Retro_Link Posted May 19, 2008 Posted May 19, 2008 http://www.cubed3.com/news/10049 Pokémon MMO Pitched by Nnooo Nnooo may have the answer for Pokémon fans looking for more: an MMO being pitched to the folk at Nintendo. The developers of WiiWare game Pop are keen on producing a massively multiplayer online game for the Pokémon series, and according to their licences page the company are pitching their ideas. A Pokémon MMO would involve a huge world for players to roam about in simultaneously, co-operate and complete - being able to see and communicate with real human players. The company have also drafted up ideas for an online James Bond game and an MMO featuring folk from the X-Men universe. Would a smaller developer be able to take on such a big project? In any case some fresh ideas from smaller studios could be the inspiration needed to take the series further. Would Nintendo really entrust their most lucrative franchise to such a small third party? Maybe it'll spur Nintendo on towards creating Pokemon MMO, then again, if Nintendo are focusing on Animal Crossing, they may let someone else [Nnooo] at least have a go at developing the game and see what they can come up with!
ShadowV7 Posted May 19, 2008 Posted May 19, 2008 I think their too small for Nintendo to even consider them to be honest. Might sound cruel but I think if Nintendo allowed a Pokemon MMO, it would be for a bigger and more trusted company.
Jonnas Posted May 19, 2008 Posted May 19, 2008 I think their too small for Nintendo to even consider them to be honest. Might sound cruel but I think if Nintendo allowed a Pokemon MMO, it would be for a bigger and more trusted company. Or GameFreak. Only they can pull it off. Anyway, I don't think it will happen anytime soon. Maybe Nintendo will allow them to develop other MMO functionalities, though?
Emasher Posted May 19, 2008 Posted May 19, 2008 Perhaps the combined efforts of Game Freak, Genius Sonority, and 1 of Nintendo's in house teams could pull this off, but not someone this small. Seems a bit high and mighty for a company who's last game was about popping bubbles.
darksnowman Posted May 19, 2008 Posted May 19, 2008 So they actually pitched the idea to Nintendo? I thought that the Pokémon MMO and those other games were only listed on their site as a "what if" kinda thing. I didn't know they had been trying to get the ball rolling with them...?
Coolness Bears Posted May 19, 2008 Posted May 19, 2008 From Pop to Pokemon... I have to admit I have my reservations! Not to be unfair to the smaller companies but I don't think Nintendo will lend one of their top franchises just like that. If anything they would give it to their larger companies. It might get them thinking about it but I think the bubble will Pop before the idea gets too far!
Olympic Gamer Posted May 20, 2008 Posted May 20, 2008 Well, I think Nintendo (ignoring their strict bullcrap friend code policy) was interested in a Pokemon MMO starting about 2 years ago. My reason for believing this? I used to play a game known as Pokemon Crater, which technically was a Pokemon MMO. Giant maps which you could battle other trainers, catch Pokemon etc, battle legendary NPC trainers you name it. It was a very small world, but it worked, and there was pretty much more than 20,000 players online at any given time. The hit came when after 5 years of developing it, the creator of Pokemon Crater announced on november 2006 (i think) its the end of the road, and he wished not to develop it further because he was going to University etc, and he was going to close it in a month. So the month went, it got taken down etc. Now, it didnt seem so sinister, until you go to the domain now and its owned by Nintendo Nintendo now own the domain that was used for the game. Click Here My guess? It'l happen. If there was more than 20,000 active players at any given time (There was more, but I stopped playing just before its peak) which company wouldnt be interested? Theres money to be made.
Noku Posted May 20, 2008 Posted May 20, 2008 ^ Hot damn, that's a nice find! Personally, I think that this is bound to happen this generation, and the rumours that EA's spreading ("Nintendo will be the first to tackle a console-specific MMO" etc) only further fuel my belief's fire.
darksnowman Posted May 20, 2008 Posted May 20, 2008 Who knows, maybe that fella from Pokémon Crater has finished his education and is working for Nnooo now!
Olympic Gamer Posted May 20, 2008 Posted May 20, 2008 Thing is, theres still something in my mind that doubts Nintendo will try an MMO. Up until now, their actions toward online suggest their thoughts are based on the fact that online gaming is just a fad. Of course, they must of realised that assumption is wrong by now. But look at the target audience for Pokemon games, any ages. So thats the age of 3 through to whatever, any one who has the ability to read and know what their doing can play Pokemon. Which audience does Nintendo make the most money out of for Pokemon? The younger audience. Why do we have friend codes? To protect the younger audience from the evils of the world etc. If the MMO were to be succesful, there'd have to be two versions. Chat enabled and Chat disabled. Easily possible to make. But the problem comes in with rule evasion. I'm sure im not the only one where in the past I've lied about my age on games which require it so I'm allowed to play, I remember when Neopets had rules that the younger audience can only do so much so I made a new account stating im 18 etc. Its basic risk assesment what I've just done, but that problem itself represents a big problem. Who's going to come under fire when a kid playing the game starts swearing? (Even with filters, people find a way) Who's going to come under fire if a peadophile plays the game and keeps harassing the kid? (Unlikely, but its going to be in the risk assesment). And in this day and age which see Video Games as the scapegoat, moneys to be made blaming and writing about it. We've seen totally bogus claims that the DS brings out the evil in kids, and Wii Fit calling a girl fat (lose some weight, tubby), and the press love it so they can tarnish the Nintendo name. I would like to see it, but I can see it getting canned. Who knows, maybe that fella from Pokémon Crater has finished his education and is working for Nnooo now! You've got a good point. Problem is, in the last hour I've been looking into it, the speed of the the site going down and then redirecting to Nintendo was 4 hours, so it seems that either the creator (Aaron) was threatend with infringement, but fearing fans would no longer trust the Nintendo name, they asked him to discontinue the game and let them have the domain in exchange for a silence fee (I saw the updates in the last month, nothing was mentioned about Nintendo). Or it could be a genuine "We like your idea, but we arent going to make money out of it if your offering the game free, so take it down and you get royalty fee's no?"
