256
rate

Pokemon Almost Became "Muscle-Bound" In The West

May 19, 2009 in News comments 18

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata recently revealed that the Pokemon we know and love almost didn't make it to the West. When the games were about to leave Japan, localizers told Nintendo that Western audiences would never accept the cute little monsters and advised Nintendo to make the creatures more "muscle-bound" to appeal to Western gamers. Nintendo didn't like the idea and decided against it.

Turns out Nintendo had the right idea.

When cutesy monster series Pokémon was being prepped for the Western market, localizers told Nintendo this: No way will adorable monsters be accepted by Americans.

In a recent interview, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata reveals, "We were sent a proposal of muscle-bound characters to use if we wanted to do well in the U.S."
Nintendo didn't sign off on the beefed-up Pocket Monsters.
Miss Razz via kotaku.com »
Favourite this article Add source
| More
Report!
News story attached to:
Additional sources:

Comments

Register as a member to subscribe comments.
  • 2
    chaos May 19, 09
    Nasty. Does Charizard have a little "something" hiding in that speedo?
  • 2
    Play ISDF May 19, 09
    No, just completely and utterly no.
    • 1
      black doom May 19, 09
      I agree completely my good friend completely on this one.
  • 5
    MusiKon May 19, 09
    Well, of course the Nintendo of the 90s knew what they were doing. They were smart once.
    • 0
      black doom May 19, 09
      Random flaming MusiKon, how very disappointing...
      • 6
        MusiKon May 19, 09
        I'm sorry. I seem to have lost my way. Nintendo knows exactly what they're doing these days. Americans prefer games like Wii Music over Soma Bringer. And I'm sure Wii Sports Resort will be better than Mario, God of War, and Halo combined. Forgive my ignorance.
        • 2
          HisServant77 May 19, 09
          That's more like it. It's okay though, you learned your lesson, right?

          The point black is saying is . . . is it necessary to get into anti-nintendo discussions and flaming them in an article that talks about Pokemon, and something they did right? When you insert it in unrelated articles, it merely discredits you.
        • 6
          MusiKon May 19, 09
          Despite the comments, I'm actually not completely against Nintendo. I'm just upset with decisions they've been making as of late, like not advertising Excite Bots and getting butthurt because sales were super weak. They're not gonna get SSB-calibur numbers if no one knows about it.

          That point aside, my previous comment was at least semi-relevant to the article. Nintendo had the option to essentially change the game so it could appeal to a mass market rather than try something different. Thankfully they chose the latter and it paid off greatly. And I congratulate them. I just wish they were willing to take risks more often. And yes, with the money they've been raking in with the Wii and DS, they can afford it.

          Also, I didn't think I had much credit here in the first place. It's not like I post much. =/
    • 0
      Big A2 May 19, 09
      They know what they're doing now. The casual market is were the money is. Just becuase they're not making games you like doesn't mean they're not smart.
      • 1
        Fallen Royalty May 20, 09
        Right. It means all these people buying casual games aren't smart and Nintendo is just adding fuel to the fire of "Imagine: Party Babyz" by selling rights to everybody who asks for them. Who needs a real gaming console? Nobody! We'll use ancient graphics on a seventh-generation system and tell the consumer that they need a ridiculous controller. So some shoddy developer wants rights to publish "Petz: My Little Pony edition" on the Wii? No problem!
        • 1
          Oogity_Boogity_Boo May 21, 09
          Well if Petz: My Little Pony Edition for the Wii sells a shitload of copies, why not? Nintendo is a business, they're going to do what they can to make money. All these shitty games based around the gimmick of the Wii are making them money, so why stop?

          The fact is, Nintendo would probably make more hardcore games or ask for more hardcore games if they sold. Madworld hasn't had good sales figures. GTA: Chinatown Wars on the DS hasn't had good sales figures. Wii Fit has sold more copies in the US than Halo 3. Then add Japan and everywhere else, and you've got a hell of a lot of money from that.

          It is the fault of all the people buying casual games because it just shows that Nintendo can make money off of them. And honestly, why shouldn't they? Because the "real gamers" don't like it? There's more money in the casual market than there is in the "hardcore" market, so that's the way Nintendo is going to go.
  • 1
    Euphoric May 19, 09
    I just want to oil muscly Charizard all over. Then we could bring fully fit and ripped Snorlax in for some extra fun.

    Idiots.
    • 0
      HisServant77 May 19, 09
      Oil and fire don't exactly go together too well . . . .

      Haha, It's a VERY good thing they didn't muscle-up pokemon. As much as I do not like Pokemon, this would make it SO bad that it would bring me to tears!
  • 0
    Disillusioned May 19, 09
    D:
    I can't imagine a Jigglypuff with bulging muscles.
  • 0
    McClubbin May 19, 09
    Looks like somebody forgot about this guy:



    Bet he could give that Charizard a run for his money at the Mr. Pokemon contest.
  • 2
    Flippy May 20, 09
    ...What?

    This looks like something from that icky Rule34 thing. *vomits*
  • 0
    King_X2 Jun 11, 09
    What the hell? That's so nasty. If they think disgusting looking, steroid-abusing pokemon freaks are going to appeal to ANYBODY, they have another thing coming.

This news story is archived and is closed to comments now.