Pokkén Tournament

Lore & Background

Pokkén Tournament was first teased during a Pokémon Game Show event in Japan in August 2013, with trademarks filed the same month. It was officially announced at an event held by Famitsu on August 26, 2014, attended by The Pokémon Company CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara, Tekken series producer Katsuhiro Harada, and Soulcalibur producer Masaaki Hoshino. The collaboration came from brainstorming new ways to play Pokémon. The title is a portmanteau of "Pokémon" and "Tekken"; the Japanese characters appear in the game's logo in both Japanese and localized versions. The official German-language title is Pokémon Tekken, possibly due to the similarity between Pokkén and the German word for smallpox.

During development, Ishihara wanted to feature primarily fighting-type Pokémon, but Hoshino pushed back, resulting in a roster of many different types. The arcade version uses console-style controllers rather than traditional joysticks and buttons, designed to be accessible to players not used to arcade sticks. The game focuses on action over technical gameplay, allowing both hardcore and casual fans to enjoy it. Players can perform special moves and Mega Evolutions built up via a Synergy Gauge, and use Support Pokémon for buffs.

At the 2015 Pokémon World Championships, a Wii U version was announced, and a demo was available for attendees. In December 2015, Hori announced a dedicated arcade controller for Japan. In April 2016, Nintendo announced a Pikachu-inspired controller for Japan, released in June; GameStop announced a North American release in August 2016 in limited quantities. The enhanced Switch port, Pokkén Tournament DX, includes the last four fighters from the arcade version plus an exclusive fighter and new modes. Two DLC packs were released in 2018: Pack One added Aegislash as a fighter with Mega Rayquaza and Mimikyu as support; Pack Two added Blastoise as a fighter with Mew and Celebi as support.

Reader's Guide

Pokkén Tournament's significance lies in its fusion of the Pokémon franchise with the fighting game genre, particularly borrowing mechanics from Bandai Namco's Tekken series. The game's shifting between Field Phase and Duel Phase set it apart from traditional fighting games, making it accessible to a broader audience. Its arcade release in Japan in July 2015 was followed by a successful Wii U launch in March 2016, which entered the Media Create sales charts as the highest-selling game in its debut week with 69,675 copies sold, and was credited for a marked increase in Wii U hardware sales. The Switch version sold 53,395 copies in its first week in Japan, placing it at number one on the all format sales chart. Western reviews were mostly positive, earning a 76 out of 100 average on Metacritic. In the United States, the NPD Group reported that Pokkén Tournament outsold Street Fighter V by the end of April 2016. By August 2016, Bandai Namco announced the game had shipped over one million copies worldwide. The game was nominated for Best Fighting Game at The Game Awards 2016 and Fighting Game of the Year at the 20th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards. The Nintendo Switch version received similar or slightly better reviews, with praise for new characters and modes but criticism of the split screen mode's framerate issues. It had sold over a million copies by March 2018. In January 2021, Harada stated on Twitter that while he would like to make a sequel, it was up to Nintendo and The Pokémon Company to decide.

Did You Know?

• First-print Wii U copies included a Shadow Mewtwo Amiibo card that immediately unlocked the character.
• An arcade in Kurashiki, Japan planned to remove Pokkén Tournament machines in November 2015 due to lack of profitability, as one credit could last a player 45 minutes.