The Pokemon Company not saying if Shadow Mewtwo is canon
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 8 Comments
Shadow Mewtwo was created in close collaboration with the minds behind Pokemon for Pokken Tournament. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the creature is a canonical part of the overall universe.
In an interview with Polygon, Pokken Tournament producer Masaaki Hoshino said:
“When we were originally coming up with the design, we worked very closely with The Pokémon Company and Game Freak to make sure everything was right. What happened was, we at Bandai Namco had the idea of making a really cool dark-colored Mewtwo, so we had one of our designers take a crack at it and then presented that to The Pokémon Company and Game Freak. They all thought it looked really cool, so then we worked together to brush it up.”
“Because everyone really liked Shadow Mewtwo, I have a personal hope that they’ll continue to use it, but it’s not really our decision, unfortunately.”
Tekken producer Katsuhiro Harada, who is also working on Pokken Tournament, weighed in as well:
“For this game, it is kind of a spin-off from the main series. It takes place in this area called the Ferrum Region, which means something like ‘Iron Region,’ playing back into the Tekken connection. So, within the context of this spin-off, [Shadow Mewtwo] is obviously a canonical character. Of course, how The Pokémon Company and Game Freak decide to use the character is up to them, but I think Mr. Hoshino’s passion for the character might inspire them and encourage them to use it!”
Polygon also reached out to The Pokemon Company and asked if Shadow Mewtwo can be considered canon. To that, a representative said “No comment.”
Lost Reavers is being made by young devs, Bandai Namco trying to reach new audience on Wii U
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U eShop | 26 Comments
The most recent of Famitsu has a two-page feature on Lost Reavers, Bandai Namco’s upcoming free-to-start title for Wii U. There’s more about the game in general as well as a brief interview with producers Takashi Otani and Katsuhiro Harada.
First, here’s an overview of the different characters:
Sayuri: “The Short Range and Long Range All-Rounder”
Using a katana for short-ranged attacks and a submachine gun for shooting, it is easy to use her and is thus recommended for first-time players.
Dwayne: “A Firepower Oriented Power Type”
At the core of this character is his assault rifle, though there is the possibility of using many other smaller firearms. When using his powerful bazooka, the exhilaration one feels is outstanding.
Shadow Stalker: “Tricky and Versatile in Attacking”
Fights wielding both a melee weapon and a shotgun. Has a characteristic combo that consists of him reloading while attacking. For advanced players.
Victoria
Rather than rapid-fire damage, she is a skilled shooter who focuses more on dealing damage in one shot. Recommended for those who enjoy shooting games.
Pokken Tournament – not just Tekken with Pokemon, made for Pokemon fans
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 5 Comments
Bandai Namco’s Katsuhiro Harada spoke with Famitsu this week about Pokken Tournament. The arcade fighter is launching very soon in Japan – tomorrow, actually.
In one part of the interview, Harada explains that Pokken Tournament isn’t just a Tekken game with a Pokemon skin slapped on.
“It’s a solid versus game, but at its core, it’s an action game for Pokémon fans. People might think that because we’ve worked on games like Tekken and Soul Calibur or because of the name ‘Pokkén,’ that this game is made for established fighting game players, but I’d like to come straight out and say ‘no, it isn’t.’”
Harada eventually goes on to say that Pokken Tournament was made with Pokémon fans in mind as opposed to fighting game players.
“The tech to make the game and the knowhow behind the massive amount of animations comes from our experience working on the games we’ve made before, but with the gameplay, we’ve set our sights on Pokémon fans.”
One way in which the team attempted to appeal to Pokemon fans was through the UI. This was changed from something that may fighting experts would be familiar with.
“Having the camera looking at the characters facing each other from the side with their stamina bars on the top left and right of the screen is an established fighting game format, but that’s something that experienced fighting game players can understand on instinct. That might give Pokémon fans the impression that the game is harder than it is, so we’ve intentionally gotten rid of that.”
Harada also has some tips for novice players. He suggests that these gamers “should especially focus on blocking”. Even though combos and technique are important, properly blocking enemies’ attacks was the most important divider between beginners and experienced players.
Pokken Tournament – aimed at both kids and adults, game could head west, more
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 4 Comments
The latest episode of the Japanese program Imagine-Nation features Pokken Tournament. The Pokémon Company president Tsunekazu Ishihara and Bandai Namco’s Katsuhiro Harada were interviewed as part of the show.
