While younger gamers enjoy the simple thrill of encountering new monsters, older players pore over the complex numbers game that lies behind the kid-friendly exterior, breeding creatures to improve their team's statistics – and their chances in combat.Īttempting to appeal to such a wide audience is a tricky balancing act, but the Japanese sales would suggest Game Freak has struck gold once again: Black and White were the country's biggest-selling games of last year, reaching a combined 5 million sales in January, the fastest titles to do so. Though the cartoon series and cuddly merchandise might suggest to many that Pokémon is a game for children, it would hardly be the success it is today without a sizable adult audience. The series' accessible but deep battling system has grown into a digital sport, with the annual Pokémon Video Game Championships drawing ever-larger numbers. Yet the compulsive collector isn't the only kind of Pokémon player. There are Pokémon exclusive to each version, which is not only a useful – some would say cynical – moneyspinner for the publisher, but encourages player trading a feature that has been simplified with local infra-red connectivity, as well as more comprehensive and transparent online options.
After the credits roll, monsters from the previous games can be traded across and picked up from newly unlocked areas, as players attempt to reach the new tally of 649. Not that those who've spent hundreds of hours amassing their collection will be forgotten. "In order to surprise players, we need to have something different," explains designer and composer Junichi Masuda. There's a more dynamic and expansive world to explore, reworked graphics and, most important, a fresh batch of Pokémon, with any old creatures seemingly consigned to the dustbin of history. Yet, unlike many turn-based role-playing games from Japan, the game has found favour overseas, winning over a worldwide audience with a traditional approach allied to some genuinely forward-thinking ideas.Įven so, its creators have decided it's time for a new beginning. The formula, which sees a young trainer set out on an adventure to befriend and battle with the eponymous "pocket monsters" hasn't changed a great deal since the series' inception, even as the menagerie has swelled rapidly in size, with a whopping 493 different varieties to be collected. Celebrating its 15th birthday this year, developer Game Freak is bringing over new titles Pokémon Black Version and White Version to the west and hoping a fresh start can encourage a new generation to, as the game's motto suggests, "catch 'em all".Īs with the creatures that inhabit its world, the series has evolved slowly over the years.
A s the second-biggest videogame-based media franchise in the world – topped only by Nintendo's Mario series – Pokémon has become more than just a game.
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