- Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket is due to launch on October 30th
- The digital card game has 28 years of physical cards to build upon, including plenty of classic favourites
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Pokémon’s latest mobile endeavour is only one day away, as Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket is scheduled for worldwide launch on October 30th.
This mobile adaptation of the hit card game comes 28 years after its physical inception and more than 50 billion card sales later, poised to tap into audiences new and old with a mix of exclusive digital cards and revitalised classics.
In Pocket, players will receive two free digital packs per day with the option to spend real money for more. They can use those cards to build decks, battle online, or simply view the dynamic range of artwork.
A long legacy
Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket has been developed in collaboration between The Pokémon Company, physical Pokémon TCG creator Creatures Inc, and Pokémon Masters developer DeNA.
It was revealed during Pokémon Day this February and first rolled out in soft launch in New Zealand last month. According to AppMagic estimates, the game has already generated $500,000 in player spending ahead of full release.
More than six million players have pre-registered for the global launch, likely including many fans of the physical card game; the physical TCG has been running since 1996 and continues to release around six expansions per year, creating a gigantic backlog of artwork for Pocket to leverage in digital form.
Fans who’ve been purchasing physical cards over the past 28 years have done so for a variety of reasons – whether in search of their favourite Pokémon, their favourite art, rare shiny cards, to build a full collection, or to create the strongest competitive team.
Plenty to play for
Pocket appears to be targetting every type of audience, with fan favourite Pokémon like Charizard, Mewtwo and Gardevoir already confirmed, a diamond-based rarity system, shiny cards, 3D cards and even new Immersive Cards for those collectors who want even more from the artwork – going beyond the boundaries of what a physical TCG can offer.
There are digital binders for those who enjoy displaying their collections too.
Trading is also being added sometime after launch to further encourage players to pull daily, as even if they get duplicate cards, they could trade them for something new later.
And, of course, there are the battles. Pocket has promised to streamline battles compared to the physical TCG with the removal of Energy cards and has shown off many flashy animations that wouldn’t be possible physically. The Pokémon Company is targetting novices and experts of the TCG here, playing to mobile’s strengths as a title to engage with “during quick breaks in your day”.
Notably, Pocket has predominantly shown off the 151 classic Kanto Pokémon to date – the original and most nostalgia-infused monsters for many veteran fans.
That’s also the same collection of creatures that comprised Pokémon Go’s launch roster, likely in an effort to attract that same audience back to the franchise yet again.
“Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket is an app for mobile devices developed so that people around the world can enjoy the Pokemon TCG in a more casual way,” The Pokémon Company explained in a gameplay trailer.
“While many cards will feature nostalgia-inducing classic illustrations, you can also encounter many with new illustrations as well. Even the same Pokémon can have a variety of different illustrations and depictions.”
Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket will bring the total number of active Pokémon mobile games to six. It marks the series’ first new mobile entry since the health app Pokémon Sleep and comes over three years on from Tencent’s Pokémon Unite.
Whether Pocket will go on to generate billions of dollars like Pokémon Go, only time will tell, but then the physical card game has already achieved that feat too.