Ishihara and Harada touched on a number of topics, ranging from who the game is aimed at to the possibility of a western release. Head past the break for their comments.
Pokken Tournament came about thanks to an idea from Pokemon president Tsunekazu Ishihara
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 7 Comments
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.
Pokken Tournament has strict guidelines, sequels could happen
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 15 Comments
Korean site Inven recently had the opportunity to interview Bandai Namco’s Katsuhiro Harada. Among the topics discussed was Pokken Tournament, which is coming to arcades (and hopefully Wii U eventually).
Harada first noted that there are “really strict” guidelines when it comes to Pokken Tournament.
He also shared the following:
“There’s a huge fan base of children for Pokemon to appeal to. But surprisingly the idea of Pokken was well received. We first had the idea of having around 20 Pokemon trainers fight each other in the game but that idea was thrown out after 2 seconds.”
Finally, when asked about the possibility of Pokken becoming a new long term project (think sequels), Harada responded:
“I feel like this game (Pokken) can always be improved in new installments Having 700 different varieties of Pokemon gives a lot of freedom.”
More: interview, Katsuhiro Harada, Pokken Tournament, top
Bandai Namco on why Pokken Tournament is being made for arcade first
Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 10 Comments
Prior to Pokken Tournament’s announcement, many gamers assumed that the title would be confirmed for Wii U. That didn’t happen though, as it’s only for arcades at present.
In an interview with Japanese website 4Gamer, Bandai Namco’s Katsuhiro Harada explained why Pokken Tournament is hitting arcades first. When 4Gamer said that Pokemon is considered family-oriented and that this isn’t necessarily the same for arcades, Harada responded:
Pokken Tournament targeted at fans between the ages of 18 and 30
Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 3 Comments
With Pokken Tournament, The Pokemon Company and Bandai Namco hope to appeal to older fans. Producer Katsuhiro Harada, in an interview with 4Gamer, said that the team is “aiming for something over 18 years of age to the early 30s” when it comes to age demographics.
Harada said:
“Naturally, it’s being developed into something that elementary school children can also enjoy, but if we’re talking about age demographics, we’re aiming for something over 18 years of age to the early 30s.”
“When it comes to Pokémon, everyone says they love it up until the fourth grade, and what’s funny is that there are kids who graduate from it after that. Well… it’s not that they ‘graduate,’ since they’re still fans, but they just don’t show [their enthusiasm], and kind of play it more behind-the-scenes.”
“That applies to some of the kids out there. However, for some reason, once they get into their 20s, there are more and more people who enthusiastically share their love for Pokémon.”
“This title is being made as an ‘adult’s Pokémon’ for that generation of people who grew up with Pokémon. Those in their 20s and 30s today have spent a lot of time during their school days with Pokémon, and have some strong memories looking back at the games and anime.”
“And for those people, Pokkén will finally allow them to experience what it’s like to freely move around their favorite Pokémon, and I expect it to be a very impressive title. Please look forward to it.”
Pokemon president and Katsuhiro Harada talk a bit about Pokken Tournament’s origins
Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 1 Comment
Famitsu shares a little bit on Pokken Tournament’s origins this week as part of an interview with Bandai Namco’s Katsuhiro Harada and Pokemon president Tsunekazu Ishihara.
According to Harada, he approached Ishihara with a different idea after receiving the offer to collaborate. Ishihara, however, already had his mind made up.
As noted by Harada:
“At first, I offered a collaboration with a different title, but when my messenger returned [from Pokémon Company], he said ‘Mr. Ishihara wants to collaborate with Tekken.’ Not only that, but [Mr. Ishihara] had already settled on a title — the entire office was dumbfounded.”
Ishihara also said:
“I figured that if we’re going to make this, I wanted to team up with some place that had the best technical skills, so I was glad we were able to ask a development team of such high pedigree.”
Pokken Tournament devs – Mega Evolutions, amount of Pokemon, development 30% done, more
Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News | 6 Comments
This week’s issue of Famitsu has a new interview about Pokken Tournament with Pokemon Company CEO and president Tsunekazu Ishihara, Tekken series chief producer Katsuhiro Harada, and Soulcalibur producer Masaaki Hoshino. You can find some excerpts after the break (courtesy of Siliconera).
