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Nintendo to bring Pokemon to iOS and Android this summer

M

mj1108

Member
http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2011/07/06/nintendo-to-bring-pokemon-to-ios-and-android-this-summer/

Nintendo To Bring Pokemon To iOS And Android This Summer
by Greg Kumparak on July 6, 2011


Hey You, Pokédork!

The every-geek’s guilty-pleasure license is coming to iOS and Android. Surprise! Nintendo has — quite understandably, really — avoided building games or apps for iOS or Android, focusing all of their portable efforts on their own DS platform.

Alas, there’s a catch. Prep yourself for a bit of bubble-bursting, then join us behind the jump.

The catch: while Pokemon Say Tap? might feature a number of your favorite pocket monsters, it’s nothing like the classic Pokemon games as you know it. It’s part card game, part rhythm game, but no parts roaming-around-in-tall-grass-and-capturing-things. Sadly, there’s no indication that this game will see the light of day outside of Japan.

Also sad: after news of the iOS game breaking in Japan sent Nintendo stock rocketing up by nearly 5%, a Nintendo rep reiterated that they do not intend to focus much effort into iOS/Android development, and that their strategy “hasn’t changed and won’t change.” My dreams of a gyroscope-powered Pokemon Snap have been crushed.

Fun Fact: The name “iOS” (well, IOS, with a capital i) was actually used by Nintendo long before Apple. Its the name of the operating system that runs on one of the Wii’s coprocessors. The More You Know!
Click to expand...
 
ULTROS!

ULTROS!

People seem to like me because I am polite and I am rarely late. I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks.
Whoa, now this is surprising.
 
A

AbsoluteZero

Banned
Not that big 'o news. Pokemon is only 33% Nintendo, guys.

(The other 33% owning to Game Freak and Creatures, Inc. respectively.)

Also technically Pokemon is owned by The Pokemon Company, a completely separate company from Nintendo.
 
N

NEO0MJ

Member
Really unexpected. Iss this the first Nintendo sofware not on one of their systems since the early 90s PC games they had?
 
R

RoboPlato

I'd be in the dick
Wow, I never expected to see this. Especially after the shit talking they've been doing about iOS and Android gaming.
 
N

neoanarch

Member
%5

THAT IS MAJOR.


I could see them canning this because of it actually. I actually wish Nintendo would embrace the Android/IOS open developer environment. I was hoping the 3ds was more like that.
 
W

wsippel

Banned
NEO0MJ said:
Really unexpected. Iss this the first Nintendo sofware not on one of their systems since the early 90s PC games they had?
Click to expand...
No. Which makes this non-news. There have been five Pokémon PC games, a free to play online game, a cellphone game (Pokémate, released in 2006) and seven Pokémon titles on Sega Pico.
 
M

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
Some sanity.
http://www.giantbomb.com/news/nintendo-of-america-dont-even-think-about-pokemon-for-iphone/3463/

There will be a Pokémon app released for iPhone and Android phones this summer. Titled Pokemon Say Tap? BW, it's not a full-fledged Pokémon video game, rather a promotional spin-off, a card-based rhythm game focused around Pokémon Black and White.

After the news broke, speculation ran wild Nintendo was dipping its toes into the water outside its own platforms. Its stock even went up.

Nintendo of Japan strongly denied such chatter, citing that it doesn't outright own The Pokemon Company or the Pokemon franchise. Thus, The Pokemon Company was within its right to experiment like this.

I asked Nintendo of America whether the app would appear in North America, and while the company didn't address its English prospects, they provided a stern rebuttal of any speculation of this signaling a potential future for Nintendo franchises in a post-handheld world.

"On July 1, the Pokémon Company announced that it was launching a free Android and iOS application in Japan called "Pokémon IeTap? BW" (phonetic)," said the company in a statement. "The Pokémon Company routinely launches applications for cell phones and PCs as a way to promote its non-video game products, such as a music CD and Pokémon TCG [Trading Card Game] cards in this instance. Since they are intended purely as promotional tools, not as unique video games, Nintendo is not involved in any way."

The Pokemon Company is the marketing branch of the Pokemon brand. Game Freak actually develops the Pokemon video games. Nintendo has a joint stake in The Pokemon Company.

