News: Nintendo Eats Pokemon MMO Alive Page 1

Nintendo Eats Pokemon MMO Alive

03.04.2010

Nintendo Eats Pokemon MMO Alive on Nintendo gaming news, videos and discussion

Nintendo have shutdown a recently released free Pokemon MMO, Pokenet, and its website due to infringing on various trademarks.

A fair few fans of Nintendo's highly addictive franchise had hoped that an MMO version would be available in some form but Nintendo have continually declined the request. You can go online to battle and trade in recent Poké-outings but it's limited to a menu based system instead of a live hub of players to meet, greet and walk around.

So then came Pokenet, who according to Joystiq, have been told top stop doing what they're doing and surrender various bits, including the domain name, to Nintendo. Pokenet was a game quite deep into development, and judging by the footage below let players wander about the online Pokenet world and battle online.

They have released code, and there are other MMO varieties out there but with Nintendo in motion it would be hard to release something unofficial for the masses.

Do you think Nintendo will eventually cave in and bring out an MMO Pokemon for the fans, or will they continue to be stuck on child-lock?

Comment on this article

Comments

«s previous12 next »

jesusraz 03.04.2010#1

I had no idea this existed...This could have been great! I wonder why Nintendo isn't bothering to do something similar? Perhaps Game Freak / Creatures Inc want to keep merely updating the template slowly-but-surely instead.

Adam Riley [ Director :: Cubed3 ]

UNITE714: Weekly Prayers | Bible Verses

jb 03.04.2010#2

Not that it seems - it's the big people at Nintendo Japan who come up with some bullshit excuse not to experiment more and take their franchises forward!

Poke director Junichi Masuda said last month something about not going MMO due to "players not seeing each other and trading in real life" - uh, hello Diamond and Pearl anyone? If one can trade, battle and even voice chat in the DS ones surely an MMO would be fine?

Scrap the template, it's been rehashed so so many times it's becoming just a little bit stale.

Cubed3 Admin/Founder & Designer

Jump_button 03.04.2010#3

maybe they get off they ass and doing one them selfs pokemon would work well as a mmo the idea of the game just go with it maybe do somthing new with fighst they really boring it about time they did somthing and stop adding point stuff

My ART Gallery la la la la!

JoshSL 03.04.2010#4

I don't blame Nintendo really. They're never going to make an MMO anyway (and they shouldn't, it wouldn't suit Pokémon's demographic at all, and the mythos would have to be totally skewered to allow for hundreds of trainers on one world) and they don't want people using their product name.

Besides it looked crap.

Twitter | C3 Writer/Moderator | Backloggery

jb 03.04.2010#5

I don't blame Nintendo for taking it down, it's fair enough as they're using the Pokemon name and content but them refusing to expand into MMO for really rubbish reasons is frustrating.

D/P were good games but the formula is barely touched, online imo is something that would keep it going for sometime after the regular gym badge hoo-hah.

Cubed3 Admin/Founder & Designer

JoshSL 03.04.2010#6

jb said:
refusing to expand into MMO for really rubbish reasons is frustrating.

They're perfectly good reasons though.

Pokémon is a kids' game, and MMOs are absolutely not for kids. No amount of swear filters can change that.

D/P were good games but the formula is barely touched, online imo is something that would keep it going for sometime after the regular gym badge hoo-hah.

The formula in Platinum is far sharper than it has ever been before. Yes the changes seem minor on the outside, but they're very important. There's plenty to do after the game finishes to, I have a play time of approx 300 hours, which is more than most people have on their favourite MMO.

Twitter | C3 Writer/Moderator | Backloggery

Jump_button 03.04.2010#7

Nintendo own pokemon so they have the right to take anything down like this

but still some on pokemon still the same game it was adding stuff that nothing todo with the base gameplay is not the right way

I hope 3DS give poekmon new life and they dont just play it safe

My ART Gallery la la la la!

JoshSL 03.04.2010#8

Jump_button said:
I hope 3DS give poekmon new life and they dont just play it safe

GameFreak said they want to keep the gameplay of the mainseries mostly the same with upgrades and new features and stuff. They also said that that's why they make the spin offs, which noone plays.

So it's no wonder people want Pokémon to change so much, they don't even play the spin offs. Ranger is a brilliant spin off.

Twitter | C3 Writer/Moderator | Backloggery

PMD 03.04.2010#9

They could make a pokemon MMO game but I don't see how it would be fun. Most likely, you wouldn't be able to communicate with strangers and the battles would be tedious when you are low leveled. This isn't a western RPG, so unless they made radical changes to the battle mechanics (maybe something like Pokemon Mystery Dungeon) battles would be better fought like in the Pokemon DS games or Battle Revolution.

Jump_button 03.04.2010#10

SuperLink said:
Jump_button said:
I hope 3DS give poekmon new life and they dont just play it safe

GameFreak said they want to keep the gameplay of the mainseries mostly the same with upgrades and new features and stuff. They also said that that's why they make the spin offs, which noone plays.

