Iwata Asks in Motion: Pokémon X & Pokémon Y

Article was originally posted at: http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/3ds/pokemonxy/

Table of Contents

1. Simultaneous Worldwide Release-A First for the Series
2. Pokémon Born Anew
3. New Battles
4. Getting Close with Pokémon

Simultaneous Worldwide Release-A First for the Series

Hello everyone, I'm Satoru Iwata of Nintendo.

The other day we released the video Pokémon Direct 9.4.2013. During the recording, producer Ishihara-san and director Masuda-san shared a lot of interesting details about Pokémon X and Pokémon Y that didn't make it in the Pokémon Direct.

So this time the "Iwata Asks" will be a little different than usual. We will be talking about details that we weren't able to include in the Pokémon Direct, while occasionally mixing in video clips from the interview for what we'll call "Iwata Asks in Motion."

We have held over 200 sessions of Iwata Asks, but mixing a transcript with video interviews is a new experiment, so I hope you'll stick with us. Thank you.

*Game footage not final

Iwata: We are releasing both games simultaneously around the world1 for the first time in the series, something we have wanted to do for a long time. How does that make you feel Ishihara-san? 1. Releasing simultaneously around the world: Excludes certain regions.

Ishihara: That has been a goal for years, so it's inexpressible. But simply put, when development began, I thought it might be impossible! (laughs)

Iwata: Even though it was your idea, you thought it would never work. (laughs)

Masuda: I questioned it at first, too.

Iwata: You too?! (laughs)

Masuda: Yeah! (laughs)

Iwata: Actually, I thought that, too. (laughs)

Everyone: (laughs)

Iwata: When I first heard about it from my staff, I couldn't help but ask "What? Are we really going to do it?!"

Ishihara: But as development progressed, I realized we could do it. We didn't make different games in different languages for different countries. Instead, we took a seven-in-one approach. In other words, we put all seven languages-Japanese, English, French and so on-into one software, and the players can choose whichever language they like. When these games were done, I wanted to praise myself even though I didn't do that part myself! (laughs)

Iwata: (laughs)

Ishihara: But that's how strong a sense of accomplishment it was, so I'm extremely happy.

Iwata: I suppose making it was hard, but the seven-in-one approach simply made sense in some ways.

Ishihara: Yes. Up until now, we've always made seven separate software, or one for each language, but this time we just needed to make one.

Iwata: How was it for you in the hands-on work, Masuda-san? Wasn't the seven-in-one approach extremely difficult with a Pokémon game?

Masuda: It sure was.

Iwata: What was the biggest hurdle?

Masuda: The script. Up until now, we would first write the Japanese, then translate it to English, before translating it into the various languages like French and German. But this time, we went directly from the Japanese into all the other languages.

Iwata: It truly was "directly!" (laughs)

Masuda: Yeah! (laughs) Since we done it "directly", the translation progressed speedily.

Iwata: And lots of new Pokémon show up when there's a new Pokémon game. Wasn't it hard deciding on names for all of them?

Masuda: Oh, yeah! The team has particular staff members for assigning names, and-practically in tears-they gave it their best! (laughs)

Iwata: (laughs)

Masuda: Tons of names have already been used up, so thinking up new Pokémon names is incredibly difficult.

Iwata: You have to come up with names that fit each Pokémon, like expressing their physical form. And you have to make sure not to infringe on any rights.

Masuda: Right. And this time we wanted to make the names the same in every country around the world if possible, so those put to the task really struggled. However, the sense of accomplishment was incredible.

Iwata: I have a feeling you went like this (pumping his fist) when the team came up with a great name that didn't have any rights issues anywhere in the world, am I right? (laughs)

Masuda: You sure are! (laughs)

Pokémon Born Anew

Iwata: Ishihara-san, how was the process of making it into 3D?

Ishihara: In turning it to 3D, I was able to get a clear grasp of aspects that I wasn't very aware of before. For example, what I thought was a tail, would turn out not to be, or I'd start to offer instruction about a whisker only to be told it was a horn! (laughs)

Iwata: (laughs)

Ishihara: The Pokémon have always expressed the full diversity of the animal world, so modeling was pretty tough.

Masuda: (heartfelt) Indeed it was!

Iwata: Many video games around the world have a lot of characters, and they're for the most part broken down, like this one is one of the main characters, this is a big boss, this is a middle boss, and this falls in the "Other" category. And the developers give each character a different amount of effort.

Ishihara: That's right.

Iwata: In this game, however, each player has his or her own favorite Pokémon, so you have to pour an equal amount of energy into all of the many Pokémon.

Ishihara: We can't slack off on any of them.

Iwata: It must be an insurmountable ordeal on the people who make them! (laughs)

Masuda: It sure was! (laughs) But we've been doing that for years, so it's basically a standard procedure.

Iwata: I'd also like to ask about the title names: Pokémon X and Pokémon Y.

