Just Being President Was A Waste!

Iwata

But even so, the original Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver had a very difficult birth.

Ishihara

Those titles were released in November 1999 which means that it took three and a half years to

complete them.

Morimoto

Actually, at that time we had very few programmers. That wasn't just the case for Pokémon Gold and

Pokémon Silver but for Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green as well. There were only about four

programmers.

Iwata

That's really a tiny number. Making a game on that scale with so few programmers would be

unthinkable these days. And the way those games were put together was very complex.

Morimoto

What's more, though we were creating the games with a very small team, we were very greedy in

terms of all the features we wanted to include in the games. I think that may be why they

experienced such a difficult birth.

Iwata

And then, just when Game Freak was snowed under with the development of Pokémon Gold and

Pokémon Silver, discussion of producing overseas versions began.

Ishihara

Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green had turned into such a phenomenon in Japan that we were

requested to release them in America. But working on the overseas versions was going to set back

the development of Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver even further.

Iwata

Although I wasn't working for Nintendo at that stage, I ended up acting as a go-between for Nintendo

and you for some reason. (laughs)

Ishihara

That's right.

Iwata

At that time I wasn't a Nintendo employee but was President of HAL Laboratory. At the same time, I

was a board member at Creatures Inc. and I ended up being involved in analyzing the best way to

localize the overseas versions of Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green. For that reason, I got hold of

the source code for Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green and I would study that and suggest ways to

localize it to the relevant department at Nintendo.

Ishihara

At the same time, Pokémon Stadium16 came out...

16. Pokémon Stadium was a game released in Japan on 1st August 1998 for Nintendo 64 that allowed players to

have battles between 3D Pokémon and manage their Pokédex. It was compatible with Pokémon Red, Green, Blue

and Yellow.

Iwata

Right. (laughs) You decided to release Pokémon Stadium for the Nintendo 64 and the first task was

to analyze the Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green battle logic and send it over to Miyamoto-san and

his team. You'd normally expect there to be a specification document, but there was nothing of the

sort...

Morimoto

I'm so sorry! (laughs)

Iwata

No, no, it's fine! (laughs) Studying the program for the Pokémon battle system was part of my job.

Morimoto

I created that battle program and it really took a long time to put together. But when I heard that

Iwata-san had been able to port it over in about a week and that it was already working... Well, I

thought: "What kind of company president is this!?"(laughs)

All

(laughter)

Morimoto

I was saying things like: "Is that guy a programmer? Or is he the President?"(laughs)

Iwata

To be blunt, at the time I was more of a programmer than I was a company president. (laughs)

Morimoto

(laughs) I was really taken aback that you could get to grips with such a complicated program in

such a short space of time.

Ishihara

I remember thinking that there just weren't that many people out there who would be able to read the

entire Game Boy source code, which was by no means written in a highly-refined programming

language, and grasp how everything connected with everything else. So Iwata-san, you analyzed

the whole thing and reworked the code, decided on the way to localize Pokémon Red and Pokémon

Green, got the battle system running on N64... I was surprised that you managed all of that...

Iwata

Well at that time, I felt that for the whole team at Nintendo, the biggest priority was not to do anything

that would adversely influence the development of Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver. So I very

naturally slotted in on the development side for Pokémon.

Morimoto

What's more, there were the tools for compressing the Pokémon graphic code...

Iwata

Ah yes, the compression tools.

Morimoto

You were kind enough to create those tools.

Iwata

Yes. (laughs) Well, I had heard from Ishihara-san that you'd been rather concerned about it.

Morimoto

At that point, we got a little carried away and were making all sorts of demands, saying: "This part

isn't quite right - do you think you could fix it?" We had some nerve to be making those requests to a

company president... (laughs)

Iwata

Well, I was willing to do whatever I could! (laughs)

Ishihara

It would have been a waste to just have you as President! (laughs)

All

(laughs)

Iwata

Being able to participate in that small way in Pokémon, I came to feel a real affinity for the software.

