Nintendo today revealed the next generation of titles in the Pokemon series, with a pair of games for Nintendo 3DS due for release later this year.
Pokemon X and Pokemon Y are set for launch this October, and Nintendo president Satoru Iwata was keen to stress that the games will release worldwide at the same time, rather than receiving a Japanese launch first as per usual.
These new titles mark big changes for the franchise on Nintendo handheld systems, as the visuals and battle scenes have been completely revamped to take advantage of the Nintendo 3DS's capabilities.
And as you'd expect, Iwata's short Nintendo Direct presentation -- which only lasted around 10 minutes, and spent the majority of that time listing the history of the Pokemon series -- showed off new Pokemon creatures that will be introduced alongside the titles.
The last Pokemon RPG titles in the main franchise were Pokemon Black and White 2, released for the Nintendo DS late last year. Pokemon X and Y will be the sixth generation of titles for handhelds.
This is just AWESOME! Pokemon Black and White were pretty good but this looks like it will blow it out of the water! Also I can already see this helping the sale of 3DS immensely.
I am also guessing they decide to call it pokemon X and Y(and I'm guessing there wil be a pokemon Z) to refer to coordinates.
In Japan, the 3DS is already on record pace, set to outsell every other mobile console in history. With Pokemon X/Y and Monster Hunter 4 on the horizon it is clear that sales are going to keep going and likely increase. In short, Nintendo has a run-away success story in the 3DS in Japan.
In the US the story hasn't been at all the same. Perhaps Pokemon X/Y will help turn things around. The hardware is selling well in the US (near DS levels still!), but the software has lagged behind, which creates concern. As someone who loves games, I hope to see more big US-centric titles in the 3DS, I love joysticks and the deeper experiences that dedicated handheld systems provide.
I am also guessing they decide to call it pokemon X and Y(and I'm guessing there wil be a pokemon Z) to refer to coordinates.
In the US the story hasn't been at all the same. Perhaps Pokemon X/Y will help turn things around. The hardware is selling well in the US (near DS levels still!), but the software has lagged behind, which creates concern. As someone who loves games, I hope to see more big US-centric titles in the 3DS, I love joysticks and the deeper experiences that dedicated handheld systems provide.