Sun, Mar 22, 2009 | 06:31 GMT
Pokémon creators: No MMO coming any time soon
Nintendo’s been bowling a near-perfect game lately, but even so, we can’t help but scratch our heads at a recent proclamation from one of its biggest moneymakers. In an interview with What They Play, Pokémon series director Junichi Masuda was asked whether or not Pikachu and his 492-mon posse might be making their way into an MMO in the near future. He responded:
“At this point, we’re not thinking of going in that direction. Trading is a core concept of Pokémon. So when you’re trading, you meet with a friend and decide which one you want and which one they want.
“I would like to emphasize real-world communication. You don’t see each other online.”
Recent Pokémon games have allowed players to trade their critters or pit them against each other in shirtless, weapon-free man-fights through the Internet’s reality-warping wizardry, so an MMO seems like a logical next step.
But then, we’re not entirely sure if designing a series about adorable cockfighting animals screams “logic” anyway. So yeah.
4 comments
#1
hitnrun
22/03/09, 6:45 am
Pokemon is probably the only one of the hundreds of franchises linked to MMOs that makes any natural sense.
I haven’t played it since the original Gameboy, but it’s literally an imaginary MMO played in the minds of players in the real world with the game serving as an instance.
#2
Hunam
22/03/09, 9:53 pm
Prety much.
That and a proper console game, but that never seems to happen either.
#3
The Benny
22/03/09, 11:39 pm
The portable Pokémon games are so lucrative (or were, at least) that I guess they don’t want to risk branching out in risky directions, especially if there’s no ‘need’. Considering the console situation in Japan, a full console version or an MMO would likely be a lot of effort that still wouldn’t necessarily bring in the cash.
A proper open-world Pokémon game would be pretty great though.
#4
Blerk
23/03/09, 9:09 am
“Also, there’s no “Pokemon game which isn’t just a cynical rehash of the original Gameboy title” coming any time soon either.”, they almost added.