In any case, while it was tough going, Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver were successfully

released.

Ishihara

I remember that when Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver were released, I felt like a burden had

finally been lifted from my shoulders. We'd had our sights set on the finish line of Pokémon Gold and

Pokémon Silver for so long, and now that we'd finally completed the major series running right

through from Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue, I felt I could say to Tajiri-san: "I've fulfilled my duty!"

Iwata

But that didn't turn out to be the finish line.

Ishihara

No, it didn't turn out to be the finish line! (laughs) Once we'd released Pokémon Gold and Pokémon

Silver and it was selling even faster than Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green, I couldn't very well get

off the ride halfway through saying: "Nice work everyone. Good luck from here on in!"

Iwata

When Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver proved so popular, the number of proposals for related

products coming your way increased.

Ishihara

Yes, and it wasn't just in Japan. Product proposals flooded in from overseas too. Things gradually

got out of hand until I thought that approving this volume of products simply wasn't a job that a single

person could cope with.

Iwata

I think it was probably around that time, but I can remember that you wrote down a list of what was

needed for Pokémon to continue.

Ishihara

Is that right?

Iwata

You wrote down things such as the necessity of the animated series continuing, releasing a movie

every year, as well as the way in which the software titles should develop.

Ishihara

Ah, yes. You're right. I said that if we had a plan like this, we'd be able to continue.

Iwata

It was at that point that you concluded that a new organization would be necessary and you

established The Pokémon Company.

Ishihara

That's right. At that time, Game Freak really had their hands full and wouldn't have had the capacity

to work on the next title. The necessity to properly gather together all of the strands of brand

management and overseeing licensing led to the establishment of The Pokémon Company.

Iwata

I joined Nintendo in June 2000 and one of the first jobs I was involved in was the establishment of

The Pokémon Company.

Ishihara

So it was! (laughs) When the idea of setting up The Pokémon Company was originally discussed, I

actually thought: "It can't be done." This was because the number of Pokémon licensees and rights

holders had increased so dramatically, which I thought would make setting up a new company to

consolidate all of this impossible. But Iwata-san, you were good enough to play a coordinating role

not just for the domestic market, but globally. You really made an incredibly valuable contribution...

(laughs)

Iwata

Well, as I said at the start of the interview: Ishihara-san, you're an ally I've fought alongside for many

years. (laughs)

The Power of Science is Staggering!

Iwata

Pokémon HeartGold and Pokémon SoulSilver which we are discussing today are remakes of

Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver. Previously, you also remade Pokémon Red and Pokémon

Green, didn't you?

Ishihara

Yes, they were remade as Pokémon FireRed and Pokémon LeafGreen17. So this makes Pokémon

HeartGold and Pokémon SoulSilver the second time in the Pokémon series that we've released

remakes.

17. Pokémon FireRed Version and Pokémon LeafGreen Version were released for the Game Boy Advance system in

Japan on 29th January 2004 and were remakes of Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green with a whole host of

additional features.

Iwata

At the time of Pokémon FireRed and Pokémon LeafGreen, I remember thinking that while these

were great titles for people new to Pokémon, at the same time, it wouldn't do for them to be identical

to the old titles now that the hardware had changed to the Game Boy Advance18 system. That's why I

went to show you the Wireless Adapter19 which had just been completed. Basically, my intention was

to put the hard sell on you.

18. Game Boy Advance was the next system in the series after Game Boy Color and was released in Japan on 21st

March 2001.

19. The Game Boy Advance Wireless Adapter was an accessory for the Game Boy Advance system which allowed

multiplayer wireless play. It was released packaged with Pokémon FireRed and Pokémon LeafGreen in Japan on

29th January 2004.

Ishihara

Yes, that’s right! (laughs)

Iwata

I thought that I simply had to show this to Ishihara-san, the "King of Portable Toys".

