MMO! Pokemon does not choose you
If you've been waiting for a Pokemon MMO to come out, we're afraid we've got some bad news for you. In an interview with What They Play, Pokemon series director Junichi Masuda confirmed that they're not considering going in the MMO direction at this time. As he stated in the interview, "Trading is a core concept of Pokemon. So when you're trading, you meet with a friend and decide which one you want and which one they want. I would like to emphasize real-world communication. You don't see each other online."
That said, we've heard rumblings from some of our readers about Ether Saga, which appears to be based on a pet-collecting and fighting system - although we'd note we haven't played it and can't judge just how similar the two might be in practice. Perhaps the creators of Pokemon will reconsider their no-MMO decision down the road. Sure, you may not see people face-to-face when it comes to online gaming, but handled properly, MMOs can be a great way to meet new people and potentially make friends you wouldn't have met otherwise.
[via GamesIndustry]
