NEW INFO: Pokemon TCG Online

Written by | March 10, 2011 | 27 comments | 5,404 views | Rating: +11

Just got sent a press release by my boy over at Pokemon… take a look:

POKÉMON GIVES TRADING CARD GAME FANS ULTIMATE ONLINE PLAYER-VS.-PLAYER EXPERIENCE

New Pokémon Trading Card Game Online Offers 24-Hour Battling, Sanctioned Tournaments, Customizable Features, and More for Players Worldwide


BELLEVUE, WA—March 10, 2011—Pokémon™ fans can soon play the Pokémon TCG with anyone, anytime, anywhere, simply by turning on their computers. Expanding on the recently introduced Pokémon Trainer Challenge, The Pokémon Company International announced today the Pokémon Trading Card Game Online, a player-versus-player TCG, launching in fall 2011 for anyone looking to battle 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from the convenience of their PC. Pokémon TCG Online is a fully immersive online game using virtual Pokémon TCG cards that players can collect, trade, and use to battle with others just like in the real world!

When Pokémon TCG Online launches later this year at www.pokemontcg.com, players will already have two ways to collect virtual Pokémon TCG cards, ensuring they are ready for battle online. The recently announced Pokémon Trainer Challenge, launching in April, will give players access to three free virtual Pokémon TCG pre-constructed decks that will be transferable into Pokémon TCG Online. New and seasoned Pokémon TCG players can also prepare for online battles against other players by purchasing physical cards—the three Pokémon TCG: Black & White theme decks, which are available April 6th, include a code that unlocks a virtual deck for play in the Pokémon Trainer Challenge and Pokémon TCG Online. The more virtual cards players collect, the easier it will be to create a strong deck for battle!

To help manage virtual Pokémon TCG cards for easy sorting, trading, and showcasing while ensuring a customizable, in-depth TCG play experience, a unique Collection Management Tool will provide players easy point-and-click access to their collections. Additionally, Pokémon TCG Online deck-building tools, including an innovative deck-building wizard, will help construct personalized decks that players of all skill levels can call into battle.

“We developed the Pokémon TCG Online to enable fans of the Pokémon TCG to play against opponents worldwide,” said Andrew Finch, senior director of Online & Community Development at The Pokémon Company International. “Everything Pokémon TCG players love about the game is replicated in a rich, customizable online environment, making it possible to battle when you want and how you want, from training for real-world events to simply battling other TCG players from across the globe.”

Some of the most popular elements of social and casual games are intertwined with the best of TCG game play in Pokémon TCG Online. Similar to the real-world Pokémon TCG community, the trading of digital TCG cards and items in real time will allow players to interact with others while building decks and collecting a wide variety of Pokémon TCG-related items online. Various customizable features and digital items will be available through a special currency system earned through numerous game play scenarios, including officially sanctioned online tournaments staged by The Pokémon Company International. Players can expect the introduction of new items and features frequently.

Individual and community game play statistics will be tracked with ease using three features, including Leveling, which gauges individual playtime to unlock certain features within the game; Ratings, which tracks a player’s games along with any online tournaments entered and won; and Leaderboards, which will post standings for players across various skill levels.

For more information about the upcoming launch of the multiplayer Pokémon TCG Online or to sign up for an opportunity to play the single-player Pokémon Trainer Challenge open beta, please visit www.pokemontcg.com.

Fans can play the single-player Pokémon Trainer Challenge at PAX East, March 11–13 in Boston, MA. To play at home, players need to create a free Pokémon Trainer Club account, easily obtained at www.pokemon.com/us/account/login.

And here’s some pics…

So in conclusion…

  • When you buy Black and White theme decks, you’ll get a code to redeem the cards on your online account
  • You can make your own custom decks
  • You can trade cards
  • There will be online tournaments, ratings, and leaderboards

Gnarly man.

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Image Credits: Pokemon Paradijs, Pokegym, Pokebeach

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  • Derek Coontz

    Perfect! This looks great.

    • http://adamcap.com/ Adam Capriola

      Yea it looks awesome! After the first press release people weren’t so sure we’d get all the features we’d want, but it looks like they’re giving us the whole kit and caboodle.

      • bittyboy72

        I am still kinda confused about how you get cards for it… can you only use cards from starter decks? And what about past cards?

      • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_3QN5SCPLONI57JVRT3TSTJGNVQ Chris Barrieau

        Based on what I understood:

        The more games you play, the more cards you win OR the more fake money you get to buy cards. You add to your collection, and can trade cards.

        There are buttons for Lv. X and SP, so I’m assuming we’ll have at least Pl-ON. I’m thinking this might be a hint for the rotation… OR it’s just that all the cards will be included. Or just PL-ON or something. We don’t know for sure yet. But we can be almost sure that as early as SP will be included.