Ishihara

At that time, I was asking really obvious questions like: "So 'wireless' means you're getting rid of the

wires, right?"(laughs)

Iwata

Yes, you did! (laughs)

Ishihara

Well, we'd put together Pokémon with this kind of analogue idea of trading Pokémon by connecting

systems with the link cable. I fired all sorts of questions at you like "What kinds of things will this

make possible?" and "How far apart can you be and it will still work?" In the end, I grasped the

innovative nature of the Game Boy Advance Wireless Adapter and remember thinking: "The power

of science is staggering!" (laughs)

Iwata

"The power of science is staggering!" That's the very first line you hear in Pokémon Red and

Pokémon Green, isn't it? (laughs) Anyway, because you responded so positively to the wireless

adapter, we got Game Freak to check it out.

Morimoto

Yes, that's right. At that time, we conducted trials to see from what distance the wireless signal could

be picked up and Game Freak staff would leave the meeting room saying: "Look! It's still connected!"

(laughs)

Iwata

It was great fun to witness those scenes of everyone trying it out. It really did turn into a gathering of

people all saying: "The power of science is staggering!" (laughs) But I think that being able to really

sense the possibilities of wireless technology led us to the Nintendo DS system we have today.

Ishihara

I see what you mean.

Iwata

Later on, the developers of the hardware told me candidly that at first they thought we were crazy to

sell something that costly to be bundled together with software. But they also said that the

experience they gained with wireless technology proved incredibly valuable when it came time to

work on the DS.

Ishihara

In fact, the Game Boy Advance Wireless Adapter meant that even just trading Pokémon felt really

fresh and completely different from how it had been up to then.

Morimoto

The scene at Pokémon events completely changed, didn't it?

Iwata

Back when you had to use link cables, people would wait patiently in long lines for hours on end...

Ishihara

And then suddenly we could distribute Legendary Pokémon in an instant.

Iwata

When you remade Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green, using the wireless adapter in that way

allowed you to devise whole new gameplay elements. This time round, a decade has passed since

Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver were first released so I wanted to see new elements that would

make players feel that this was a whole new Pokémon game. And Ishihara-san, you were pondering

this issue yourself... (laughs)

Ishihara

Yes, that's right! (laughs)

Iwata

Then at just the right time, we made 'Personal Trainer: Walking'20 and I went to show it to you. After

all, you are "the King of Portable Toys"! (laughs)

Ishihara

As the software element of 'Personal Trainer: Walking' was developed at Creatures Inc., I was really

interested in it. Then when I was actually shown the Activity Meter21, I thought it was really interesting

that there was no screen displaying the number of steps and that it was so light that you could just

slip it into your pocket without it remotely getting in the way. Then, when the title was released, I

began to walk around with the Activity Meter every day.

20. 'Personal Trainer: Walking' is a Nintendo DS software title released in Japan on 1st November 2008. It records

the user's steps at one minute intervals allowing the user to compare the distance they walk during their daily routine.

21. The Activity Meter is a pedometer that was packaged together with 'Walk with me!' and records the number of

steps the user takes. It can also be attached to dogs.

Iwata

You've got a dog, so I imagine that you were already in the habit of going out for walks.

Ishihara

As both my wife and I have dogs, we bought two Activity Meter accesories and went out for walks

with them attached to the dogs' collars. But one day, I managed to drop one. (laughs) Then around a

month later, I was walking the dog as usual when I saw this black, muddy object lying stuck in a

puddle...

Iwata

Surely it couldn't have been...! (laughs)

Ishihara

That's what I thought: "Surely it can't be..." (laughs) I thought I must have dropped it somewhere like

this, but a whole month had passed so naturally I'd given up on it. When I picked it up and wiped the

mud off it, I saw that the red LED was flashing. I thought "Wow!" and brought it back home. When I

connected it to the DS, I realized that it was the one that had been attached to Pocky. Oh, I should

explain that Pocky is the name of one of my dogs! (laughs)

Iwata

Right. (laughs)

Ishihara

So though it had been exposed to the elements for a whole month, it was still working. I remember

thinking that this was amazing. Not that Nintendo is making any sorts of guarantees like that about

the product...

