Masuda: way to connect games will "definitely come down the road"

In an interview with the Game Informer website posted on Wednesday, Pokémon series producer and composer Junichi Masuda stated that he wants to develop a way for the Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon Nintendo 3DS games to interact at some point with the Pokémon Go smartphone game. He said that more people have learned about Pokémon and the core concept of throwing Pokéballs through Pokémon Go than the anime, and that "we don't want to waste that." He later added, "We want to have a kind of way to connect the two, or have a way for people who enjoyed one to enjoy some of their progress in the other. But that will definitely come down the road."

Answering a different question, Masuda revealed that he worked on Pokémon Go's Pokéball-throwing mechanic.

In answering a question about whether Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon would be the last Nintendo 3DS titles for the series, Masuda answered that Game Freak, the company that develops the games, must always consider the games' release timing to ensure that it is on a platform that can reach people, and that holds true for the next game in the series as well.

The Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon games will debut in Japan and North America on November 18, followed by Europe on November 23. A demo for the game is available now. The three Starter Pokémon (pictured below) are: the Grass-type Rowlet (Mokuroh in Japan), the Fire-type Litten (Nyabby), and the Water-type Popplio (Ashimari).

The games' new Legendary Pokémon include Solgaleo and Lunala (pictured below):

The games will be available on the Nintendo 3DS worldwide in Japanese, English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Korean, and — unlike in the previous generation — Chinese (Traditional and Simplified). Players can choose their preferred language when they launch each game. The two versions will be set 12 hours apart.

The Pokémon Go iOS and Android app launched in select countries including the United States on July 6, and has since launched in more than 100 countries and territories. The app is also slated to launch for Apple Watch. The "Pokémon GO Plus" accessory shipped on September 16.

Source: Game Informer (Kyle Hilliard)