Sad to hear I dont think its good for anyone or thing to not change just look at mario, I bet they was someone that did say "we cant put mario in space that crazy"

( Edited 02.04.2010 22:15 by Jump_button )

My ART Gallery la la la la!

PK Mongoose 03.04.2010#11

Watch 'em take Pokemon World Online.

In the words of the immortal Freddie Mercury, "ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST!"

( Edited 02.04.2010 22:19 by PK, The Mongonator )

It requires great courage to look at oneself honestly, and forge one's own path.

Modplan Man 03.04.2010#12

Trademark would only stop them using the Pokemon name. This project could easily live on. Just change the name and maybe adjust a few things. Especially considering the fact it's open source.

JoshSL 03.04.2010#13

Jump_button said:
Sad to hear I dont think its good for anyone or thing to not change just look at mario, I bet they was someone that did say "we cant put mario in space that crazy"

You're using Mario as an example of a series that's changed? That's hilarious.

Pokémon have arguably had connections to space since Gen 3. Pokémon has been in all sorts of environments, even alternate crazy dimensions with serious gravity problems. Has Mario done that in a mainseries game? No. No he hasn't.

( Edited 02.04.2010 22:20 by SuperLink )

Twitter | C3 Writer/Moderator | Backloggery

welshwuff 03.04.2010#14

Nintendo also stopped the DS port of Cave Story being developed because they were releasing it on Wii, I know its more likely because nintendo actually own pokemon and the rights, but what if they have something up their sleeve thats actually similar to this mmorpg, wishful thinking yes but hey why not... this free online pokeripoff has been online for years and their only doing something now? i think somethings up.

PMD 03.04.2010#15

GameFreak said they want to keep the gameplay of the mainseries mostly the same with upgrades and new features and stuff. They also said that that's why they make the spin offs, which noone plays.

I agree. Changing the gameplay of the main series just for the sake of change would piss off all the people that play pokemon just for the unique battle mechanics. What other game allows you to choose from almost 500 different characters to train and build your own team? The formula is very successful and I don't see it changing radically in order to make it a MMORPG. Pokemon, by nature, is very slow and strategic, something that works with online battles, but not a fully online-only game.

Super Sonic 03.04.2010#16

I think Nintendo did the right thing. An MMO would not suite Pokémon at all. It just would not have the same factor as the other games. Good decision Nintendo

SuperYoshi6 PSN name
3DS friend code 2878-9581-8999

TMKCodes (guest) 03.04.2010#17

They prolly never do an mmo, but just keep gaining domains from these fan made projects.

GaMa (guest) 03.04.2010#18

Hello, I'm GaMa, the (not any more) server host of this game.

I disagree with everyone on the "pokemon will not work as an MMO". It does work, and very nicely. We had a user base of over 2000, the userbase was expanding still, and hype for our next release was overwhelming. Not to mention our game was still in beta, and users still continue to play even though they knew their account would be wiped at some point. IT WORKS REALLY WELL.

Nintendo is naive to think a Pokemon MMO wouldn't work. Our game focused on the games core mechanics, from breeding, to fishing, collecting badges, you get the picture. The only thing different is the MMO aspect; PvP, Official Tournaments/Events, and User Created Events.

And I think we proved enough to Nintendo that this game can definitely grow and fast. When popular sites such as Joystiq have gotten wind of our game being C&D, our user base had significantly increased overnight, clogging the last bit of life from the game server before the client was removed.

Just a side note, PokeNet was in development for more than 3 years. It has seen many re-writes, and we believe we have almost hit the jackpot. We had created a more secure way of holding accounts, Server Communication, and Client software updating. And best yet, ITS CROSS PLATFORM. You can play this on Windows, Linux and Mac.

We hate to see this go, but we are in discussion on WHAT we can do next. We are possibly looking at creating our own game, or seeing if we ourselves, can crack a deal with Nintendo. But that is just wishful thinking Smilie

Shoop (guest) 03.04.2010#19

You're using Mario as an example of a series that's changed? That's hilarious.
Pokémon have arguably had connections to space since Gen 3. Pokémon has been in all sorts of environments, even alternate crazy dimensions with serious gravity problems. Has Mario done that in a mainseries game? No. No he hasn't.

Ahem... Mario has been in ALL kinds of environments. Has he been in crazy alternate dimensions? No, not that I know of. Does a game need crazy alternate dimensions to be good? Absolutely not. The Mario series is honestly a LOT more innovative than any Pokemon game I've seen, and that's not bias. While I do prefer Pokemon for the side stories and all those creative little critters, Mario just has more variable and innovative game play. Plain and simple.

JoshSL 03.04.2010#20

GaMa (guest) said:
Nintendo is naive to think a Pokemon MMO wouldn't work. Our game focused on the games core mechanics, from breeding, to fishing, collecting badges, you get the picture. The only thing different is the MMO aspect; PvP, Official Tournaments/Events, and User Created Events.

Nintendo's reasoning has nothing to do with whether or not it works. Can you, as an MMO player, tell me with certainty that an MMO can accommodate the 3+/E for Everyone demographic that Pokémon sticks to SO LOYALLY that it would remove the Game Corner, something that's been a part of the series since its conception, just to keep that rating? The idea of Nintendo releasing a Pokémon game that would legally have to be 12+ or higher just because it's an MMO is.. well it's ridiculous.

