Details from the Pokemon X/Y developer roundtable
The Pokemon X/Y developer roundtable has just started. We’ll keep tabs on updates here, so keep checking back.
– Mr. Tsunekazu Ishihara, President and CEO of The Pokémon Company, is now taking the stage
– He is very excited for Pokémon players all over the world to begin their adventures at the same time
– Mr. Ishihara is giving a brief history of Pokémon
– Now Prez of Pokemon Co is talking about communication and connective nature of series, and how that’s evolved
– We’ll learn more about the connectivity in Pokemon X&Y later tonight from Junichi Masuda
– Pokémon X and Pokémon Y will refine the core aspects of Pokémon games: collecting, battling, and trading
– Pokemon X&Y being called a culmination of everything in the series thus far
– Mr. Junichi Masuda, Director at GAME FREAK inc., is on stage now
– We’re seeing the Pokemon X&Y bootup screen. RIDING POKEMON. Big Eiffel Tower-like… tower
– Just saw a main character grinding down a rail. Definitely character clothing customization options (though how many I’m not sure)
– Mr. Masuda is discussing the challenges of a global video game release
– There are over 800,000 Japanese characters in the game, which translates to 1.4 million words in English
– Talking about the hurdle of localizing for global release – 800k JPN characters becomes 1.4 million English words
– Players will be able to choose 1 of 7 languages to play the game (English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Japanese, or Korean)
– The new PSS (Player Search System) will allow players to search for others locally or globally (via Wi-Fi) to battle and trade
– PSS is on lower screen of 3DS, tracks Friends, Acquaintances, and Passersby
– Tracks two ways – local wireless and the Internet
– You can basically be connected with other players all around the world at all times
– Passersby – PSS recognizes other players playing XY. If you interact with one of anyone on that list, they become an Acquaintance
– Mr. Masuda is demoing a battle via the PSS. The two opposing Pokémon are new for Pokémon X and Pokémon Y
– Acquaintances can then become Friends. And you can log and access up to 100 Favorites of any of those three categories of interactions
– Various options for battles. There is a default set, but you can change things re: special Pokemon and other rules
– Battle: Camera placements move around. Split-screen views and more
– Now we’re seeing what you see when you’re back on the PSS (lower) screen
– Two new pokemon announced: Clauncher (water) and Skrelp (poison)
– Because a Passerby was battled, that Passer has now become an Acquaintance
– Save Screen shows a Pokedex count of 113 Pokemon and 8 Badges
– If you interact more than once, the game will ask if you want an Acquaintance to become a Friend. Pretty easy system
– Another new Pokémon, Noivern, is being used to demo the awesome 3D modeling process used for Pokémon X and Pokémon Y
– Decided to adapt the official Pokemon art style and make that come alive in 3D
– A lot more specifications were needed for different angles of the Pokemon, emotions and much more
– Boom Burst: New Normal-type move
– Mr. Masuda is discussing the various ways players can interact with Pokémon in Pokémon-Amie
– Allows better bonding with Pokemon
– Strong bond will result in more critical hits or better dodging
– Time to talk about battles: introducing Horde Encounters (5-on-one battles). (Axnew, Tauros being shown as examples.)
– But a Horde might include a variety of different Pokemon. Not just 1 type. Designed to make wild encounters more thrilling
– Dilemma: only introducing strong Pokemon in battles would ruin the balance, because you can capture. So – Hordes. Challenge but balanced
– Mr. Masuda is showing a video of a Gogoat encountering a horde of Houndour
– Just like any typical RPG, you make 1 attack, and then all of the Horde will attack
– Another new type of battle has been announced! Prepare for Sky Battles
– Only some Flying-type Pokémon (and a few others) can enter a Sky Battle. Mr. Masuda is demoing now
– Trainers will challenge you to Sky Battles. Limited set of Pokemon can participate – mostly Flying types
– If you don’t have any Pokemon that can engage in a Sky Battle, you can’t enter the challenge
– Talonflame, a new Fire- and Flying-type Pokémon, has just been revealed in a Sky Battle demo against Noctowl
– Very dynamic camera, taking a variety of positions through the air. Night time scene looks fantastic. Talonflame vs. Noctowl
– Talonflame has just been switched out for Haunter! But wait…Haunter isn’t a Flying-type Pokémon
– Haunter has a levitate ability so it can fight in a Sky Battle. Now fighting a Aerodactyl
– Q: Multiple save files? A: No. Just one
– Q: Importing Pokemon from previous games? A: They’re working on it. DS/3DS comm. barrier is slightly tricky
– Q: Will there be DLC? A: Hoped that wouldn’t be asked, but they are exploring the possibilities. No announcements
– Q: Explanation for Fairy type being discovered and applying to older Pokemon? A: Dragon type has had an advantage. Wanted balance
– Q: How many new Pokemon? A: No comment
– Q: Why base this location on France? A: France has a focus on a beauty and that was a focus for X&Y. Wanted to see how to express
– Q: Considered tweaking EV and IV to make being competitive easier? A: X&Y will make some of these ideas more visible and intuitive
Q: Depth of customization? A: You can choose hair style, set appearance. PSS shows player icons so chose to allow for custom appearance
– Diagonal movement
– Q: Player movement appears to be 8-way. Why not full analog? A: Keeping a grid-style bc of tracking Pokemon encounters. But freer movement
– Q: Didn’t hear buuut A: Music will have different feel than past games bc it’s less modified/compressed than in older games
– Q: How does Mewtwo change form? Do you want him in Smash? A: -long pause- Can’t explain “Mewthree” Pokemon. Can’t talk about other games
– Sakurai just chimed in (joking) – “We’re thinking about it.”
– Q: New or old villain team? Form of rival? A: “You can expect to see a Team ‘Something'” There’s a Rival, but maybe not just one
– Pokemon X&Y will read your registered friends list from the 3DS system, so the game will automatically have those people as your friends
– Some areas have different types of methods of getting around. (i.e. we’ve seen the grinding and so on). Depends on area
– Flow of battles – seeing opponent’s team ahead of time – is the same as before. You can select the song for the battle though
– Q: Riding Pokemon – benefits? Diff from bike? A: Sounds like you can ‘borrow’ Pokemon to traverse to destinations. Can help open paths too
