Pokemon to be a major player for Nintendo this Christmas

Pokmon is playing a huge part in Nintendo’s Christmas campaign for 3DS XL.

And it has already boosted the platform this week with latest game Pokmon Black/White 2 charting highly.

But that is just one of five Pokmon games promoted this Christmas which will attract both parents and kids.

Pokmon is still a huge franchise for us and goes from strength to strength,” Nintendo UK marketing boss Shelly Pearce told MCV.We have a mix of core and side-titles supported through peak season.”

Pokmon Typing Adventure is one of those. It comes with its own Bluetooth keyboard to encourage kids to learn typing skills. A targeted campaign with kids via print and TV, plus curriculum teaching with schools, is helping raise awareness of the new typing game.

Said Pearce: This is ideal at Christmas where parents are looking for games that are fun but also educational.”

But Black/White 2 are the centrepiece games. TV ads, an online campaign and promo partnerships are designed to maintain post-launch momentum from last weekend.

A tie-in download game Pokmon Dream Radar launched last week, too. It lets players capture Pokmon and transfer them over to the Black/White 2 retail game.

Across the campaigns, Nintendo is pointing back to its 3DS XL handheld to drive hardware uptake.

Said Pearce: We are regularly referring back to the new 3DS in the campaign. The important thing for this game is that it looks fantastic on the bigger 3DS XL screen, it’s a great selling point.”