Shoop (guest) said:
Ahem... Mario has been in ALL kinds of environments. Has he been in crazy alternate dimensions? No, not that I know of. Does a game need crazy alternate dimensions to be good? Absolutely not.

OK. I was replying to jump_button who used "Mario goes to space" as reasoning to why Mario is more imaginative than Pokémon, so if it doesn't matter to you where a game goes then this part of the reply is pointless to you in particular anyway.

The Mario series is honestly a LOT more innovative than any Pokemon game I've seen, and that's not bias. While I do prefer Pokemon for the side stories and all those creative little critters, Mario just has more variable and innovative game play. Plain and simple.

The Mario series' gameplay hasn't changed drastically or innovatively since its conception. 3D Mario still plays exactly like Mario 64 with different designed (spherical) stages (and less moves), and every single 2D Mario plays almost exactly the same with the exact same formula of 8 stages per world for over 20 years. The changes made in each individual game are miniscule, especially since 9/10 times they're not even there for the game's sequels, whereas the amount of balancing they've been doing to Pokémon since Gen 3 has severely increased the quality in overall difficulty.

The only one that stands out with Mario is Sunshine, FLUDD was pretty awesome, but there's no way we'll ever see it again anyway.

( Edited 03.04.2010 16:43 by SuperLink )

Edit this post:

[quote][b]GaMa (guest) said:[/b]<br/>Nintendo is naive to think a Pokemon MMO wouldn't work.  Our game focused on the games core mechanics, from breeding, to fishing, collecting badges, you get the picture.  The only thing different is the MMO aspect; PvP, Official Tournaments/Events, and User Created Events.[/quote]
Nintendo's reasoning has nothing to [i]do[/i] with whether or not it works. Can you, as an MMO player, tell me with certainty that an MMO can accommodate the 3+/E for Everyone demographic that Pokémon sticks to SO LOYALLY that it would remove the Game Corner, something that's been a part of the series since its conception, [i]just[/i] to keep that rating? The idea of Nintendo releasing a Pokémon game that would legally have to be 12+ or higher just because it's an MMO is.. well it's ridiculous.

[quote][b]Shoop (guest) said:[/b]<br/>Ahem... Mario has been in ALL kinds of environments. Has he been in crazy alternate dimensions? No, not that I know of. Does a game need crazy alternate dimensions to be good? Absolutely not.[/quote]
OK. I was replying to jump_button who used "Mario goes to space" as reasoning to why Mario is more imaginative than Pokémon, so if it doesn't matter to you [i]where[/i] a game goes then this part of the reply is pointless to you in particular anyway.

[quote]The Mario series is honestly a LOT more innovative than any Pokemon game I've seen, and that's not bias. While I do prefer Pokemon for the side stories and all those creative little critters, Mario just has more variable and innovative game play. Plain and simple.[/quote]
The Mario series' gameplay hasn't changed drastically or innovatively since its conception. 3D Mario still plays exactly like Mario 64 with different designed (spherical) stages (and less moves), and every single 2D Mario plays almost exactly the same with the exact same formula of 8 stages per world for over 20 years. The changes made in each individual game are miniscule, especially since 9/10 times they're not even there for the game's sequels, whereas the amount of balancing they've been doing to Pokémon since Gen 3 has severely increased the quality in overall difficulty.

The only one that stands out with Mario is Sunshine, FLUDD was pretty awesome, but there's no way we'll ever see it again anyway.

Save Changes Cancel Full Edit

Twitter | C3 Writer/Moderator | Backloggery

'tendo 04.04.2010#21

i don't see why nintendo never did a tales of symphonia spin or like a battalion wars or even crystal chronicles spin on their pokemon games.

i stopped at Gold and Silver, and got pearl for free...but it's all the same!!!!!:-x

Clay (guest) 09.04.2010#22

I think this stupidest thing I've heard of! there are thousands of hacks taking data strait from the games, and Nintendo's pissed at someone doing it the right way because it's an MMO??? wth are they thinking!:-x

Vaughn (guest) 18.05.2010#23

The Pokemon franchise is unfortunately too stale to evolve into an MMO. If Nintendo were to make one though, the sales would be phenomenal considering most people who enjoyed Pokemon in its early days are much older now. Myself included.

Trenton (guest) 27.05.2010#24

I've often fantisized about a Wii style pokemon MMO set with your choice of completely customizable characters and starter pokemon. Pick your home town from all known lands and explore your world encountering other players along the way and battling. Eventually you get the option to join villainous factions or stay true to the original play with various changes to your playstyle for siding up with say team rocket who typically carry max 3 pokemon at a time. Regional and world tournaments make interaction fun and profitable. This entire world policed over by GM's depicted as the oft cloned Officer Jenny would be simple to implement and save Nintendo millions. Since they don't have to release new pokemon games they simply expand the existing game. Nintendo is just lazy.