Masuda: All right.

Iwata: In January this year when we announced the first Pokémon Direct2 broadcast, a lot of rumors were flying around until the moment it was released, like, "Is the new game going to be called Pokémon Rainbow?!" (laughs) 2. First Pokémon Direct: The titles Pokémon X and Pokémon Y were revealed in the Pokémon Direct 2013.1.8, which aired on January 8, 2013.

Ishihara: Yeah, yeah, that's right! (laughs)

Iwata: I can remember it like it was yesterday, how strong the response was when we announced the actual titles, with people surprised and saying it was unexpected. Why did you decide to name them Pokémon X and Pokémon Y?

Masuda: The X and Y represent the x axis and the y axis.

Iwata: X is the horizontal axis and Y is the vertical axis.

Masuda: Right. The world holds people with all sorts of ways of thinking, and you can get a sense that they exist in different dimensions. But if you think of them as people who think on the x axis and people who think on the y axis-horizontal and vertical axes-then they intersect somewhere.

Iwata: Even if they think in contrary ways, they agree in places, too.

Masuda: Exactly. We may think differently, but we all live on the same planet, so everyone eats, sleeps and goes about their business day after day just like everyone else.

Iwata: So the theme this time is that even if languages, cultures and mindsets are different, even if the surrounding environment is different, they overlap somewhere.

Masuda: Yes. We thought of that early on and then started building the surrounding world of these games. Iwata: But until now, the core series titles have been colors, like Pokémon Red Version and Pokémon Blue Version3, or gems like Pokémon Ruby Version and Pokémon Sapphire Version4, so when you decided to suddenly go with single letters of the alphabet this time, weren't some people on the staff uneasy and wondering whether it would be all right? 3. Pokémon Red Version and Pokémon Blue Version: The first games in the Pokémon series released for the Nintendo Game Boy system on February 27, 1996. (Pokémon Blue Version was called Pokémon Green Version in Japan)

4. Pokémon Ruby Version and Pokémon Sapphire Version: Games released for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance system on November 21, 2002.

Masuda: Yeah, they were.

Iwata: I thought so! (laughs)

Masuda: So we consulted a lot of people, like (Ken) Sugimori-san5, and eventually decided this route was simple and easy to understand. And while the pronunciation of the letter may change by country, the shape of the letter is the same the world over-for example, we say "ekkusu" for the letter X in Japanese, but in French they say "ix"-so in that way too, it was an appropriate way to name these games. 5. Ken Sugimori: Director, Game Freak Inc. He has been in charge of Pokémon character design since the first games up through the latest installment. He appeared in the session of "Iwata Asks" for Pokémon Black Version and Pokémon White Version.

Iwata: They're the perfect titles for games that are going to be released simultaneously around the world. Masuda: Yes. And the legendary Pokémon named Xerneas and Yveltal appear this time. They were purposely designed so their silhouettes would resemble X and Y.

Iwata: Did you put in that request to Sugimori-san?

Masuda: Yes.

Iwata: I suspected that.

Masuda: They're legendary Pokémon, so you don't see them very often. But some people living in Kalos Region have seen them, so when they excitedly tell others and leave behind a tradition, we thought it would be interesting if they said things like, "It looked like an X!" or "It looked like a Y!"

Iwata: There's an oral tradition describing these legendary Pokémon.

Masuda: Exactly.

Iwata: Ishihara-san, when consulted about using X and Y in the titles, what did you think?

Ishihara: I rather welcomed it. Because they're the first main Pokémon games for a new hardware platform the Nintendo 3DS, I wanted to do something completely different, so I thought these titles were perfect.

Iwata: You gave your approval right away?

Ishihara: You bet! (laughs)

New Battles

Iwata: I imagine it was quite a challenge adjusting the game to the new Fairy type Pokémon.

Masuda: (heartfelt) It was so much work... But adding a new type of Pokémon allowed us to review the overall balance from the ground up, and as a result it became easier to raise Pokémon. Thinking about the benefits, it was a great opportunity.

Iwata: How about you, Ishihara-san? Aside from adjusting the balance of the game, the appearance of a new type must have had a big influence on you as the longstanding producer of the Pokémon Trading Card Game.6 6. Pokémon Trading Card Game: A collectible two-player card game that represents the worlds of the Pokémon series.

Ishihara: That's right. Everyone was vexed over it for about half a year! (laughs)

Iwata: If you can find a sure way to win, it stops being fun to play, so you had to redevise the whole thing so players couldn't simply find a surefire winning technique.

Ishihara: Right. But even in the card game, the Dragon type was very strong, so when it came to having a force that can compete with that, I was all open arms. Everyone was excited about the chance to design new specs for the first time in a while.

Iwata: Oh, I see. They said, "This is hard! This is hard!" But at the same time, were they excited and smiling as they adjusted it because they were able to design the new specs for the first time in a long time?

