The Pokémon Company in conjunction with Bandai Namco Games is releasing a new Pokémon game called Pokkén Tournament, in which players pocket monsters fight in HD.
"Whether you are a casual player, a regular player or a hardcore player, anyone who likes Pokémon can have fun," said Katsuhiro Harada from Namco.
The game is being developed in Japan, and is scheduled for a 2015 release. It seems the game may only be released in Japan and likely only for Japanese arcades before ever arriving on a console.
The game is not the role-playing game many were hoping for as it is an arcade-style fighting game. Pokkén Tournament is being developed alongside Bandai Namco, who is known for its Tekken series of arcade-style fighting games. Pokkén Tournament's name is largely influenced by the Tekken series and should have very similar game play as well.
The game was first hinted at in August 2013, at which time trademarks for "Pokkén Tournament" and "Pokkén Fighters" were also discovered.
"For adult Pokémon fans, because we got our best developers, we made the best graphics, and created the best action game, so please! Please look forward to this," Masaaki Hoshino said, the producer of the game.
The game is reportedly aimed at a very wide audience, but it is also aimed at mostly adults.
While the game does look exciting, many were hoping for a Pokémon game to be released that is a console-based RPG. Nintendo reportedly does not want to ruin its draw with the Pokémon series on handheld devices and it thinks that a console-based Pokémon RPG would steal some of its handheld thunder.
Not only that, but Nintendo also believes that a Pokémon multiplayer RPG may damage Pokémon's reputation as being family friendly. Often online multiplayer games can turn a little sour, and it's easy to see a multiplayer Pokémon RPG doing the same.
Releasing a Pokémon RPG, however, could be the boost in Wii U sales that Nintendo was hoping for. The Wii U has not achieved anywhere near the same success as the Sony PlayStation 4 or the Microsoft Xbox One, but a brand like Pokémon could really help close the gap.
