Pokémon Emerald, an enhanced version, was released two years later in each region. They were first released in Japan in late 2002 and internationally in 2003.

After years of Nintendo being the sole publisher of the franchise in all regions, The Pokémon Company co-published the games for the first time since the establishment of the joint-owned company in 1998. They are the first installments in the third generation of the Pokémon video game series, also known as the 'advanced generation'. Pokémon Ruby Version and Pokémon Sapphire Version are 2002 role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance.