New York (CNN Business)The billion dollar Pokémon franchise now has two new games.
The Pokémon Company on Wednesday announced “Pokémon Unite,” a new game for the Nintendo Switch and mobile. And “Pokémon Café Mix” arrives on the Nintendo Switch and mobile Wednesday.For fans of Pokémon, “Pokémon Unite” might lead the way towards more multiplayer experiences. Traditionally on console and mobile, Pokémon games allow you to trade with other players but your ability to interact with them is limited. Nintendo’s multiplayer experience requires an additional subscription and sometimes connecting can be a slow and bumpy.
Unlike other turn-based Pokémon battles, Pokémon Unite features live fighting. It’s made by Tencent’s TiMi Studios, which also developed “Call of Duty: Mobile.” Tencent (TCEHY) owns “League of Legends” developer Riot Games, which has recently begun to release mobile games. From the gameplay shown on Wednesday, Pokémon Unite shares many similarities with Tencent’s other multiplayer online battle arena games.Read MoreThe scenery, the way Pokémons’ health points are depicted, and even the skills they use are arranged on the screen in a way that will be familiar to mobile fans.Pokémon Unite is a five-versus-five teamfight that’s free to play and offers Nintendo Switch gamers a chance to play alongside mobile users. The game has no release date as of yet.
Meanwhile, “Pokémon Café Mix,” a puzzle game that’s free to start but contains in-game purchases, launched on the Switch and mobile.In this game, players solve puzzles to “cook” and serve Pokémon cafe drinks and dishes. Nintendo (NTDOF) is also running a promotion within the game: if players log on for five days in a row, they can unlock a Pikachu as a staff member in the cafe. There’s also some cross promotion of Pokémon video games: Scorbunny, a starter Pokémon from the “Pokémon Sword” and “Shield” games, appears as a customer within “Café Mix” from July 1 to July 15 and can also be recruited as staff.
Just a week ago, Nintendo announced two other Pokémon games. “Pokémon Snap,” the simple yet addicting game where you take pictures of the adorable pocket monsters, is coming to Nintendo Switch with no release date. The second, a mobile app called “Pokémon Smile,” was released last week and is about brushing teeth to defeat cavity-causing bacteria shown in the game. Like its successful predecessor “Pokémon Go,” it uses augmented reality.
Source: edition.cnn.com
