows how: one helluva chaotic player-led stream (with a devious twist).
February 12, 2014 saw the rise of chat-generated, community playthroughs as the Twitch Plays Pokemon stream of Pokemon Red began in earnest. The event became hugely popular and reached over 17 million views in its first two weeks. 16 days – and several memes – later, a legend was born; the game was beaten, and we all shed happy tears over the trials of Lord Helix and company.
To mark the fourth anniversary, the social experiment returns to the limelight – and it’s tougher than ever. Not only will viewers be attempting to beat Pokemon Red again, they’ll have to do so whilst also controlling Pokemon Blue within a dual stream. It’s unclear whether the stream will be using democracy rules or its original ruleset, but it’s safe to say that a gargantuan task lay ahead of Twitch users.
Twitch Plays Pokemon eventually spawned several copycats and, unbeknownst to many, has continued to this very day, taking in all of the main-series Pokemon games, as well as a considerable amount of spinoffs. Pokemon Colosseum, Pokemon Stadium 2 and, heck, even Pokemon ROM hacks: it’s all there.
If you want to jump back on that bandwagon, the stream begins shortly before 8:30pm EST/1:30am GMT and can be viewed on the Twitch Plays Pokemon Twitch page. Will we see the second coming of Bird Jesus or a frustrating months-long run? Only time will tell.