It seems pretty clear Pokemon Say Tap? BW is intended as a promotional one-off, and as Nintendo's reiterating here, it's specifically designed to celebrate the Pokemon Trading Card game.

"The relationship between the two companies is unaffected," the company continued. "All Pokémon video game content will continue to appear exclusively on Nintendo platforms. As stated previously, Nintendo has no intention or plans of publishing its IP on non-Nintendo platforms. This is an example of a promotion by a key Nintendo partner and has no bearing on Nintendo's overall strategy."

That's about as strong of a denial as they come--as if it's any surprise. 3DS isn't selling at the same pace as the wildly successful DS, but Nintendo is a company that would have to be on wounded knee before releasing its games on a platform it didn't control. That's not to say it won't ever happen, but Nintendo's hardly in the gutter at the moment, and it'll be a long time before the company changes strategy. A man can dream, though.

All that said, I sure as hell would love an augmented reality version of Pokémon Snap on iPhone or 3DS.
Click to expand...
 
P

Poyunch

Member
SpaceBridge said:
I was under the impression Nintendo viewed Apple as its main competition in the future. Weird.
Click to expand...
Nintendo's plan is to saturate the store with more crap while also making some money on the side.
 
E

east of eastside

Banned
Ydahs said:
The Pokemon Company is bringing it over, not Nintendo.
Click to expand...

So, Pokemon Kinect game next, right? And Nintendo would have no say in it?

Nevermind that Nintendo own the Pokemon property has a controlling stake in TPC and funds GameFreak.
 
M

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
Real Pokemon video games are Nintendo-platform exclusive.
This is nothing more than a marketing tool being released by TPC as a free iOS/Android app.
 
W

wsippel

Banned
east of eastside said:
So, Pokemon Kinect game next, right? And Nintendo would have no say in it?

Nevermind that Nintendo own the Pokemon property has a controlling stake in TPC and funds GameFreak.
Click to expand...
If Pokémon Kinect was a free minigame promoting Pokémon on Nintendo systems or the TCG, Nintendo wouldn't care.
 
W

watershed

Banned
I thought this was already posted a few days ago? I seem to remember discussing it...

Anyways, its neat, I may check the app out.
 
J

jooey

The Motorcycle That Wouldn't Slow Down
Koopakiller said:
wait so what's stopping the pokemon company from making a full-fledged pokemon game on ps360?
Click to expand...
Nintendo still has a STAKE for god's sake.
 
M

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
Koopakiller said:
wait so what's stopping the pokemon company from making a full-fledged pokemon game on ps360?
Click to expand...

Pokemon video games are Nintendo-platform exclusive.
This is a silly little app to serve as a marketing tool.
 
E

EmCeeGramr

Member
Koopakiller said:
wait so what's stopping the pokemon company from making a full-fledged pokemon game on ps360?
Click to expand...
Releasing marketing material or supplemental edutainment on alternate platforms that Nintendo approves of is quite a different beast than allowing a company you own a controlling stake in to make a full fledged game costing tens of millions in development money for your competitors.
 
G

Gravijah

Member
EmCeeGramr said:
Releasing marketing material or supplemental edutainment on alternate platforms that Nintendo approves of is quite a different beast than allowing a company you own a controlling stake in to make a full fledged game costing tens of millions in development money for your competitors.
Click to expand...

It's also not the first time this has happened with Pokemon or hell even other Nintendo properties.
 
X

XiaNaphryz

LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
Isn't the thread title misleading? I thought it was the Pokemon Company doing this, not Nintendo.
 
M

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
east of eastside said:
Why bother break the sacred "no Nintendo properties on other platforms" for a silly marketing promotion?

Don't buy it.
Click to expand...

This isn't even close to the first time this happens.
To Pokemon or even to full blown Nintendo IPs.
 
W

wsippel

Banned
AbsoluteZero said:
Not that big 'o news. Pokemon is only 33% Nintendo, guys.

(The other 33% owning to Game Freak and Creatures, Inc. respectively.)

Also technically Pokemon is owned by The Pokemon Company, a completely separate company from Nintendo.
Click to expand...
Considering Creatures, Inc. is a subsidiary of Nintendo, they actually own 67%.
 
E

east of eastside

Banned
Those aren't relevant competing platforms or even significant examples. iOS and Android are actually taking significant sales away from Nintendo.
 
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