Serebii Posted May 20, 2008 Posted May 20, 2008 Oh lord When will this MMORPG fad regarding Pokemon die. It.wont.work. End of. Just search my posts on this fporum for the many many times I've spoken out about this
Shorty Posted May 20, 2008 Posted May 20, 2008 Oh lord When will this MMORPG fad regarding Pokemon die. It.wont.work. End of. Just search my posts on this fporum for the many many times I've spoken out about this I am surprised that you are not more enthusiastic of the idea, rather than pessimistic. Don't you think that the people who brought you the game series you love would be capable of figuring out how to make it work, and pulling it off? But I suppose if a huge pokemon fan like you has no faith in them then nobody will, so it will probably never happen...
Olympic Gamer Posted May 20, 2008 Posted May 20, 2008 Oh lord When will this MMORPG fad regarding Pokemon die. It.wont.work. End of. Just search my posts on this fporum for the many many times I've spoken out about this I agre to an extent, it probably wont work but this is due to Nintendo's current treatment for online, with the friend codes and such. Plus MMO's are largely group based, and thats something thats a challenge with Pokemon. However, with Pokemon Crater, there was quite a large audience. Sure, about 99.9% of them was kids, but there was still a damn huge audience. Infact, even after Crater was taken down, many of the fans attempted their own. Im currently playing one this very moment which is in beta, and im liking what im seeing. It is possible. But the length of such an adventure and how it'l meet upto most MMO's offerings is questionable, you can only do so much with a Pokemon game, but we're only thinking inside the box here. Also, can I ask what you mean by the fad comment? Its been rumoured for years yes, but its never had any ground. Even now with this developer pitching to Nintendo with it, it still lacks ground as I incredibly doubt Nintendo would trust such a project to this developer rather than Game Freak. But, ignoring everything previously mentioned, as a business, they look for a potential market. And does a market exist? Ofcourse it bloody does. Pokemon Crater had so many users, it was always busy. Even this game I play now which is a homage to crater and trying to add more to it has been up for just over a month and the maps are crammed with players. Even sites such as Pokemon Indigo are getting huge amounts of players. It'd be absolutely foolish to ignore this on Nintendo's behalf. Also, its very hard to take you seriously when you state your opinion and dont elaborate further. You say it wont work, why wont it work? Also, its not like Pokemon is forever capped, theres always more to develop to it, what we've seen up to now isnt the limit. Edit: Just read the license section on Nnooo's website...eww... 'We have a concept for a cool Pokemon MMO' who can take you seriously when you call your own idea cool? =|
NotAshley Posted May 20, 2008 Posted May 20, 2008 It won't happen, and if it does I'll eat my hat! It would be nice to see a Pokémon MMO in the future but if we ever see one it'll be created by Nintendo and The Pokémon Company, not a small independent developer. Hopefully this will at least give Nintendo a bit of a shove and make it aware that fans want a massively online version of the game. I wouldn't object to that, but I'd rather it be on the Wii than the DS (though there's potential they could coexist).
Gizmo Posted May 20, 2008 Posted May 20, 2008 Because going from a bubble popping game to an MMO is standard progression for a company. Seems like simple over confidence on the companies part, being way to ambitious.
Olympic Gamer Posted May 20, 2008 Posted May 20, 2008 It won't happen, and if it does I'll eat my hat! It would be nice to see a Pokémon MMO in the future but if we ever see one it'll be created by Nintendo and The Pokémon Company, not a small independent developer. Hopefully this will at least give Nintendo a bit of a shove and make it aware that fans want a massively online version of the game. I wouldn't object to that, but I'd rather it be on the Wii than the DS (though there's potential they could coexist). 1. Very much agree'd on, I stated it myself earlier on in the thread. Its very foolish Pop are trying the pitch, unless they are huge Pokemon fans and hope that a pitch showing developers are interested could shift Nintendo's thoughts. 2. I agree so much. Although given the extremely popular nature of Pokemon titles, I think the DS may have its work cut out at running an MMO. I'm still waiting to see the results of Maple Story infact. It'd have to have a lobby interface like the one in PSO where not much happens until you start a game with a restricted amount of players.