Iwata

Indeed we're not! It's only splashproof22! (laughs)

22. A splash proof item is designed to resist exposure to light rain and sweat as opposed to a waterproof item, which

can be immersed in water.

Ishihara

But because of that personal experience, I thought that I'd like to try to use that device in some way.

I thought that you could really develop the idea for a Pokémon title if, for example, we could put the

pedometer data straight into a game. I also thought you could do something interesting with it using

it as a successor to the Pokémon Pikachu pedometer.

Iwata

So you said: "Couldn't this be made into the rebirth of the Pokémon Pikachu device?" When we were

working on the Activity Meter, the Pokémon Pikachu had completely slipped our minds. Although

they've got measuring steps in common, the manner in which they came about was completely

different and none of the developers for the two projects overlapped. When you first made the

proposal, I suddenly realized: "You're exactly right!" When you're developing a wide range of

products, you can get it into your head that there's no connection between them. But sometimes

something strange can happen and a chance occurrence will suddenly make you see a connection

between them. I think this is often the way that new possibilities get uncovered.

Ishihara

With Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver, we released Pocket Pikachu Color! Pokémon Gold and

Pokémon Silver Together!23 This time round we wanted to include a device like that to show the way

that the title's scope has multiplied.

Iwata

When I heard you say that, I knew exactly what you meant.

23. Pocket Pikachu Color! Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver Together! was an enhanced version of the Pokémon

Pikachu device released in Japan on 21st November 1999. As well as having a color display, it could also connect to

Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver.

We Were Greedy With The Features

Iwata

What did you originally think you'd need to do to turn the Activity Meter for Nintendo DS into a

suitable successor to the Pokémon Pikachu pedometer?

Ishihara

We decided to call it the Pokéwalker24 and we definitely wanted it to have a screen. We then asked

Game Freak to come up with proposals for what kind of features it would have and how it could be

used to play Pokémon. The proposal was a document about three times as thick as the specification

document we'd had for Pokémon Pikachu! (laughs)

24. The Pokéwalker accessory is a pedometer device that comes packaged with Pokémon HeartGold and Pokémon

SoulSilver. As well as being able to transfer a single Pokémon caught in the games to the Pokéwalker, the player can

use it to catch wild Pokémon or use the Dowsing machine to locate items.

Morimoto

We did go and write a very thick document. (laughs)

Ishihara

I never thought you'd go that far! (laughs) I thought that if we started working on all those things at

this stage, the games' release would end up getting put back again...

Iwata

(laughs)

Ishihara

Originally, I just had an idea that players would be able to take other Pokémon besides Pikachu out

for a walk.

Iwata

But in the end, you're able to go out walking with any Pokémon.

Ishihara

And not only that: you can even go out walking with one Pokémon who can befriend a new one and

come back with it. That was one of the things that we were ultimately able to realize in the game, but

that original specification document was really packed full of a whole host of features.

Morimoto

What we originally thought was that just being able to walk around with any Pokémon you liked

would be certain to prove really fun. We thought that this in itself would be enough to make a great

element for the game, so we went ahead and worked on getting this right. Then in addition to this,

we made it so the player could catch other Pokémon, locate items and connect to other Pokéwalker

accessories via infrared communication.

Iwata

The design is very much in keeping with the Pokémon look, isn't it?

Ishihara

With regard to the design, there was perfect material waiting to be used in the animated series. At

first in the games, there was never a clearly-defined image of what the Poké Ball should look like. So

the director, Yuyama-san25, was good enough to make a proposal of how they should look. He said:

"How about we make the Poké Ball so that it's small at the start, but when the button in the centre is

pressed, it expands greatly and can be thrown?"

