Fans of the popular Pokemon video game franchise should be excited. 2016 marks the Pokémon franchise’s’ 20th anniversary and Japanese gaming company Nintendo has decided to celebrate the occasion with a plethora of poké–goodies for Pikachu and pals.
The videogame company will be releasing a special Nintendo 3DS bundle pack on Feb. 27, 2016 which Nintendo has named “Pokémon Day,” to celebrate the anniversary of Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue. The 3DS units will be outfitted with different faceplates depicting Charizard and Blastoise, for Red and Blue respectively, and will have both versions preinstalled on the system. An added bonus for any classic Pokémon fans is the inclusion of Pokémon Yellow in the deal.
For fans of the series that already have their own 3DS, gamers can pick up either the remastered Pokémon Red or Pokémon Blue on the Nintendo Eshop. If this was not enough Pokémon game news, a brand new Pokémon video game will be hitting North American shores this year. Pokémon Tournament, as it will be known in North America, is a fighting game in the style of Mortal Kombat featuring Pokémon. Pokkén Tournament will no doubt be less violent than any game in the Mortal Kombat franchise. Originally an arcade game released exclusively in Japan, the North American release of Pokkén Tournament will feature an expanded roster of characters and updated game modes, compared to its arcade counterpart.
Pokémon will also be making their first foray into augmented reality gaming with Pokémon Go, a mobile game that allows users to “catch” Pokémon in the real world. Gamers can purchase the Pokémon go Plus, a Bluetooth device in the shape of a pokéball, that will flash and vibrate when a catchable Pokémon is nearby. Players can then battle their friends with their new Pokémon and be the very best—like no one ever was. The fact that Pokémon Go is a smaller mobile game allows its publisher to release updates to the game more frequently than if it was released in a more typical fashion. Users of Pokémon Go, can expect a wide range of updates and features to be released in the future if the game proves to be popular and, knowing Pokémon’s track record, that will probably be the case.
Additionally, the three original Pokémon movies, Pokémon the First Movie, Pokémon 2000, and Pokémon 3: The Movie, are all being bundled together and released on Blu Ray for the first time. These childhood movies will be remastered with high-definition animation, making it more enjoyable for fans to re-watch these old favourites.
Nintendo has also announced a new expansion to their popular trading card game, that will be released later this year. While these announcements are significant, Nintendo has promised a slew of additional Pokémon promotions to make their way to North American GameStop locations over the next 12 months.