Ren of Heavens Posted May 20, 2008 Posted May 20, 2008 A successful MMO takes hundreds of skilled people and several years to make. They are extremely expensive. It can only be done by a big well-known third party developer or Nintendo themselves.
ShadowV7 Posted May 20, 2008 Posted May 20, 2008 A Pokemon Crater. I used to play that aswell when it was still it. Loved that and spent quite some time on it. Would be cool if there was an MMO, you get a series of questions and you get the Pokemon that suits you the most
Olympic Gamer Posted May 20, 2008 Posted May 20, 2008 A Pokemon Crater. I used to play that aswell when it was still it. Loved that and spent quite some time on it. Would be cool if there was an MMO, you get a series of questions and you get the Pokemon that suits you the most Noo that'd suck =( my unlucky nature will get me a fucking Wobbufett.. Nice to know I'm not the only one here who played/remembers Pokemon Crater, so sucks Nintendo obviously bought it out.
Sheikah Posted May 20, 2008 Posted May 20, 2008 Oh lord When will this MMORPG fad regarding Pokemon die. It.wont.work. End of. Just search my posts on this fporum for the many many times I've spoken out about this It won't work because the target market for Pokemon is little kids, who have parents that don't want them playing this kind of game and talking to strangers. That's why Nintendo market Pokemon at kids mostly, since they are after all the biggest audience. There's a million better games that could be made into MMO's than pokemon, though. Even though it's not Nintendo, imagine Final Fantasy VII/VIII/IX with online mode so that you could somehow be on the same screen / be able to split up, and have other people play with you in battle online, going through the story. Would need adaptation, but would be far more immense than another "oh mah god, choose a starter pokemon, smite some lame bad guys that peculariarly, don't snap your neck and instead 'submit' after you defeat them in battle, then fight four people and win with pokemon you trained in a few hours, while they claim to have trained for life." I've really grown tired of Pokemon. =/
Olympic Gamer Posted May 20, 2008 Posted May 20, 2008 It won't work because the target market for Pokemon is little kids, who have parents that don't want them playing this kind of game and talking to strangers. That's why Nintendo market Pokemon at kids mostly, since they are after all the biggest audience. As I've said, that is the big issue with this and if it doesnt happen, will be the reason for it. But I also suggested two seperate versions, a muted version which you can only talk to those you are registered to (Not sure if thats possible, one user may be connected to thousands so Nintendo may want to limit how many others you can connect to) and an unmuted version for those who have entered their age as over 13 (which is usually the industry standard). Nintendo will be thinking this through very carefully if any plans come to materialize (which I bet has already happend). But kids to MMO's is nothing new. Games such as Kart Rider, Maple Story, Runescape and Disneys Toon Town have all been aimed at the younger audience (Runescape however is a little older, but the age 13 rule has been largely ignored). Im unaware if its possible in ToonTown, but the other 3 titles have enabled users to talk to each other regardless of age and so far have yet to receive a complaint as far as my knowledge goes.
Jonnas Posted May 20, 2008 Posted May 20, 2008 It won't work because the target market for Pokemon is little kids, who have parents that don't want them playing this kind of game and talking to strangers. That's why Nintendo market Pokemon at kids mostly, since they are after all the biggest audience. There's a million better games that could be made into MMO's than pokemon, though. Even though it's not Nintendo, imagine Final Fantasy VII/VIII/IX with online mode so that you could somehow be on the same screen / be able to split up, and have other people play with you in battle online, going through the story. Would need adaptation, but would be far more immense than another "oh mah god, choose a starter pokemon, smite some lame bad guys that peculariarly, don't snap your neck and instead 'submit' after you defeat them in battle, then fight four people and win with pokemon you trained in a few hours, while they claim to have trained for life." I've really grown tired of Pokemon. =/ One would think that those Final Fantasies you mentioned would be impossible to re-create as an MMO, with the same story, considering it's a specific group that goes trough a specific quest. An MMO based on their respective worlds could work, definately, but it would be extremely different from the original RPG. The same thing with Pokémon. While it would make sense to retain things like the starter pokémon and the Elite 4, it would certainly become much different than it was in the original games, right? The thing is, any franchise with a vast and varied world is a good candidate for a MMO, as long as they're not stuck with the story from the original games (Final Fantasy is a good example). Pokémon just happens to fit a lot better than most franchises, since interacting with other players is a big part of the game.
Gizmo Posted May 20, 2008 Posted May 20, 2008 Noo that'd suck =( my unlucky nature will get me a fucking Wobbufett.. Nice to know I'm not the only one here who played/remembers Pokemon Crater, so sucks Nintendo obviously bought it out. Isn't Wobbuffet banned from tournaments because it's imba?
Olympic Gamer Posted May 20, 2008 Posted May 20, 2008 Isn't Wobbuffet banned from tournaments because it's imba? Yeah I only found that out like a week ago, its like the troll of Pokemon Tournaments. Edit: I just realised that the Gamecube pokemon titles were developed by Genius Sonority, so GameFreak isnt always the standard developer Edit 2: But Genius Sonority is a 2nd party developer for Nintendo, when Nnooo isnt, back to square one..
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