pocket monsters – SoraNews24 —Japan News— https://soranews24.com Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today. Tue, 07 Aug 2018 05:00:08 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.4 https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/05/en_rocket_1024.png?w=32 pocket monsters – SoraNews24 —Japan News— https://soranews24.com 32 32 176746664 A blast from the Poképast! Original Pokémon figures from the ’90s get a re-release https://soranews24.com/2018/08/07/a-blast-from-the-pokepast-original-pokemon-figures-from-the-90s-get-a-re-release/ https://soranews24.com/2018/08/07/a-blast-from-the-pokepast-original-pokemon-figures-from-the-90s-get-a-re-release/#comments Tue, 07 Aug 2018 05:00:07 +0000 http://soranews24.com/?p=421625 
Fans of fat Pikachu rejoice! The classic designs from the original Pokémon games star in this reprint of an old line. Gotta catch ’em all!
Pokémon has already proven it can stand the test of time, with Pikachu and friends battling their way through two decades of colorful critters, gorgeous locations and friendly rivalry. Nowadays you can step into almost any grocery store (or heck, even the streets of Yokohama) and catch a glimpse of Pikachu, and the arrival of Pokémon escape rooms and refreshing Pokémon beverages means that Pokémon fever shows no signs of breaking any time soon.
But while we can hit up any local Pokémon Center for a variety of modern-day monster merchandise, it can be easy to forget the humble roots of the franchise: Pokémon Red and Green (known as Blue in the West).
▼ The games were re-released on the Nintendo virtual console in 2016 if you fancy a trip down memory lane.
ポケットモンスター赤青緑ピカチュウ（GB）
大人気シリーズポケモンの初代の作品。
151匹のモンスターを捕まえて、交換してバトルして。
バージョンによって出るポケモン等の違いもある。
3dsでVCも配信中。https://t.co/KSvFJCE326— ゲームを紹介するすろにあbot (@S6NAGOD) August 6, 2018
If you were around for the Pokémania of the mid-’90s, you might remember coveting recreations of your favorite ‘mons in colorful plastic. Those classic toys are hard to come by these days, and even the designs of the monsters themselves have changed – Pikachu got seriously svelte over the last 20 years! It’s great to hear, then, that the Pokémon company is re-relasing its very first line of Pokémon Kids figures – tiny colorful plastic toys, with chunky designs and a hole at the base so you can put them on your stubby little fingers.
▼ Here are the classic designs for Charizard, Metapod, Pikachu and Raichu
▼ And here’s roly-poly diva Jigglypuff, eyeball magnet Magnemite and popular Ghost-type Gengar
▼ Lastly there’s marine mobile Lapras; evergreen fave Eevee and the tragic legendary Mewtwo – plus a secret bonus design
The characters are still perfectly recognizable as their modern-day counterparts but are notably chubbier, with Charizard in particular being super stylized in contrast to its newer toys. Newer figurines keep the fiery lizard proportional, while this original model is pratically all jaws!
https://twitter.com/Chalizardon/status/1006430452817657856
The re-releases of the figures will be sold in randomized boxes at convenience stores for 194 yen (US$1.75) including tax. The boxes come with an added bonus too, in that they recreate the art from the original games overlaid on a chunky, colorful GameBoy! Each box contains one of the figures and a random card, as well as a small chewable ramune candy.
▼ The boxes make great keepsakes too!
Maybe if these cute little pieces of nostalgia sell well enough, the Pokémon Company might be convinced to sell other toys from the ’90s? The Internet is certainly clamoring for more of those feel-good memories.
▼ How about these vintage dice?
https://twitter.com/matome_pokemon/status/890230881738043392
▼ Let’s bring Pokémon back in pog form!
https://twitter.com/unmai_milk/status/804683285628452864
▼ And of course, it wouldn’t be the ’90s without some good old Polly Pocket…Monsters.
ポケモンの懐かしいおもちゃは自分的にこれだ…(拾い画) pic.twitter.com/MhRQnAPgFs
— あしゅた (@twryu_24) September 28, 2016
The Pokemon Kids re-release will hit stores in December, but if you want to guarantee your success as a Pokémon master you can pre-order a box of 12 from AmiAmi. While you’re there, why not grab some cute merch from the upcoming Let’s Go! games? Nostalgia is great, but the future is brighter than a shiny Pikachu!
Source: Kinisoku, AmiAmi
Featured image: AmiAmi
]]> https://soranews24.com/2018/08/07/a-blast-from-the-pokepast-original-pokemon-figures-from-the-90s-get-a-re-release/feed/ 2 421625 goods-00239591_01 Pokémon GO now doctor-approved thanks to Tokyo University study https://soranews24.com/2017/09/08/pokemon-go-now-doctor-approved-thanks-to-tokyo-university-study/ https://soranews24.com/2017/09/08/pokemon-go-now-doctor-approved-thanks-to-tokyo-university-study/#comments Fri, 08 Sep 2017 02:02:59 +0000 http://en.rocketnews24.com/?p=388334 
Results of first scientific study into Pokémon GO‘s health benefits reveal game lowers stress levels.
