Junichi Masuda, the developer behind Game Freak's "Pokemon" games, explained the inviting nature of the series and hinted about what gamers can expect for the future of the franchise, Game Spot reported.
According to Masuda, the latest installments of the "Pokemon" series are becoming easier to appeal to a wider audience. In addition, this also motivates core fans to keep playing the games.
Masuda explained this is due to the emerging competition that Game Freak is currently facing, noted Naked Gameplay.
"Rather than any actual feedback from players, it's more accepting the realities of modern life," he said. "Kids these days or even people who grew up playing 'Pokemon' - everyone is a lot more busy."
"There are a lot of more things competing for a person's time than there were back then," Masuda continued. "For example, there are so many free games you can play on your phone now, there's so many entertainment options, so making it a little easier to play is the reason for that."
In the previous decades, Masuda said most gamers are contented with playing with only one game for a long period of time. But now, with all the technical advancements, people have more resources and means to keep their selves entertained.
"Back when I was younger, someone would buy us a game and that was the only game we had, so we had to play it," he recalled. "I don't think that's really the case for many people these days."
As for the future direction of the franchise, the developer said he has no plans of rebooting the entire "Pokemon" series primarily due to its ability to bring generations of people together, Daily Mail reported.
"One of the main appeals of 'Pokemon' over the years is the concept that even through all these games, you can have people 20 years apart but they still talk about 'Pokemon,'" Masuda said.
"Right now, I think keeping that element of the series, and seeing all of these new 'Pokemon' from X/Y treated equally with the previous generations, I think that's really exciting," he added. "And we really want to focus on that for the moment at least."
Despite reassuring that the series will remain intact, Masuda noted that Game Freak will have the power to do whatever it wants with the franchise if he leaves the company in the future.
