New Pokémon Black and White details in the latest edition of 'Iwata Asks'
It don’t matter if you're black or white
In the latest of Nintendo’s cosy and slightly surreal interview series ‘Iwata Asks’, the company president quizzes the creative talent behind the upcoming new Pokémon titles.
Director Junichi Masuda and 2D art director Ken Sugimori speak at length about the new direction that the series is taking.
In particular, they stress the importance of this game not being ‘just another’ Pokémon title. To this end, they’ve tried to destroy much of the accepted knowledge surrounding the series.
For starters, the game’s central location is a large western metropolis modelled on New York City. Masuda visited the city himself for inspiration, finalising the game’s concept designs in a garden at the NY Museum of Modern of Art.
The game’s team of 17 graphic designers – including some of the ten designers who worked on the original Pokémon titles - also took a day out to a zoo, in search of inspiration for new monster designs.
It was always going to be tricky coming up with a fresh roster of pocket size creatures that look original, without stepping outside of series’ feel, but the team seems proud of its efforts.
Check out the image gallery above to see if you agree.
Pokémon Black and White launch on September 18th in
Japan. Western release dates are yet to be announced, but don’t discount a US release in time for Christmas.
Japanese video game magazine Famitsu has already reviewed Pokemon Black and White, giving the pair a perfect 40/40.
