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Pokémon Company’s job listing hints at a new Pokémon game coming to smartphones

Koh Ruide Dec 8, 2018
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Signs point to either a port of its existing trading card game or something entirely new.

Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! are already out on the Nintendo Switch, and if Japanese netizens’ accounts are anything to go by, the games are nostalgic roller coaster rides through memory lane.

Although the latest entries to the series seem to be resounding successes, the company behind the stellar franchise is not one to rest on its laurels. A recent job posting by The Pokémon Company International — a subsidiary of the head company in Japan — on career website LinkedIn states that they are looking for new members for what appears to be a team that will spearhead the development of a new game.

A total of 39 positions were listed on the same day, including a Principal Game Designer who preferably should have experience with game engine Unity. Here is where it gets interesting, as the only game in the franchise that utilizes the Unity engine is the Pokémon Trading Card Game Online.

▼ The Pokémon Trading Card Game Online is only
available on tablets, Windows, and OS X.

Pokemon Trading Card Game Online - Major Updates Trailer https://t.co/kDl4kAeRCD pic.twitter.com/o6rcdJhj5G

— GoNintendoTweet (@GoNintendoTweet) November 5, 2015

As awesome as it is to bash your foes’ Pokémon with powerful abilities, the game’s visual effects and graphics are perhaps a little dated compared to other existing online trading card games out there. And since it is quite unlikely that The Pokémon Company International would waste valuable resources to form a fresh team to maintain a game released seven years ago, the clues seem to point to an updated port or an entirely new game for smartphones.

▼ Imagine playing this online card game with upgraded graphics
and tons of new features while on the go.

Pokémon TCG Online comes to ANDROID! Ready to take your card battles on the road?! https://t.co/br4bU3OQXo pic.twitter.com/5b3uRgqOSy

— PorkJungle: Pig Pokémon News (@pokejungle) April 8, 2016

The news stirred up a ton of excitement among Japanese netizens:

“I hope they do some kind of collaboration with Pokémon GO*.”*
“I’m over Pokémon GO now, so it’s good to hear that I can still play other Pokémon games on my smartphone.”
“What a brilliant move. They should just port everything into smartphones.”
“There’s a lot more Pokémon gamers now than before, so that’s a good decision.”

We agree it is a smart move to tap into the current monster-catching craze that has gripped so many people. It may be some time before we get to know the specifics of this new game, but perhaps in the future it may end up creating some beautiful marriages just like Pokémon GO did.

Source: LinkedIn via Game Informer, Livedoor News, Hachima Kiko
Top image: Pakutaso