Pokemon dev explains why the series hasn't gone 3D yet

Many lifelong Pokemon fans have been frustrated to see their beloved monster-collecting franchise never make the jump into a proper console adventure. With the impending launch of Pokemon Black & White Version 2 for Nintendo DS, one has to wonder: why hasn't developer Game Freak pursued making a 3D adventure?

Producer Junichi Masuda said that moving to 3D would make the franchise lose its distinct flavor. "The feeling and the control of the character is also very important to us. There is definitely a certain feeling you have when you control these 2D characters. It may be different if we switched over to 3D," he said.

Speaking to Game Informer, he said that the Pokemon that appear on the package look really cool. "One of the reasons we use sprites, at least currently, is because we like to have more of a comical, kind of look like an animation, this kind of visual style is what we want to do for the Pokemon games... If we were able to take that style we have now and have it translate into 3D with no problems; that is definitely something we would be into."

Perhaps Game Freak will have to consider making the jump to 3D once the series make its inevitable move to the 3DS. For now, Pokemon fans will have to live with the colorful animated sprites featured in the DS games.