Activision’s Skylanders is both very popular and highly profitable due to the combination of game purchases and the need to buy figures. That clever tie-in hasn’t gone unnoticed by Nintendo, which is now set to take full advantage of its Pokemon franchise to offer up a Skylanders competitor on Wii U.
The Wii U GamePad has NFC built-in, so Nintendo has decided to develop a new game, calledPokemon Scramble U (or Pokemon Rumble U in the US), and link it with the sale of a new range ofPokemon figures. Each figure can be positioned near the GamePad and will trigger effects and allow the Pokemon to appear in-game.
The downloadable title will be available on April 24 in Japan for just $19 and will include all 649Pokemon as well as allowing up to four friends to play together. But that’s not the end of the purchases. Kids will also be demanding you buy them the seven Pokemon figures that can be used alongside the game. They cost around $2 each, taking the total expenditure up to $33 as you’ve gotta catch ‘em all, right?
If popular, and I see no reason why it won’t be, there’s huge potential for Nintendo to expand thePokemon Rumble U line-up in the near future. Nintendo has hundreds of Pokemon that could be produced as figures, and we may even see Pokemon cards tied in somehow to squeeze even more cash out of parents.
After the very poor sales of the Wii U in recent months, Nintendo needs a big hit for the console and it’s not surprising to see them turn to Pokemon. I doubt Pokemon Rumble U will turn around the fortunes of the Wii U on its own, but it’s a good starting point if other Nintendo games follow quickly.
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