Nintendo’s top-secret collaborative project with Bandai Namco was revealed to be Pokken Tournament, a brand new Pokemon-based fighting game. Led by Tekken and Soul Calibur producers Masaaki Hoshino and Katsuhiro Harada, Pokken appears to draw its gameplay from both Tekken and arena-brawlers, such as Bandai Namco’s upcoming Rise of Incarnates. While the 1 min. teaser only shows work-in-progress gameplay, Pokken Tournament has the potential to feature deep, technical fighting game mechanics. At this time, Nintendo’s collaborative title is scheduled for an arcade debut in Japan next year. It’s far too early for specifics, but what is the likelihood of Nintendo bringing this new fighter overseas, and possibly to the Wii U?
This is all just hypothetical, but there are some factors that should be addressed; it’s not as simple as stating, “Yes, Nintendo would be stupid not to.”
Japan is no stranger to regional exclusives; high profile games like Fatal Frame IV or cult classics such as Metal Wolf Chaos almost never make it out of the region. Gamers typically resort to importing games, only to run into another problem- region-specific consoles. In some cases- such as the original Wii and Xbox- American consoles would refuse to play games imported from Europe and Japan, unless the owner resorted to such methods as hacking or downloading Homebrew content. Unfortunately, both the Wii U and the Nintendo 3DS are region-locked; if fans were to import Pokken Tournament, they would still be out of luck without purchasing a Japanese console.
….Assuming Pokken Tournament actually gets a console release.
Arcades are huge in Japan. Sure, we still have arcades here in the US, but most of them are, well….laughable. I’m located in north Texas- the closest actual arcade is Tornado Terry’s, a dedicated arcade with a plethora of vintage cabinets and pinball tables. Outside of that, my options are limited to the arcades at mini-golf courses, some movie theaters and a few pizza joints. Japan is home to some wild arcade games- the first that comes to mind is Gunslinger Stratos from Square Enix. Released in 2012, Statos is a multiplayer third-person shooter, where each player wields dual light guns. Unique to this title, the light guns both feature analog sticks and individual buttons, and can be combined together to form a larger, more powerful weapon.
As cool as this game is, it has yet to release on consoles, and was never released in North America. (It was briefly available in America, but only during GDC 2013.)
Closer to the topic at hand, almost every fighting game released in Japan receives an arcade cabinet version. Some may find this surprising, but most of the time, the arcade version releases months- and occasionally years- before a home console version is developed. This was the case with Persona 4 Arena, the BlazBlue series, and now Guilty Gear Xrd. The arcade-first strategy allows for developers to get live feedback, and actively see how players of varying skill will use each character, discover combos, find potential infinite combos and so forth. Once developers have enough live data, it’s back to the drawing board for the home console version.
With the background and philosophy out of the way, it now boils down to Nintendo’s perception of its worldwide audience. Pokemon is huge. Fighting games are huge. We already have puzzle games, AR games, an interactive voice-oriented title, and even a photography game; Pokemon is a franchise that Nintendo can experiment with, and succeed at doing so. The question currently on Nintendo’s plate is this: “What kind of reception would a Pokemon-themed fighting game receive?”
As of right now, the closest thing we have to a Pokemon fighting game- with some obvious moderation- is the Super Smash Bros. series. (Yes, I’m fully aware of Mugen, and no it doesn’t count.) Stadium and Colosseum brought Pokemon battles into 3D, but they still retained the turn-based mechanics from the handheld games. Again, the teaser trailer only shows work-in-progress gameplay, but Pokken Tournament will be an actual Fighter. The Fighter genre is one of the most demanding in terms of mastery. Each series has its own set of mechanics to figure out- some of which are incredibly deep. As Tekken is one of the most technical franchises on the market, a complex fighting system may alienate some players.
Personally, I love fighting games. Mortal Kombat, Guilty Gear, King of Fighters and Killer Instinct are the franchises that I can absolutely wreck with. It took months- years even- for me to reach my current level in these games. As technical as Killer Instinct is, for whatever reason, I was never able to get the hang of Street Fighter and Marvel VS Capcom sagas. FADC, parrying, and now Red Focus-cancelling….what is this new language? On top of the already complex base gameplay, there were several underlying layers of high-level tactics that I had to learn…I couldn’t get the hang of it, and ultimately quit playing both franchises.
If Pokken Tournament ends up as a super in-depth complex title, it may attract a hardcore crowd of seasoned fighting game players, at the cost of alienating “casual” gamers and Pokemon fans who may not be accustomed to the fighting game genre. Some of the camera angles used in the trailer could even suggest that Pokken is an arena-brawler. This isn’t too absurd of an idea, as Namco Bandai is also developing the PC-exclusive Rise of Incarnates. If this becomes reality, Nintendo may choose to keep the title as a Japanese exclusive. Arena fighters have a much larger presence in Japan- while some of the Gundam fighters and brawlers have come overseas, Anarchy Reigns is the only popular arena-fighter available in the US that comes to mind.
Again, all of this is just speculation- train of thought, so to speak. Even with these possible variables, it goes without saying that there is no way Nintendo would release a Pokemon game of this level, and not bring it to the Wii U. Pokken Tournament has the potential to be yet another killer-app. The GamePad could be used for various control schemes, ranging from a standard controller, to having touch-based special attacks, a la Street Fighter IV on the 3DS. As with almost every other fighting game, Pokken Tournament would benefit tremendously with online support. If Mario Kart 8 can feature video editing and YouTube support, Pokken Tournament could include an option to save matches to the console for later viewing. Online streaming may not be an option, but if Pokken includes some kind of tournament or lobby play (i.e. King of the Hill), there could be a feature that uploads each match into an automated YouTube playlist.
Plus, think about the marketing opportunities this would bring for Nintendo…I would kill for an officially licensed Pokemon fight stick, wouldn’t you?
It would be very wise for Nintendo to bring Pokken Tournament overseas at some point. Pokemon is a huge, astoundingly popular franchise; next to Mario, Pokemon is synonymous with Nintendo. If Nintendo were to fall back into a financial rut for whatever reason, it may even be come as a mandatory decision to release Pokken across other regions. Ultimately, this will all come down to how well the arcade release is received. If gamers enjoy it, then a console release is possible. If there’s an international demand, then expect an international release.
Besides, we only have one trailer right now, and plenty of time for more information to surface before the official Japanese release next year.
