Pokken Tournament Removed From Japanese Arcade
According to a recent series of tweets from arcade operators in Japan, Pokken Tournament is on its way out in several arcades in the country. Helpful redditor AdmiralJuicy provided a translation and discussion on the issue.
It’s an interesting problem to have, as you’d expect a fighting game with Pokemon characters to go over better in Japan than in the west, which is perhaps what The Pokemon Company and Bandai/Namco thought when they initially announced it to Japanese markets exclusively. Some redditors questioned the popularity of such machines in the US, with comments such as this one from JerrelSyrup69:
"I played the game for two days. 1 hour each at Dave & Busters in NYC. The game is pretty fun, but it’s bare bones when it comes to combos,advance techniques and basically most things you’d expect from a 3D fighter…I don’t know quite how to explain it- the game feels like it is somewhere in the middle. Too basic for hardcore players who come from a Tekken or Street Fighter background, and somewhat too complex for casuals. I can’t speak for everyone, but the Pokken machines were mostly a ghost town with little interest at Daves, while everyone was raving near the Tekken 7 machines."
It’s not time to cry Doomsday for Pokken Tournament yet, though. Joe Merrick, webmaster and creator of Serebii, pointed out that in spite of their removal in some places in Japan, Pokken machines were still widely popular:
So, for those concerned about Pokkén Tournament being dropped from an arcade, it's actually the third most popular arcade game in Japan atm.
— Joe Merrick (@JoeMerrick) October 21, 2015
Then there’s also the fact that, though Dave & Busters remains a popular attraction in some areas, the arcade scene in the US at least is weak at best. A console release of Pokken Tournament on the Wii U would likely be met with wider success, as it would find it easier to reach Pokemon fans directly instead of attempting to cater to a general arcade-going crowd who may find other games more familiar or accessible.
We’ll just have to see what the future holds.
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