Junichi Masuda, co-founder of Game Freak and director of Pokemon Black & White talked with IGN recently about the new Pokemon game coming out for the Wii. Are you excited about that game? Are you thinking that maybe, with the Wii being an online console and all, we could get a fully fleshed out, gotta catch ’em all RPG on the most profitable console out right now? Well you are wrong. That is not happening. Sad face time.
“I don’t think so. I think the Pokemon core series is always going to be with handheld hardware, in the future as well,” Masuda said to IGN. “I consider handheld hardware you can carry around with you as almost being equal to being with Pokemon, always. I think handheld really matches the idea of Pokemon that we have. Also, you can communicate and transfer data all the time, whenever you want with a handheld. That’s also a match with the Pokemon concept.”
Now, far be it from me to criticize the guy who helped create the franchise, but that is pretty much what I’m about to do. I am about to call bullshit on the above quote. Ready? Bullshit. Handheld only my ass, guys. You know what made Pokemon such a phenomenon? Trading. Catching ’em all. Battling other friends. In other words, connectivity. You know what the Wii has? Connectivity.
Now, he does have a point when pointing out that handhelds can be used at any time. However, with all the stuff Pokemon games have done in the past… hello, remember the Transfer Pak… they should be able to create a way to keep the abilty to play anywhere in tact while still creating a vast Wii Pokemon experience. I believe they can because they have done it before.
Now, I don’t want to take away from IGN’s entire article, but one more quote did stick out to me. When asked what a Wii Pokemon game might look like, Masuda said, “Obviously the home console allows people to get together, for parties, and those sorts of things. Maybe in the future, if we can think of a way to do something cool with that, then that’s the sort of environment we can work in.”
Parties? Sure smells like minigame compilation in here. Dammit Nintendo…