        You can put in codes to get the starter decks from BW, but there are other ways of getting cards.

      • Anonymous

        One of the pictures showed a Charizard SF line, as well as an electrode SF. So its just the current format.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_3QN5SCPLONI57JVRT3TSTJGNVQ Chris Barrieau

    WOW! You have no idea how stoked I am! I currently just finished bouncing in my chair!

    xDD

    :D :D :D :D :D

  • Anonymous

    Wow this is what we were waiting for. Not just you playing versus a computer, this is real online playing.

    It will be interesting to see how packs work. Do you have to buy online cards? Will online tourney’s contribute to ratings? Will online tournaments replace face to face tournaments?

    The bad thing is that the answer to this question: “Will it cost me more money?” Will probably be yes.

    Many questions left to be answered

  • Anonymous

    You know, I thought they would have tied this in to a DS game or something. Releasing it for the PC only, and not to a Nintendo platform, is very surprising to me.

    • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_3QN5SCPLONI57JVRT3TSTJGNVQ Chris Barrieau

      It’s all about the easy networking and Internet access. Sure DS’s can do that, but not everyone with a DS can go online. Most people with a computer can go online easily. So, it’s a game hosted on their site.

      • Anonymous

        Right, but I was expecting something akin to the GBC game, just with a computer tie-in.

  • Anonymous

    SWEET!

  • Anonymous

    fdfsd s

    • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_3QN5SCPLONI57JVRT3TSTJGNVQ Chris Barrieau

      Hopefully free to play, but I also think it would be a very, very, very bad marketing move if they charged.

  • Anonymous

    This looks so good!
    Really looking forward to online tournaments and such.. Maybe this could fill gaps between nationals and the beginning of the new season for people that don’t go to Worlds.

    This is fantastic news, thanks for sharing :)

  • Anonymous

    … I am speechless… Because I am so happy… *cries*

  • Anonymous

    Can’t wait to try it out at washington.

  • Anonymous

    They need to bring back the barcode system used during the Aquapolis, Sandstorm, and Expedition days of PKMN. Without it, the sales in cards would possibly be hurt due to people “play testing” with the cards online for free, then getting the singles in real life for tournies. The collectors of the game are not enough to hold the market.

    Also leagues may take a hit. Why go to a league with a small player pool when I can just play online with people around the US/ world? Not to mention with my friends that live far away.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_7SIK2UHXHKZVNEOTHS4IBYZLGA Chris

    Just noticed, it doesn’t say Trainer cards anywhere on the deck building interface… Instead, it says items. Does this maybe mean that Goods cards are going to called Items in English starting with Black and White?

    • http://rokmanfilms.com Rokman

      No. It clearly says pokemon, trainer, energy in the building interface.

      Cards/packs/items are referring to things that are not deckbuilding related.

      There might be special items you can put on your trainer for example, w/e

      • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_7SIK2UHXHKZVNEOTHS4IBYZLGA Chris

        No, down at the bottom with Basic, Stage One, Stage Two, etc. It says Item instead of Trainers.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001734489773 Dakota Streck

    It sounds like they’re really planning to make this a full thing :)

  • Legendhunter32

    Still no deck builder.

  • http://www.jiabdesign.weebly.com/ JordanBaker

    I love these news articles Adam, I would way rather read about this stuff here on 6p than on Pokebeach or the gym. Keep’em coming!

  • Anonymous

    That is pretty boss.

  • Travis

    I just cried a little… also, with such easy access to such an amazing online play testing community with such a fluid interface, the overall skill of players will increase. Play testing will be so easy, deck lists will be able to go from a skeleton to a fully functioning tournament deck in just days. I am just amazed this hasn’t been done sooner, but I’m thinking it was worth the wait.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_XXRUOG3TKLF7XYPUBRZBVYODDY Dominick P.

    I think I’m gonna have a heart attack

  • Anonymous

    I just really hope there’s an efficient (free) way to access the cards you want to build and customize your own deck. What’s the point if we have to buy all the cards we already own in real life, again online? That would be greasy and probably a misplay on their behalf. I want to be able to hop on there and build MY deck(s) I already have made in real life.

    It would be a real hack if we all had to “unlock” all the cards we already own. I know there is no way to prove what cards you own, but I think that the competitive side of things goes up if everyone has access to all the cards from all the sets. Then we really see who’s the best.

    P.S.- The site is actually very amazing, fluid, and user friendly. I’m having a blast battling with the pre-constructed decks against the computer. I can’t even imagine how much more amazing it would be if there were customized deck building, unlimited or limited tournaments, ranked vs social, online vs offline battles, etc.