Pokémon Colosseum

Pokémon Colosseum
North American cover art. Clockwise from top: Wes, Kyogre, Raikou, Suicune, Entei, and Groudon.
DeveloperGenius Sonority
Publishers
DirectorManabu Yamana
Producers
Designers
  • Kazunori Orio
  • Gakuji Nomoto
  • Akihiko Miura
  • Sayaka Yamazaki
  • Ryota Aomi
  • Chiharu Sugaya
  • Kōji Ōno
ProgrammerMasayuki Kawamoto
ArtistShinichi Hiromoto
WriterKazunori Orio
ComposerTsukasa Tawada
SeriesPokémon
PlatformGameCube
Release
  • JP: November 21, 2003
  • NA: March 22, 2004
  • EU: May 14, 2004
GenreMonster tamer
ModesSingle-player, multiplayer

Pokémon Colosseum is a role-playing video game developed by Genius Sonority and published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the GameCube. A spin-off of the Pokémon series, it was released on November 21, 2003, in Japan, March 22, 2004, in North America and May 14, 2004, in Europe. Unlike previous titles' random encounters with Pokémon, Colosseum allows the player to steal ("snag") the Pokémon of other Pokémon Trainers. The game also features single-player and multiplayer battle modes.

Set in the desert region of Orre, the player controls Wes, a former member of Team Snagem. Throughout the game, Wes rescues "Shadow Pokémon"—Pokémon who have had their hearts darkened by Team Cipher, an antagonistic organization—via snagging. Rui, a non-player character, serves as Wes's sidekick and identifies Shadow Pokémon.

Pokémon Colosseum was exhibited at E3 2003 and featured Pokémon models ported from the Nintendo 64's Pokémon Stadium and Pokémon Stadium 2. North American pre-orders included a bonus disc that allows the player to download the Pokémon Jirachi on the Game Boy Advance titles Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire while Japanese bonus discs featured similar downloads for Celebi and Pikachu. Upon release, the game was a critical and commercial success, with praise directed at its graphics and music. It sold 1.15 million copies in the United States and 656,270 in Japan. Pokémon, Colosseum Sold a total of 2.41 million copies worldwide. A successor, Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, released for the GameCube in 2005. Pokémon Colosseum will be made available on the Nintendo Switch 2 through the Nintendo Classics service.