The Pokémon Company’s chief creative fellow, Junichi Masuda, has discussed the upcoming PokePark Kanto theme park, and said it was developed as a response to the isolation people felt during the pandemic.
The PokePark Kanto will open next year as part of Yomiuriland, a theme park in Japan. Two large sections of the park have been converted into the first permanent outdoor The Pokémon Company [455 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/companies/the-pokemon-company/”>The Pokémon Company hosted a travelling theme park attraction; however, it was short lived.
Speaking as part of a new interview, Masuda has said that he wanted to create something that incentivised people to go outside.
“As a creator, ever since I was making the first game, I’ve always thought it was important to have people communicate through Pokémon,” said Masuda. “I was conscious of the idea of people meeting each other, trading Pokémon, and making friends.
“However, the COVID-19 pandemic has made it difficult for people to meet, and Pokémon events have been largely canceled for a time. In times like these, I wanted to create a place where everyone could gather at any time.
“I wanted a space where people and Pokémon could enjoy themselves together. When I thought about giving back to the fans who have loved Pokémon for the past 30 years, I thought, ‘It would be fun if there was a place where you could meet Pokémon anytime.’”
Masuda went on to tell Yomiuri that the park will feature a Pokémon Center, a PokéMart and a Pokémon Gym. It’s unclear what functions these buildings will have in the park, however it’s likely the Pokémon Center will be a retail space, as is the case across Japan.
“This time, we’ve deliberately separated ourselves from the digital world and focused on the idea of a world where Pokémon exist and being able to touch them. In Pokémon GO, when you hold your smartphone over the screen, it looks like Pokémon are in the real world.
“But when you reach out your hand, they’re not there. Being able to actually see Pokémon and touch them is something we’ve never done before, so we wanted to take on the challenge.”
According to Masuda, over 600 Pokémon will feature in the park. While not clarified in the interview, this number likely refers to the total number of Pokémon, not species, as the Kanto region only features 151 species of Pokémon.
