Ever since its announcement on Pokémon Day (27 February) earlier this year, I’ve been somewhat excited about finally going hands on withPokémon TCG Pocket. I’ve loved the physical card game for decades, but the one-to-one digital replicaPokémon TCG Livenever really appealed to me. On mobile, it just feels too busy and not something I personally enjoyed on the go. The concept of a mobile friendly, faster paced version of the classic card game, complete with pack openings, that I can play on my commute hits a very specific niche I was searching for.
For those who don’t know,Pokémon TCG Pocketis a streamlined version of the classic Pokémon card game for phones that looks to rival digital card games likeMarvel Snapin a way that it speeds up the average time of a game. But to the Pokémon Company and Creatures, they see it more as an introduction for new players into the mainline TCG.
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One of the biggest draws is the ability to open packs and collect cards in the game, with each player getting two free packs per day – one every 12 hours. Now you can, kind of, buy more packs, but that will involve using the in-game currency, Poké Gold, that obviously raises the concern of a pay-to-win ecosystem.
I raised this in a recent interview aboutTCG Pocketwith RyoTsujikawa, the general manager at Creatures Inc, who told me that the two free packs per day for deck building and use in battle will be more than enough to stay competitive. On the other hand, though, if you want to collect the rarer cards for your collection, that will involve opening and paying for more packs. Which to be fair, feels authentic to the standard card game. Those who buy more packs will inherently pull more of the rarer card variants – the only difference here is these cards are digital.
The Pokémon Company
This new stripped back version of the game cuts the deck size from 60 to 20 cards, going down to only three cards on the bench, scrapping energy cards from the deck entirely (giving the player one energy every turn) and removes the prize card system. Now it’s the first to three points wins. A standard knock-out earning a player one point, or like in the standard TCG, two points for taking out anexPokémon.
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Given the new audience this game will bring to the TCG, I asked Ryo Tsujikawa if there any plans to bring the game to the competitive circuit, alongsidePokémon GO, Unite, the mainline video game and physical TCG, and his response was, surprisingly, not an outright no – just that there are no clear plans right now, but if there’s a big following for the game, it could be considered in the future.
Diving into the in-game currency and monetisation, frustratingly, it seemsTCG Pockethas fallen into a classic mobile game trap, with a seemingly overly complicated range of different currencies.
It all feels abit much.
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The Pokémon Company
Then there’s the premium pass, which for $9.99 ups the number of “free” packs a day from two to three as well as adds “premium missions”, the chance to earn promo cards and in-game items. Thankfully these promo cards are just alternate arts, and never offer a competitive advantage with more attack power or abilities. Hopefully this keeps that pay-to win risk low.
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The Pokémon Company
Despite concerns I have with the range of in-game currencies, I’m honestly really excited forPokémon TCG Pocket. I’ve loved the real card game for years, and being able to play a stripped back speedy version on the go has some real appeal to me.
Pokémon TCG Pocketis set to launch on 30 October 30, for iOS and Android devices.
Topics:Nintendo,Pokemon,Preview
