Pokken Tournament Released Outside Of Japan A ‘Possibility’
Just as Evo 2015 is about to kick off a weekend of action across 8 different live streams, news comes out from Japan about the possibility of another Japan-only fighting game to make its way across the ocean. A recent episode of Imagine-Nation from NHK World (as reported by Siliconera) featured interviews with those at The Pokemon Company and Bandai Namco, with The Pokemon Company president Tsunekazu Ishihara confirming that consideration for a worldwide release of Pokken Tournament has been taken into account.
“I think the possibility definitely exists,” Ishihara says. “Basically, as an arcade game we would like to push the boundaries of combining familiar Pokémon characters with new and unexpected ones in battle. We want to show people different kinds of Pokémon characters that they can actually use.”
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With a title like Tekken 7 set to be played at Evo 2015 (despite its current state as a Japan-only arcade title), the possibility that Pokken Tournament could flourish on the competitive scene here in North America is a possibility. That’s before taking into account the millions of people who have bought handheld Pokemon games here in North America, starting from Red, Blue and Yellow all the way up to X & Y (plus Omega Red and Alpha Sapphire).
There’s a market in North America that is definitely willing to look at Pokken Tournament with open arms, and I’m sure Nintendo is aware of that. Even in Japan, the arcade uses a wide controller with a D-Pad, ABYX and L+R buttons, providing a console-like function to an arcade cabinet. Porting it over to consoles in Japan would not only be fairly easy, but the localization process wouldn’t be nearly as strenuous as it would for a story-based game like Fire Emblem Fates. Plus, it would be a new experience for those who know Pokemon only as a non-complex RPG title.
I’m sure that if Pokken Tournament didn’t make its way to North America or Europe, both The Pokemon Company and Nintendo would be leaving money on the table. However, with so many ideas that can be done with the Pokemon IP that neither company has explored to date, it’s not like that would be so new to them.
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