Pokemon Generation VI Announced

So there it is, the Gen VI Pokemon trailer. No more birds-eye view and boring over-the-shoulder Pokemon battles. It looks like we really get the benefit of the Nintendo 3DS in this game, with full three-dimensional graphics. As an admitted Pokemon fan at the age of 26, previous generations of games would still get me excited. The eventual release of pictures of new Pokemon, a few at a time was enough to do that. Now on top of that, we get a graphical overhaul to look forward to.

It looks like they gave us a glimpse on not only the three starter Pokemon you'll have to choose from, but the two Legendary Pokemon who will most likely be on the cover of the two games. The trailer also showed older generation Pokemon, it's nice to be assured that the older favorites will return. It looks like you will still move with grid-based movement, which I am a fan of, even with the new 3-D graphics.

When they said "big Pokemon news," ahead, I was a little skeptical, but they knocked it out of the park. Looks like the release date will be October of this year. That's all I've got so far, I'll post more when I know more.

Big Pokemon news ahead.

*UPDATE* 1-7-13
 Looks like Nintendo is involved with the announcement, can't wait to see what it will be.
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Some sort of big Pokemon news is set to be announced through the Pokemon company on January 8th. Since it isn't through Nintendo, there is no telling whether or not it will be a game. The only thing to do is to either wait patiently until Tuesday, or speculate, and what fun is it to just wait? So here are a few things that I would love this announcement to be.

Generation VI Pokemon game.
This is towards the top of things I want it to be, but I don't think it will be. Reasons being are this is being announced in Japan and America at the same time, previous generations were announced in Japan well before the American announcement. Secondly, Nintendo isn't at the helm of this announcement, at least it doesn't seem that way. Lastly Pokemon Black and White 2 were just released last year. I hope this is it, I really do.

Pokemon Console game.
I think this is wishful thinking, as it always has been. But who doesn't want to see Pokemon on a big screen TV? That of course being one of many perks from a console Pokemon game. But again, Nintendo doesn't seem to be involved with the announcement, so this is doubtful too. Not to mention besides the Stadium games, there hasn't been a full console game with the RPG feel that we all know and love. But, I still really want this to happen.

Pokemon the Trading Card Game. (Video Game version)
I don't know if I'm in the minority on this one or what, but the Gameboy version of Pokemon the Trading Card game was a blast. Much like every kid that was in Junior High when the cards came out, I loved them, still have almost all of them by the way. The game was a blast, strictly because you could battle with your decks against the computer. Almost everyone I knew collected the cards, but hardly any made them into decks and actually played the game. That is why this game was good.

The strange thing about this not coming from Nintendo or Gamefreak is when I think of big Pokemon news, I think games. I can't think of too much else the public would get excited about if it isn't a game of some sort. That's why I still think it will be a game announcement of some kind. Which game though? That's the question. I'll post more when I hear what it is.

Is the Console Dying?

http://dailyinfographic.com/is-the-console-dying-infographic

This was passed on to me, and I have some rather strong opinions about what this is asking. I don't think there is any way the console is dying and I'll tell you why.

• According to this, Console sales are down 37 percent year over year. Besides the Wii U, which came out very recently, there hasn't been a new console since the Playstation 3 and the Nintendo Wii in 2006. The reality of this is that there isn't an unlimited amount of people that want or need consoles. Numbers will decline because people in the market for these consoles get them, and then they have it. With the release of the Wii U and the upcoming releases of Microsoft and Sony's new consoles, that number will go back up.
• Even though it says retail video game sales have been down 25 percent, Call of Duty Black Ops 2 and Halo 4 (both of which came out in late 2012) have set records with the amount they've sold. Besides, the bad economy can't be helping the overall sale of video games.
• "Gamers are playing more on mobile devices." Well without even going into the stats, this is another one that seems easy to explain. Games on Mobile devices are very cheap, combine that with their ability to be played anywhere and everywhere and you should start to see why they're played so much. These can be played on road-trips, work commutes or even at home, the possibility is endless. A console needs to be played at home; I don't think mobile gaming is replacing consoles, I think they're just more convenient to play where a console can't be played. To add to that, mobile games (with a few exceptions of course) can't really touch the depth of what console games can bring to the table. For the real gamer, control schemes can be strange and hard to handle on a mobile device as well (I'm looking at you, Grand Theft Auto).
•  "Gaming consoles are no longer used primarily for gaming." 40 percent of XBOX activity is streaming through Amazon or Netflix. On top of that, half of all Netflix subscribers watch through a console. I don't think that anyone would just buy a console strictly for Netflix. Yes, it's a great perk of having a console, but it's more to enhance the experience, rather than take away from games. Before Netflix, when people needed a break from games, what did they do? They turned off their console and sat down in front of the TV to watch a show or movie. Netflix is no different, it's just conveniently on your console now. I doubt it takes any more time away from playing games than TV used to before Netflix.

Mobile gaming is no doubt on the rise, I play games on my iPhone myself. I primarily play these games to fill time, during a car ride or things of that nature. Most of the games I play on there cost anywhere from nothing to $3. If I have the option however to play anything on my phone or anything on either of my consoles, it's the console and that's a no-brainer. As I said before, let's wait and look at the stats for the two or three year period after all these next-gen consoles are out. I'd be willing to bet they'll be just fine.