Pocket-Monsters
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'Pocket Monsters: The Origin' anime TV special takes Pokemon back to basics
Pocket Monsters: The Origin, unveiled during this weekend's ongoing Pokemon Game Show in Tokyo, is a new animated TV special slated to air on TV Tokyo on October 2 at 7 p.m. local time. As the name implies, The Origin takes the world of Pokemon anime back to its franchise's humble roots as a Game Boy game. Based on Pocket Monsters Red and Green, The Origin forgoes Ash Ketchum and Pikachu for Pocket Monsters Red's eponymous lead and his Charmander. Gary Oak has likewise been replaced with Green, the lead from (you guessed it!) Pocket Monsters Green. Professor Oak/Dr. Okido and Brock/Takeshi do return, although Misty/Kasumi is nowhere to be found in the above trailer. No word yet on if Nintendo has any plans on localizing the special, or if it is more than just a one-off installment.
Pokemon World Championship Series dated
Warm up your Bidoofs and polish off your Pawniards, because it's time to start preparing your flock of collectable pocket monsters for the 2012 Pokemon Championship Series! Comprised of a series of battles held across Europe, the top 4 trainers from each tournament will win an all-expenses-paid trip to the Pokemon World Championship in sunny, distinctly non-european Hawaii, USA. Players are separated into three divisions based on age: Junior, for those born after 2001, Senior, for those born between 1997 and 2000, and Master, for grizzled old Poke-veterans born before 1996. All participants must bring their own (3)DS and must battle using their regions' version of Pokemon Black/White. The latest National Pokedex has been opened for use, meaning that all all 646 Pokemon are eligible for ranked tournament battles, save for a small handfull of legendary and extremely rare monsters. Check out this PDF for the complete rules and jump past the break for tournament dates and locations.
Nintendo's Pokemon getting an iOS app
Nintendo has been careful not to support Apple at all with its iOS initiative -- though mobile devices are huge in Japan (and a lot of Japanese companies have found success even on the North American App Store), the general feeling out of the video gaming giant seems to be that Apple's iPhone and iPod touch is a threat to Nintendo's huge handheld gaming legacy. But here's an exception to that plan -- the Pokemon team plans to release an official iOS app in Japan. The app will be called Pokemon Say Tap? BW, and rather than a full Pokemon game, the app will be a rhythm title, where Pokemon cards appear on the screen and you have to tap them to a certain beat. It's hardly the port of Super Mario Bros. that we've been looking for (and it's likely we'll never see this app in the US), but as far as I know, this is the first actual release from anything Nintendo-related on the iOS side of things. The company's been less-than-complimentary on what Apple has done to their gaming market so far, but it's tough to ignore the audience that Apple's iPhone has created, and this is the result of that. [via Joystiq]
Rise and Shiny recap: Mytheon
Each week Rise and Shiny asks you to download and try a different free-to-play, indie or unusual game, chosen by me, Beau Hindman. Some of the games will be far out of your gaming comfort zone, and some will pleasantly surprise you. We will meet each Tuesday and Friday night at 9 p.m. EDT (8 p.m. CDT time) followed by this column the Sunday after. I welcome any suggestions for games, either in the comments or at beau@massively.com. I'm a simple man. I need a strong cup of coffee in the morning, walks with my two dogs, a kiss from my wife -- and giants. Lots of giants. Mytheon is a perfect game for a simple man like me. It installs easily and the controls are basic. It is by no means perfect, but I am not sure that it is trying to be. Like me, it's simple. It wants you to control miniature armies of centaurs, cyclopses and skeletons, and it wants you to kill things while controlling that army. See? Simple.
Wii pay-per-view programming introduced in Japan
Not only are we still waiting for the TV Guide Channel that Japanese Wii users have been indulging in for the better part of two years, but now Variety is reporting that Nintendo has teamed up with a dozen corporate partners to tease us with a Japanese pay-per-view service for the console. Premiering last Saturday, Wii no Ma (Wii's Room) currently has 120 titles, including episodes of Sesame Street and Pocket Monsters, available for prices ranging from ¥30 - ¥500 ($.35 - $5.63). According to Variety, titles can also be viewed on your Nintendo DSi handheld, a device known for its sonority and large, appealing display. No word yet on when we can enjoy a Stateside version, but we'll let you know as soon as we hear something. In the meantime, there's always PlayOn.
