Pokemon CEO on series: main games unlikely on mobile, Pikachu’s popularity, Exeggutor love
Pokemon CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, touched on Pokemon GO’s success and how seeing the main games make their way to smartphone was unlikely. Though he did not say that it would never happen, he did say that “the chance of finding success in taking a product made for one platform and bringing it over to another is quite low.”
Comparing the upcoming 3DS titles Sun and Moon to a mobile game like GO, he noted that they are more like a novel or movie. He also stated that the next main goal for the series is to make the series’ widespread appeal last.
He also shared a few interesting tidbits about the series from the start. First, he notes that the team was actually surprised with the popularity of Pikachu, saying “none of us really thought Pikachu was particularly special.”
He also said that he has a particular fondness for Exeggutor, since he used it a lot while testing the programming of the original games. He actually had wanted to give the coconut-based Pokemon a bigger chance in the spotlight for a while, and so, with the popular Alola Exeggutor making its way into Sun and Moon, said “my dream is finally a reality. I’m glad to see what Exeggutor has become.”
