ARCADE WATCH
Keeping an eye on the coin-op gaming scene
While Pokkén Tournament represents the harder edge of Pokémon tie-ins, the other end of the spectrum is being looked after by games such as Pokémon Ga-Olé. Created and manufactured by Takara Tomy ARTS and Marvelous Inc, the game breaks new ground for redemption machines. The most striking deviation from tradition is the colossal, portrait-oriented 50in HD plasma screen on which the action plays out. But while not as immediately obvious, it’s what the machine vends that really sets it apart. Rather than the typical data cards spat out by similar machines, Pokémon Ga-Olé dispenses thicker plastic varieties called ‘Olé disks’. Each one features a Pokémon alongside various stats and a QR code, and players can pit their creatures against each other in 1v1 battles by inserting the disks into the machine’s dual card readers. The upright cabinet also features a rack to rest other cards, ready for battle, and a simple one-buttonper-player control system, both of which sit either side of a central Poké Ball button on (which, as in the companies’ previous evious collaboration, Pokémon Tretta, ta, will likely be used to capture Pokémon).mon). 50 Olé disks will be available when n the machine launches ches in July, and while e it’s only confirmedd for a Japanese release,ease, the unusually high production values lues and fiendishly collectable disksks may encourage e Takara and Marvelous to push Pokémonn Ga-Olé into arcades in the west, too.