Pokemon Platinum

Pokémon remains one of the biggest video game franchises in the world.

Globally the licence has shifted over 180 million units, whilst five Pokémon titles can be found in the overall top 100 DS charts. And that’s not to mention the phenomenal success of the card game, the movies, the cartoon series, toys, clothes and even music CDs.

“In the UK the Pokémon franchise has been a staple for all Nintendo handheld consoles since Pokémon Red and Blue were launched in Europe back in 1999,” says product manager Robert Langford.

“Our most successful release, Pokémon Yellow, launched at the height of the Pokémon craze in 2000, sold just over 900,000 copies.”

Pokémon Platinum is the companion piece to the multi-million selling Diamond and Pearl, and has already been a sensation in Japan, where 2.4 million copies have been sold so far, including one million within the first three days of launch.

The game is a sweeping new adventure set in the Sinnoh region of the Pokémon world, packed with new features and revolutionary ways to play, including a whole new online world accessible in-game at the Wi-Fi Plaza.

Other breakthroughs certain to delight long-term franchise fans and newcomers alike include the Vs Recorder, which allows you to capture your greatest victories for posterity, and Distortion World, which is governed by neither time nor space. Nintendo claims this ‘presents a radical new gameplay challenge’.

The epic story of Pokémon Platinum revolves around the legendary renegade Pokémon, Giratina, appearing in its new Forme, the Origin Forme.

Plenty of other legendary Pokémon also feature, including Dialga and Palkia and the powerful Lake trio of Uxie, Azelf and Mesprit.

POKEMON... AND ON...
Dedicated collectors will be especially excited to learn that one of the rarest and most popular Pokémon, Shaymin, appears in a new Forme in this new adventure. Shaymin was previously only available in Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl through special events. When transferred from these versions, he appears in a new Sky Forme, with a new appearance, new attributes and special powers.

In fact, all the Pokémon appear in new garb, wrapped up warm to survive the freezing cold of wintry Sinnoh.
The main meat of Pokémon Platinum is a quest to stop the sinister Team Galactic – a task that includes tacking a series of side missions and contests, plus, of course, some serious battles.

As you’d expect, it’s the battles that really pack a punch. The all-new Battle Frontier is a custom-built home for challenges and tournaments that becomes accessible after defeating the ‘Elite Four’ and the Pokémon League Champion and taking a ferry to the Fight Area.

The Battle Frontier contains five different Battle facilities, with each awarding Battle Points that can be traded for fantastic prizes.

Furthermore, the Global Trade Station from Diamond and Pearl has been expanded and renamed the Global Terminal.

This is where players can check out each other’s
battles, with videos listed by popularity to make it easy to find great content.

Online play, competition and sharing content are all at the heart of Pokémon Platinum, which itself represents a huge step forward and shift in tone for this classic series.
In the basement of every Pokémon centre is a Wi-Fi Plaza where up to 20 players can connect and play together in real time.

They can trade and battle with friends (as long as they’ve exchanged Friend Codes) and there are mini-games to play together at the Wi-Fi club.

PLATINUM CREDENTIALS
Considering all these new gameplay elements, plus the continued popularity of the Pokémon machine, Platinum
is set to be one of the DS’ biggest releases of 2009.
Nintendo is also backing the game will a full marketing push (see Catch The Marketing, below), so retailers should feel confident that Platinum will be a chart-topping hit.

“Overall this will be one of our biggest releases this year, with full year-long promotional activity planned,” says senior product manager James Honeywell.

“We hope that, with the launch of the greatest Pokémon game so far, that we can open this series of games to a much wider audience and ensure its success for the next ten years.”

CATCH THE MARKETING

The marketing around Pokémon Platinum will serve to both whet the appetite of Pokémon fans and gamers, as well as open up the franchise to those not yet familiar with Pokémon.

Nintendo is set to continue support for the game right throughout the summer as well, with a proposed tour due later in the year.

“Our planned activity for Pokémon Platinum isn’t just limited to the launch period, we have activity coming throughout the summer holidays and on into the peak season which will give this title one of our biggest ever campaigns,” explains senior product manager James Honeywell.

TV

Platinum will have a heavyweight two-week TV campaign from launch running through until the end of May, targeting both adults and kids. As part of the promotional focus on kids there will also be sponsorship with Jetix. However, this is not the start of the TV activity.

Throughout March there was a pre-order campaign to hype up the launch of Platinum, which also targeted both adults and kids through the recent Easter break.

Online

From the beginning of the pre-order TV activity right through to the summer, there will be an online presence for Pokémon Platinum across gamer and kids websites.

Point of Sale

Platinum will offer a range of assets, from wobblers and countertop standees to FSDUs and cubes. The main POS features the mysterious Giratina.