Pokemon as a gaming franchise has been around for nearly two decades. Given its popularity, Pokemon won’t be slowing down any time soon and we’ll continue to see new entries in the franchise.
Where might Pokemon go from here though? Game Freak’s Junichi Masuda won’t give any specifics away, but he did tease to Polygon that he has “some big-picture ideas” for the series.
Masuda said:
There’s probably going to be a lot more games; we might not be able to use the “Gotta catch ’em all” catchphrase anymore [laughs]. Of course, we want to keep creating things that will surprise and delight fans. I don’t think that’s going to change. … I have some big-picture ideas, but I can’t really talk about them.
Last year, Koei Tecmo executive vice president Hisashi Koinuma mentioned that he’d love to use Mario in a Musou-type game. That was not a joke – Koinuma was being completely serious.
Koinuma elaborated on his original comment while speaking with Polygon, with the site reporting:
He sees Mario as a character that would need to branch out from hand-to-hand combat but could focus on his distinctive moves. Speaking hypothetically, Koinuma suggests Mario could “blast enemies off the screen or knock them unconscious” with his moveset. “I suppose the game would be balanced so the kids could enjoy it as their first action game experience, whereas the adults could enjoy the game with friends and families as a group,” he says.
Pokemon producer Junichi Masuda also weighed in on Musou. He’d be open to seeing the Pokemon franchise cross over with Koei Tecmo’s IP if it wasn’t too violent. During his discussion with Polygon, Masuda suggested that perhaps players could throw out a lot of Pokeballs. It would also need a new form of gameplay so as to not feel too familiar.
Bandai Namco’s Katsuhiro Harada briefly touched on Pokken Tournament’s origins while speaking with Polygon. When Bandai Namco met with Pokemon Company president Tsunekazu Ishihara about licensing music for Taiko Drum Master, Ishihara surprised them with an idea for a game similar to Tekken. Harada says he is spending a lot of time on Pokken Tournament since it’s the first title in a potential new franchise and because the team has less experience than the group behind Tekken.
Did you miss out on the initial round of codes for the Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate demo? Well, good news! More are being distributed. Check your email and you may find a couple of codes sitting in your inbox.
Update 3: All games are back to their normal prices.
Update 2: Back in stock on Amazon!
Update: Monster Hunter is gone on Amazon, but Walmart has it for the same price.
Several new deals have gone live on Amazon, including Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate for $27, Super Smash Bros. Wii U for $41, and more. Find our roundup below.
Pokemon Omega Ruby
– $26.85
Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate
– $27.36
Fire Emblem: Awakening
– $27.41
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
– $41.05
200,000 amiibo figures have been sold in France, Nintendo has announced. That figure accounts for all sales since the product line launched in late November.
amiibo has been extremely successful in other territories as well. For instance, Nintendo confirmed earlier this month that nearly 2.6 million figures have been sold in the U.S. thus far.
