A comparison is often drawn between these two because of the similarities between the two Japanese media franchises, and people tend to think of Digimon as a “ripoff” of the original game. This notion seems to be because Pokémon has existed a little longer than Digimon -- the former was introduced in 1996, while the latter was created in 1997 as a lineup of virtual pets (or digital monsters). However, the two might be best thought of as separate entities with very different lore and unique philosophies -- while one centers on fictional creatures called Pokemon (or pocket monsters); the other focuses on virtual pets (or digital monsters). One of the main differences between the two is that in the former game, players are encouraged to find and catalog all the different kinds of creatures and capture many of them, while in Digimon players pick a specific pet, which then accompanies them on their journey and must be taken care of, fed and attended to, much like a real pet.