Ever since it was first revealed that Nintendo’s Wii U would include Near Fields Communication (NFC) technology in its GamePad controller, it has been widely expected that we would one day hear of a Skylanders-like Pokemon game with an associated lineup of collectible NFC-enabled figures. Well, today is that day, and Pokemon Rumble U is that game.
The latest issue of CoroCoro magazine (brought to us by Serebii) has revealed that Nintendo is planning to release Pokemon Rumble U in Japan as a downloadable eShop title on April 24th. According to the article, the game will cost about ¥1800 (around $19), with the individual figures running a very reasonable ¥200 each (around $2). The Big N is planning to release six standard figures and one additional “special” character at launch, although it is easy envision a scenario where the lineup balloons up if the game catches on. Shockingly, the first character announced for the toy line is Pikachu.
Pokemon Rumble U was first announced in Japan last month, and it is actually the third entry in the spin-off Rumble series — the first two being released for WiiWare and the 3DS. As expected, players will be able to purchase the figures in Pokemon Center stores and have them appear in the game. Pokemon Rumble U‘s story centers around toy Pokemon who have become lost from the shop after falling into a river. Players must guide the lost Pokemon back to the shop and battle against several bosses, such as Chandelure.
While the first two games in the Pokemon Rumble series were eventually released in the West, Pokemon Rumble U has not yet been announced for release outside of Japan. With that said, there is probably a decent chance of the game heading our way, because at last check Nintendo still liked money.
We will keep an eye out for any news of a Western release for Pokemon Rumble U, and let you know as soon as anything official is announced.
Published: Mar 13, 2013 02:51 pm