Vol. 1, Issue 11 - How emulation is making Pokémon accessible for fans
Five fans of Pokémon come together to share their stories on emulation
The topic of emulation is sometimes controversial, one that can spark a lot of negativity and arguments on whether it’s morally correct to emulate video games. Unfortunately, we live in a world where some titles are out of reach for many people. When it comes to Pokémon, certain games can only be bought for obscene amounts of money online via a third party. Due to the closure of the Nintendo eShop for Wii U and 3DS, a vast number of digital Pokémon titles are no longer available for purchase. These reasons alone have surely fuelled the desire to obtain games through other means.
We spoke with five fans who shared their stories of why they emulate Pokémon and what it would take for them to potentially change their minds. Be sure to click the link below to check out the feature!
Last week, we published an interview with Chris Nicolella, the former Senior Game Producer at Tiger Electronics/Hasbro Toys who worked on the original Pokédex toy. The attention it received was overwhelming, and we gained an increase in subscribers and new readers as a result. Firstly, I want to say a big thank you to PokéJungle and Nintendo World Report who shared the interview and helped us get noticed. As a small project, this kind of attention really helps us, and we are incredibly thankful to them and to all the people who subscribed to support us. We hope that you’ll appreciate all of our content, both large and small.
In other news: on April 17th 2023, YouTuber and Pokémon archivist Lewtwo shared an exciting message on his Twitter account, announcing that accurate scans of the original 251 Pokémon artwork by Ken Sugimori had been sent to him. They were provided by Twitter user @ExcaliburZero_Z, which we are incredibly thankful for! According to Excalibur, the source of this artwork was from a “Japanese G&S Pokedex book” so it appears this has been available for some time, but never pulled together for a large preservation effort, until now!
At the time of writing, only a few scans have been released online, as further editing is required before they can be shared. The process will take time, but we are certain it will be worth it! Seeing Ken Sugimori’s artwork as it was originally intended, almost twenty-five years after I first became a fan, is certainly something special!