Game Freak
Tajiri wrote and edited a fanzine called "Game Freak" from 1981 to 1986, focusing on the arcade game scene. It was handwritten and stapled together. Satoshi created the "Game Freak" fanzine to help gamers with winning strategies and lists of easter eggs. The highest selling issue, at more than 10,000 copies, details how to get a high score in "Xevious". Ken Sugimori, who later illustrated the first 151 Pokémon, saw the magazine at a dōjinshi shop, and became its illustrator. As more contributors came to "Game Freak", Tajiri began to realize that most games were lacking in quality, and he and Sugimori decided the solution was to make their own games. Tajiri studied the "Family BASIC" game programming package, to better grasp the concepts of Famicom game design. He then purchased the requisite hardware for game development. Tajiri and Sugimori evolved the magazine into the video game development company Game Freak in 1989. Soon after, the two pitched their first game, an arcade-style game called "Quinty", to Namco, who published the game. Tajiri also wrote as a freelance writer for the magazine "Famicom Hisshōbon", later called "Hippon", and reviewed arcade games for "Family Computer Magazine" and "Famicom Tsūshin".