25. Kunihiko Yuyama is an anime director who oversees both the Pokémon animated television series and the

movies.

Iwata

That's how the Pokéwalker ended up being about the same size as the Poké Ball before it expands

in size, with a diameter of 48mm and a thickness of 13.9mm.

Ishihara

Right. The style for a Pokémon Trainer is to clip three of these Poké Balls on the left and right side of

their belts. The Pokéwalker has pretty much ended up looking exactly like these which makes me

want to clip on six and walk around with them! (laughs)

All

(laughter)

Ishihara

So I was wondering if we could ask people to buy six. But of course, that would be going a little too

far... (laughs) But just as the wireless adapter made Pokémon FireRed and Pokémon LeafGreen into

a much more appealing product, the Pokéwalker enhances Pokémon HeartGold and Pokémon

SoulSilver. Also, as a portable toy that enables communication, the Pokéwalker is itself able to

communicate with the Nintendo DS and by connecting with the system, it can evolve. The

combination of Pokémon HeartGold and Pokémon SoulSilver with the Pokéwalker in this sense

represents a very significant multiplication of the scope of the series.

Iwata

But to be honest, an item like the Pokéwalker wouldn't normally be made for an individual piece of

software... (laughs)

Morimoto

Yes, you're right! (laughs)

Iwata

But Pokémon is something of a special case and when "the King of Portable Toys", Ishihara-san

approves of something that enthusiastically, I feel that we need to do something with it. Of course,

you couldn't have simply used the Activity Meter for Nintendo DS in its original form, and though it

was a real rush to settle on the features and design in such a short period of time...

Ishihara

Well, if there hadn't been an Activity Meter for Nintendo DS...

Iwata

There's absolutely no way you could have done it.

Ishihara

We wouldn't have reached this point.

Iwata

We wouldn't have been able to reach this point. Actually, while the Activity Meter for Nintendo DS

isn't the sort of item that was built to withstand being dropped in the bath or put in the washing

machine, you can put it in your pocket and it will withstand sweat. As we wanted to ensure that it

was splash proof and could withstand these kinds of everyday conditions, we changed its shape a

number of times right at the end to improve its ability to withstand water. It was precisely because it

had gone through these kinds of tests that Ishihara-san's dog Pocky's Activity Meter was able to

survive one month out in the rain. (laughs) If the Activity Meter hadn't still been working, it's possible

that you wouldn't have been struck with the inspiration to use it in Pokémon.

Ishihara

I think that's true.

Iwata

Let's turn now to the games themselves. Morimoto-san, what sort of issues did you bear in mind as

you worked on the remakes of Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver?

Morimoto

The first thing that I knew I needed to bear in mind was to respect the feelings of those people who'd

played Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver ten years before. I think that players have very strong

memories of the game, so they'd think things like "Ah, this trainer is still strong" and "If I do this here,

this is going to happen". I knew I needed to respect these feelings.

Iwata

So you're saying you wanted those people who'd played the game ten years before to be able to feel

a real sense of familiarity when they played the new Pokémon?

Morimoto

Right. But at the same time, there are a large number of players who had no knowledge of Pokémon

Gold and Pokémon Silver and who first played Pokémon on the Game Boy Advance or the Nintendo

DS. While we were creating the game, we were conscious of making it so that these players could

play with the sense that it was a totally new game.

Iwata

So it's not simply a remake of Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver?

Ishihara

We were very greedy with the features we put in.

Morimoto

Yes, we were incredibly greedy with the features this time round! (laughs) We basically included all

the game elements that had been in Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl26 and Pokémon

Platinum27Version. 

26. Pokémon Diamond Version and Pokémon Pearl Version were released in Japan on 28th September 2006 for the

Nintendo DS.

27. Pokémon Platinum Version was a new version of Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl released in Japan on

13th September 2008.

Iwata

Features that weren't in Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver?

