14 DAY TRIAL // Pokemon Black and White, the latest all-new titles in the long-running series, are ready to be launched on the Nintendo DS in North America and in Europe, after being out for some time in Japan. So, it seems that for the foreseeable future those who are fans of the “Catch them all!” concept will have to do their gaming on handheld devices, all Nintendo produced.
Junichi Masuda, who is the co-founder of GameFreak, has told IGN, when asked directly whether the developer has plans for Wii releases, that, “I don’t think so. I think the Pokemon core series is always going to be with handheld hardware, in the future as well.”
He added, “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.”
It seems that the focus on portability does not extend to spin-offs, with Masuda adding that it could be creating “something cool” that it suited to the strengths of the Wii home console, which apparently includes parties and other social gaming experiences.
The future of the Pokemon franchise will probably be linked to the soon-to-be-released Nintendo 3DS, which arrives in Japan at the end of February and in the rest of the world before the end of March.
The 3DS is designed to deliver full three-dimensional gaming experiences without the use of any specialized glasses, something that home consoles have not yet managed to create.
Traditionally, a new release in the Pokemon series, like Black and White, is followed by a remake of an older title for a new platform and the 3DS offers ample space for remakes which effectively use 3D to create a deeper experience.