The first G-Shock was released in April of 1983. It was designed by a Japanese engineer working for Casio named Kikuo Ibe. For the next few years Casio released a handful of new models each year. The popularity of G-Shocks increased rapidly throughout the 1990s. There seemed to be a peak in demand in 1998 when over 220 new models were released in that year alone. Casio has collaborated with many designers, musicians and other pop culture luminaries to release hundreds of limited edition G-Shocks with custom designs.