While the health benefits of extra exercise spent frantically searching for Pokémon in the augmented-reality mobile game Pokemon GO have already been confirmed, a new report in the scientific journal Nature‘s Scientific Reports section has found that it can also combat stress. According to the report, full-time workers who played the Niantic-produced game for a month or more reported significantly lower levels of psychological stress than those who didn’t.
Since Pokémon GO‘s psychological effect has so far only been anecdotal (such as a reduction in suicides in Japan shortly after it was released), scientists have completed a study into what effect the game has on mental health. A team from Tokyo University, led by Professor Norito Kawakami, conducted online surveys with 3,915 full-time Japanese workers in the period November 2015 to February 2016, and follow-up surveys in December 2016. Of these, 246 workers (9.7 percent of the total), had continued to play the game for over a month. The workers were all asked to answer a “Brief Job Stress Questionnaire (BJSQ)” to determine their levels of psychological stress in order to assess any changes over the time period, alongside other questions regarding work performance and other factors such as smoking or drinking habits.
▼ While the extra walking is undoubtedly good for health,
some people’s Pokémon-hunting obsession had them playing in the wrong places,
as this sign from Nijo Castle in Kyoto suggested.
As well as the pronounced difference in self-reported stress levels, physical complaints among those who had played the game for over a month had also lessened slightly. While the report didn’t attempt to pinpoint the reason behind the stress-busting power of Pokémon GO, its authors surmise that it may be down to increased physical exertion and socialisation among players.
The game isn’t always good for health though, as the report cites potential risks of playing the Pokémon GO as being:
“traffic accidents or injury risks; trespassing; abduction, and violence; mosquito-borne diseases; and sleep problems.”
And, as we’ve reported before, the sheer rapture at capturing a rare Pocket Monster can kill. Then again, balance that against getting off the sofa and actually walking around more than we otherwise might, plus the excitement of the hunt, and they seem like risks worth taking for the benefit of our health.
While there were a number of limitations with the study, for example, the average age of those who continued to play Pokémon GO for more than a month was much younger than those who didn’t, we can add this to the growing list of scientific (and non-scientific) reports backing the myriad pros of gaming. Pokémon GO‘s popularity may have peaked but augmented reality games are here to stay. Good news for gamers – with the scientific seal of approval there’s never been a better time to play guilt-free!
Source: Nature via Asahi Shinbun
Featured image: Gahag
Insert images: Wikipedia/Info2Learn
]]> https://soranews24.com/2017/09/08/pokemon-go-now-doctor-approved-thanks-to-tokyo-university-study/feed/ 0 388334 rsz_gahag-0110580641-1 Tech journalist predicts Japan’s Pokémon Go release date https://soranews24.com/2016/07/12/tech-journalist-predicts-japans-pokemon-go-release-date/ https://soranews24.com/2016/07/12/tech-journalist-predicts-japans-pokemon-go-release-date/#comments Tue, 12 Jul 2016 05:00:51 +0000 http://en.rocketnews24.com/?p=332405 
Pokémon Go has become the latest app sensation but it’s still not available to download in Japan!
Pokémon Go has shot to the top of the app charts overseas and become so popular that there have been reports of injuries, car crashes, and even people finding actual dead bodies while searching for new Pokémon — but people living in Japan are still waiting.
As you may imagine, there has been constant speculation as to when the game will be available to download in Japan, but Wall Street Journal tech reporter Takashi Mochizuki is telling his Twitter followers he expects Pokémon Go to be released in Japan this week.
Pokémon Goの勢いが止まりません。「クラッシュ・オブ・クラン」のスーパーセルまるまる一個分に匹敵する時価総額をわずか数日で任天堂にもたらしました。株価は40％以上も上昇。日本でのサービス開始は今週中を予定（関係者）とのこと。 https://t.co/HkQ6xqKgFp
— Takashi Mochizuki (@6d6f636869) July 11, 2016
“This Pokemon Go phenomenon isn’t stopping. […] Stocks have increased by 40%. It is scheduled to be released in Japan this week (according to related parties),” Mochizuki posted on Twitter today.
In addition to the possible release of Pokémon Go this week, a new Pokémon movie is opening in cinemas this Saturday, so it could be that there’s some coordination going one with the film’s debut.
▼The Pokémon Go Plus portable device allows you to play without your cell phone.
So, get your cell phones ready, because this weekend there’s a good chance you’ll be able to start catching some Pokémon in Japan! And if not, we can start venting our frustrations on Mochizuki.
In case you’ve been living under a rock (and there’s nothing wrong with that), you may be asking, “What is Pokémon Go anyway?” If so, it’s an augmented reality game, where you travel around your home or outside trying to catch virtual Pokémon that appear on your screen based on the phone’s GPS and clock.
It sounds like a lot of fun — and it’s free! No wonder people are hurting themselves trying to catch ‘em all.
Source: Mobilelaby, Takashi Mochizuki Twitter, Vox
Images: Flickr/Eduardo Woo, Flickr/Darren Mark Domirez, Pokemon Go Homepage
]]> https://soranews24.com/2016/07/12/tech-journalist-predicts-japans-pokemon-go-release-date/feed/ 0 332405 Pokemon Go by Eduardo Woo via flickr Pokemon Go by Eduardo Woo via flickr inline-576x240 Pokemon Go by Darren Mark Domirez via flickr