Ishihara: Yes. And previous Pokémon like Jigglypuff appear this time as the new Fairy type, which was also very refreshing.

Iwata: Along with the addition of the new Fairy type this time, there are new battles called Sky Battles7 and Horde Encounters8, so the gameplay would change a lot, too. 7. Sky Battles: These are aerial battles for which only Flying-type Pokémon and some others are eligible. It is possible to have Sky Battles against trainers in a different place.

8. Horde Encounters: This is a type of battle in which you take on multiple wild Pokémon at once. If you can defeat many Pokémon at once, it's a great chance to give your Pokémon a growth spurt.

Masuda: That's right. As for Horde Encounters, we tried to create a sense of life.

Iwata: You mean of how the Pokémon live?

Masuda: Yes. We thought it would be interesting to get a glimpse of how the Pokémon live.

Iwata: As in nature, animals often group up.

Masuda: Right. In Horde Encounters, five Pokémon may suddenly show up, but if you observe closely, they each have different characteristics, so you may think, "I'm going to capture that female." In this way, you can enjoy battles of a different nature than before.

Iwata: You can also enjoy the tactics, right?

Masuda: Yes.

Ishihara: For the Sky Battles, in addition to Flying-type Pokémon, only Floating-type Pokémon can participate. Because of Sky Battles, you have to adapt team lineups that you thought were impregnable, which was fun when I tried it.

Iwata: You think about your Pokémon team composition, and even if you think it will be all right, there's this new situation of aerial battles, causing you to rethink your composition.

Ishihara: Yes. For example, some people who like the Ghost type may assume that you can't use them in Sky Battles and give up. But if you try one, you might be able to use it.

Iwata: Oh, because they can levitate.

Ishihara: Right. Something to look forward to this time is making new discoveries about which Pokémon you can use in Sky Battles.

Getting Close with Pokémon

Iwata: By the way, what does the "Amie" in Pokémon-Amie mean?

Masuda: "Amie" means "friend" in French.

Iwata: You enjoy getting friendly with your Pokémon?

Masuda: Yes. And as shown before, if you play Pokémon-Amie, you get really close with your Pokémon, but after all they are Pokémon, so some don't have facial expressions or they react slowly.

Iwata: For example, how do you handle a Pokémon like Snorlax who's always sleeping?

Masuda: Times like that, you do this (gesturing as if striking the screen with the stylus) with all you've got. You wake them up! (laughs)

Iwata: (laughs)

Masuda: Each Pokémon has its own unique features and traits, so we incorporated a lot with regard to that into the game.

Iwata: Unique for each and every Pokémon?

Masuda: Yes. We made it so the reactions are different for all the Pokémon.

Iwata: Wow! That's surprising! (laughs)

Masuda: (laughs)

Iwata: I suppose if your favorite Pokémon wasn't distinctive when others were, it would be disappointing.

Masuda: Yes. And everyone has their own feelings about what their favorite Pokémon are like, right? So we did our best to make them respond to that kind of affection.

Iwata: A single Pokémon game has always possessed considerable volume, but it's like a whole new game has been added!

Masuda: I suppose! (laughs)

Iwata: However, Pokémon-Amie isn't a completely separate feature. It connects to the main game, correct? Masuda: Yes. For example, if you're someone who prefers lavishing affection on your Pokémon as opposed to battles, and you bathe them in all your love, then it'll pay off in battle, too.

Iwata: If you aren't great in battles but you play with them a lot, before you know it, they may be stronger in battle.

Masuda: Yes. I touched on this earlier, but when you get close with your Pokémon, you'll get better at dodging your opponents' attacks and at hitting your opponents' weak points when you attack, so battles get really fun.

Iwata: I get the impression that you couldn't have pulled off Pokémon X and Pokémon Y without pouring in an immense amount of energy. I'm really looking forward to seeing how the games are received around the world after release.

Masuda: It's as if everyone in the staff worked really hard putting all their efforts in reflecting what each of them feel is the epitomical Pokémon world, and their work has been combined into a single, grand Pokémon world. I hope everyone enjoys it.

Ishihara: The two games Pokémon X and Pokémon Y, were games that we poured all our emotions into as they were being made as we focused on their release on October 12th. And finally, that day is almost here. And I think you can say that the Mega Evolution9 that we touched on earlier portrays everything that's new and old, so I really would like everyone to try to experience Mega Evolution for themselves. 9. Mega Evolution: Occurring only in battle, a type of evolution that goes one step further than a standard evolution. By Mega Evolution, the Pokémon will change drastically in appearance, and also its abilities, skills and types may change. Once the battle is over, the Pokémon will return to its previous form. For more details about Mega Evolution, be sure to check out the Pokémon Direct 9.04.2013 from around 12:47.

Iwata: Thank you for your time today.

Ishihara and Masuda: It was a pleasure!