Morimoto

That's right. It's just as if we've taken a selection of the best features of the series on Nintendo DS.

Iwata

And in addition, you've also added the Pokéwalker accessory.

Morimoto

That's why we had to make rather severe demands on our staff, which is something I hope to

improve on in future.

Iwata

But surely in trying to include all of these new features within the framework of the original Pokémon

Gold and Pokémon Silver, you must have encountered no shortage of problems and elements which

weren't really a good fit.

Morimoto

There were a huge number of issues like that. For instance, at the start I very optimistically thought

that we'd just be able to port the online element from Pokémon Platinum Version and you'd be able

to play as normal.

Iwata

By online play you mean, for example, having up to twenty people gathered in the Wi-Fi Plaza

playing simultaneously, right?

Morimoto

Right. Now, it's very easy to say that we're going to use the original Pokémon Gold and Pokémon

Silver as the base and add all of the game elements from Pokémon Diamond, Pokémon Pearl and

Pokémon Platinum Version, but it's actually not as simple as that. Well, I wonder if it's a good thing

for a director to have such an optimistic attitude as if anything would be possible... (laughs)

Iwata

(laughs)

Morimoto

But in the end I think that the fact that I was optimistic was the reason why we managed to include

all the features I wanted to.

Iwata

But in the end I think that the fact that I was optimistic was the reason why we managed to include

all the features I wanted to.

Morimoto

Well, no. I think it stems from the efforts of the staff.

Iwata

Actually, there was a moment when it didn't look like you'd be able to take part in today's interview.

(laughs)

Morimoto

Ah, I'm really sorry about that.

Iwata

No, I'm just glad you could make it!

Morimoto

Yes, it's a relief to be here! (laughs)

Pokémon Players Past and Present

Iwata

It's exactly ten years since Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver were released. The girls and boys

who were playing Pokémon then are now fully-grown adults.

Ishihara

That's right.

Iwata

But I've got a feeling that even people who haven't played Pokémon in a long time are liable to pick

up Pokémon HeartGold and Pokémon SoulSilver, thinking: "Ah, this takes me back..."

Ishihara

Right. The new graduates who are entering our company now are exactly the people who would

have once played Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver.

Iwata

So if new company employees are aged twenty-two, they would have been twelve back then. They

would have very much been at the heart of the Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver generation.

Ishihara

That's why when you talk with them about the new games, you'll see their eyes shining with

excitement as they ask you: "We're going to get to do that again?" Things have come round full

circle since that time when they were at their most impressionable, and they really feel they want to

give it another go.

Iwata

In that sense, ten years constitutes one self-contained period, doesn't it?

Ishihara

I take it you know Ryo Ishikawa, the professional golfer? Well, I heard that when he was at

elementary school, he wrote: "In the future, I want to be a professional golfer or a Pokémon Master."

Iwata

Really?

Morimoto

I didn't know that.

Ishihara

I read about in the paper. Apparently, when Ishikawa-san was young, his father let him try all sorts of

things so he could find something he could really get absorbed in. Of course, when his father took

him golfing, he found it really interesting. But when he took him to a baseball game, he was already

bored by about the bottom of the first innings and did nothing but sit there playing Pokémon.

Personally, I'd have loved him to have become a Pokémon Master! (laughs)

All

(laughter)

Ishihara

Of course, it's much better that he became a professional golfer! (laughs) He's seventeen now, so I'd

imagine that around the time he entered elementary school, he would have played Pokémon Gold

and Pokémon Silver. So I really want kids who were seven or eight, or maybe ten years old, to play

the new Pokémon HeartGold and Pokémon SoulSilver on Nintendo DS now that a decade has gone

by. With the addition of the new device, the Pokéwalker, I believe they'll enjoy it not simply out of a

sense of nostalgia but because they can see the way in which Pokémon has evolved.

