Masuda on Pokemon’s popularity, coming up with new Pokemon, no plans for DLC/microtransactions, more

VG247 managed to get a few Pokemon-related comments out of Game Freak’s Junichi Masuda as part of a new interview. Masuda was quizzed on the franchise’s continuing popularity, creation of new Pokemon, DLC and microtransactions, possibility of a Pokemon game for Wii U and MMORPG, and more.

For a full roundup of Masuda’s comments, read on below.

On Pokemon’s continuing popularity…

“We think that part of the success and attraction of Pokémon is not down to just the Pokémon characters themselves, but the fact that you can give them nicknames and they have different attacks that change, and they evolve. They’re living creatures, or we consider them to be living creatures, akin to if you have your pet dog for example. It would only respond to you as it’s master or family friend, so there’s a very close relationship between a Pokémon and its trainer.

“As we see every year when we have the Pokémon world championships, the Pokémon video games are very deep, and we see lots of different strategies and different battling comes to the fore. But basically, Pokémon games are easy to play and learn, but have many layers of depth which make them interesting.”

How the creative team comes up with new Pokemon…

“We have a team of 20 different graphic designers who are responsible for coming up with the Pokémon design themselves, and then there’s a team of five people who actually judge the designs, and are responsible for deciding which Pokémon go into the final games.

“Then they consider what goes into making a Pokémon, their various aspects, but they look very deeply at the characters to see where we think a Pokémon would live, what kind of things it would eat, and what characteristics are very particular about the Pokémon. It’s not just about the design, as a lot of thought goes into creating each individual Pokémon. On any particular, individual Pokémon the process to creating it can be anywhere between three months, and in the longest cases up to half a year.”

“When it comes to how we maintain the balance in the game and knowing what features to include, we always consider very carefully who is actually playing the games. Is it girls or boys, adults or children? When we consider who is playing the game, we make decision as to which features to include and how to maintain the overall balance of the game so it’s appealing.”

On whether he’d ever consider making a core Pokémon RPG on Wii U…

“Pokémon X and Pokémon Y are very different to earlier games, and with the 3DS you can walk around. With the bottom screen there’s a feature called the Player Search System. It’s enabled one to look for and find other players in the same area, so if you’re out and about and there are other people playing Pokémon X and Y, you can see the icons of those trainers on the bottom screen.

“Just by touching the icon of that trainer you can immediately propose to battle or trade with that person. It’s one of the key features of Pokémon X and Pokémon Y which is possible because it is portable.

“But by the same token if you take the game home and you connect it through the internet, then you can do the same thing with other people who are also playing online at the same time. You can trade and battle with people you’ve not met before. We think this mode of play is bets possible with the Nintendo 3DS. If, for example, the Wii U were to be portable in its own right we’d probably reconsider. But for the moment we think the 3DS is the best device for Pokémon RPGs.”

On whether he’d ever consider bringing the series to smartphones…

“One of the considerations we have for Pokémon games is that it can be safely and securely played in a fun environment. Are you happy to give the game to your own child or lend it to another child? Personally, I’m a little bit nervous. I find some of the other mobile platforms a little bit frighting – so to speak – in this respect. Who knows what the future will hold, but definitely the best choice for Pokémon is the Nintendo 3DS.”

On microtransactions and DLC in general, and whether there are any plans for Pokemon…

“Going back to being able to play Pokémon games in a secure environment is critical. One key point obviously is that Pokémon is played a lot by children, and in Japan it’s got a rating where everyone can play it, an ‘E’ rating in America and Europe is slightly stricter. It’s very important for us that as many people as possible are able to play the Pokémon games in a safe environment.

“We like the idea that through Pokémon people can make conversation or you can become friends and that Pokémon can be a safe environment for that. In terms of DLC specifically, I don’t know what shape DLC can take in the future. But at the moment I don’t feel it’s a safe enough mode – so to speak – appropriate for Pokémon.

“There’s no download content or microtransaction content developed specifically for Pokémon X and Y. We’ve not come up with any ideas on that yet. I like the idea that Pokémon can be enjoyed with just one piece of software. You buy the game and it can be enjoyed just with that one software that you buy. That’s a key point for Game Freak.”

On a Pokemon MMORPG…

“Game Freak and Nintendo like to set limiters on what kind of games they create in the future, and there will be all sorts of possibilities and many challenges. Our key mission is to make software and make games that people will enjoy, so in that context Game Freak is responsible of making the core, main series of Pokémon games.

“Rather than looking at it from the point of view of, ‘Do we want to make a game for the Wii U, or do we want to create an MMORPG?’ we are always trying to think of ways to create something which is different. I wasn’t sure if – after Pokémon Black and White – people saw Pokémon X and Y coming, but we really like to challenge ourselves to create something which is different and which will surprise people. We don’t want to just create an MMORPG which has been done before. Our mission is always to create something different that can surprise people.”