Pokemon Company Boss Says Trading and PvP Still Coming to Pokemon Go

“We’ve only accomplished 10 percent."

By Hope Corrigan

The CEO of Tokyo-based The Pokemon Company Tsunekazu Ishihara has talked about the future of Pokemon games, including Pokemon Go.

Bloomberg reports that, while Pokemon Go has made up to an estimated USD$2 billion in revenue, Ishihara believes this is just the beginning and that adding new elements will keep players coming back.

"We’ve only accomplished 10 percent of what Pokemon and Niantic are trying to do, so going forward we will have to include fundamental Pokemon experiences such as Pokemon trading and peer-to-peer battles, and other possibilities."

He also discusses ideas for location or climate-based Pokemon and the challenges that this can present.

"One view is to have chilly Pokemon in a cold climate, but then that would also mean that people born on a tropical island won’t be able to catch them," said Ishihara.

"Right now, if you go to the coast you can catch water Pokemon. For example, if you have a setting for electric-type Pokemon (such as Pikachu) to appear at power plants, is that really a good idea for you to find one in such a location -- is it safe, and is it OK regionally? We see it as a very realistic problem."

Ishihara also touches on some ideas regarding the upcoming Nintendo Switch title and the future of Pokemon as a whole.

"With the Switch, we see it as a chance to create Pokemon that goes deeper and with a higher level of expression," he said. "As a result, that makes it an extremely important platform."

This is of course after the CEO's initial beliefs that the console would fail.

Hope Corrigan is an Australian freelance writer for IGN who couldn't even catch a Lugia. You can follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

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