Iwata

I'm sure it will feel really fresh and fun to them. Now, to mark the release of Pokémon HeartGold and

Pokémon SoulSilver, do you have any message for our customers?

Morimoto

Well, the original titles were released for the Game Boy Color, so with the Nintendo DS, the

hardware has skipped over the Game Boy Advance to land two generations ahead, so...

Iwata

So would you say the evolution is rather like that of a Bulbasaur that's skipped the stage of being an

Ivysaur and gone straight to a Venusaur?

All

(laughter)

Morimoto

It's really developed in a way that makes us want to show off that "staggering power of science".

This is something I definitely want players to enjoy. Also, with these titles, the way in which trainers

and Pokémon relate has become a major theme and this has been added to the story. We came up

with the titles Pokémon HeartGold and Pokémon SoulSilver as we decided these were appropriate

to express this theme.

Iwata

So you're saying that you'd like players to enjoy the kind of world view that's invoked by the titles

Pokémon HeartGold and Pokémon SoulSilver?

Morimoto

Very much so. In addition, as I mentioned a little earlier, we've been greedy in the amount of

gameplay elements we've squeezed in there. There's so much included that I even had colleagues

saying to me: "Are you sure you should be going this far with a remake?" In that sense, it's not

simply a remake - I think it's more than that. For that reason, I would like to see these games

enjoyed by as large a number of people as possible.

Iwata

Now over to you, Ishihara-san.

Ishihara

I feel that the breadth of the game has been greatly increased by the inclusion of the Pokéwalker.

There are so many gameplay elements included that you almost want to say: "Is this really just an

add-on?" I'd like to see parents and their children, along with grandparents and grandchildren,

enjoying dividing up their roles, saying: "Granddad, could you clip this on when you go out for a

walk?"

Iwata

You can play together with other players or take both roles yourself.

Ishihara

Absolutely. As there will definitely be one Pokéwalker included with each copy of the game, I'm really

looking forward to seeing how players will use them to broaden their enjoyment of the game. And

then there's also the appeal and excitement of those four-legged Pokémon, Entei, Raikou and

Suicune...

Iwata

Ah, the Legendary Pokémon. If they meet them, the players will be really excited. (laughs) And

they're not easy to catch.

Ishihara

What's really interesting this time round is that there will be players coming from both standpoints:

there'll be players who have memories of all this from a decade ago, and then there'll be players

thinking "What kind of Pokémon is this!?" That's why I'd like to see players with experience from ten

years ago giving newcomers tips on how to play.

Iwata

What you just said, Ishihara-san, is precisely what I wanted to emphasize. Firstly, I believe that

players who have no experience with Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver will find plenty to enjoy in

these titles, approaching them as entirely new Pokémon titles. At the same time, those people who

played the game ten years ago, and who may well have memories of devoting huge amounts of time

and energy to it, will be able to enjoy it all over again thanks to the "staggering power of science". 

As Ishihara-san just said, I think it would be incredibly exciting to see Pokémon HeartGold and

Pokémon SoulSilver acting as methods of communication between the new generation of Pokémon

players and those who played Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver ten years ago. Whether it's

parents, older brothers or sisters, or in some cases grandfathers and grandmothers, I've got a

feeling that, for the first time in a long time, this is a game that can bridge that generation gap. 

What's more, with the addition of the Pokéwalker, this looks like another medium with which to enjoy

communication. I'd love to see people with pedometers shaped like Poké Balls out and about around

the town.

Ishihara

Ah, there's just one more thing I want to add. Pokémon Trading Cards have also come full circle and

there's an all new series being released in October28. We've experimented with new types of artwork,

which I hope everyone will enjoy.

Iwata

Ishihara-san, when you made Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver ten years ago, you said you

thought of it as the finish line. But the way you're talking now makes it sound like that finish line is

still a long way off! (laughs)

Ishihara

Do you know what? I think you're right! (laughs)

All

(laughter)

28. The new series went on sale in North America in February 2010.