14 DAY TRIAL // The Pokemon Company has announced that it is preparing to launch an official Pokemon-powered video game for smartphones with the approval of video game publisher Nintendo, which holds the copyright to the game universe.
The new game will be called Pokemon Iie Tap, which would roughly translate like Say Tap, and will be a rhythm-based experience that will ask gamers to tap on Pokemon trading cards to the rhythm of a number of tracks taken from the Pokemon anime.
The official announcement indicates that the game will at the moment only be launched on the Japanese market.
The Pokemon Company says that it will be launched on iOS-powered devices and also on all Android devices that are running at least version 2.1 of the operating system.
The game is significant not just because it marks the first step in a probable conquest of the smartphone market by the Pokemon game universe but also because Nintendo has officially endorsed it.
The company is well known for being interested in keeping its biggest gaming properties, like Pokemon, Mario and Zelda, on its own platforms.
It might not be long before we also see Nintendo authorize the development of smartphone application, based around other important video game franchises that were previously only offered on the Wii home console or on the DS handheld.
It's not clear whether the Pokemon rhythm card game will be released on Western markets.
At the moment, the line-up of DS devices, including the newly launched 3D capable one, is under threat from the rising smartphone market, although Nintendo is saying that there's a group of hardcore handheld gamers that will never be lured to play on iOS or Android devices.
The company is currently working on its new home console, called the Wii U, which will be launched during next year and includes a redesigned, touchscreen-enabled controller.