Rejoice Pokémon fans, the popular 3DS game, "Pokemon Rumble World," is finally coming out in retail stores today for the meager price of $29.99.
Initially introduced in 2015 on the 3DS Virtual Console, "Pokémon Rumble World" quickly became one of Nintendo's top-selling digital titles. However, there was only one problem - it was digital only, meaning that people who preferred physical copies of their games either had to settle for the "freemium" version or wait to get a hard copy.
In a statement, Nintendo of America Executive VP of Sales & Marketing Scott Moffitt revealed Nintendo was aware of this issue and noted that the game's physical release is the company's way of addressing it.
"We love giving our fans as many purchase options as possible," he said. "Players that love collecting physical games and all things Pokémon will now be able to add 'Pokémon Rumble World' to their Nintendo 3DS collection."
Considering that one game is free, and the other costs $29.99, one might be led to ask why bother with the latter. Well, the answer for this is rooted in the title's in-game currency, Poke Diamonds. In the freemium version of "Pokémon Rumble World," players could obtain Poke Diamonds through normal gameplay, exchanged through StreetPass, or by purchasing them directly with real world money through the Nintendo eShop.
However, as a child-friendly and family-oriented company, Nintendo implemented a hard cap on the amount of Poke Diamonds players could directly purchase. Once that cap was reached, players had to settle on using a mine that would grant them 20 Poke Diamonds a day, at which point all of the players' day-to-day activities slowed significantly.
The retail version addresses this problem somewhat by granting the player 3,000 PokeDiamonds, the maximum amount purchasable in the freemium version, from the start. However, it's unclear if this means that the mine will offer more diamonds or if there is simply more ways for the players to get their hands on more diamonds. The likelihood for either possibility isn't high.
Here's a description as stated by the press release:
"Playing the 'Pokémon Rumble World' game is perfect for the Pokémon 20th celebration, as the game features more than 700 Pokémon. In the game, players control a Toy Pokémon and battle and befriend as many Pokémon as possible in dozens of stages in many different areas. The more Toy Pokémon players befriend, the better chance they have to defeat other Pokémon."
"Using the StreetPass, SpotPass or 'Call Someone Online' features (which, excluding StreetPass, require a wireless Internet connection), players can invite fellow players' Mii characters into their castle town to assist them by providing helpful items. Players can even customize their Mii characters with outfits and a custom message."
For more information, check out the "Pokemon Rumble World" website.
