This month select Gamestops around the country will host Pokken Tournament early -access competitions as part of the Pokemon World Championship. Fans can get a chance to play the game earlier than its release date on March 18th. The tournament will be hosted on February 27th, Pokemon Day, at the following Gamestop locations at 10am:
2201 Preston Road, Plano, TX
1841 Chamblee Tucker Road, Chamblee, GA
3972 Barranca Parkway, Irvine, CA
8115 S. John Young Parkway, Orlando, FL
6451 W. Diversey Ave., Chicago, IL
242 Bellevue Square, Bellevue, WA
32 E. 14th St. – Union Square, New York, NY
3914 Rivermark Plaza, Santa Clara, CA
Winner from each store will be invited to the Regional Final at the Nintendo NY Store on March 17th. The winners from that will go to the National Championships in Columbus Ohio around July. Each winner of the tournaments will get a chance to train with a professional fighting player before the games March 17th tournament.
The Pokemon Company also released a cinematic trailer for Pokken Tournament. The trailer shows us some footage of the leaked fighters Braixen and Garchomp. This trailer could possibly be the opening to the game, which is always a good way to get fans pumped up.
Pokken Tournament has been one of the most highly anticipated Wii U titles, as the States have been waiting for a port to this game. The inclusion of Pokken Tournament into the Pokemon World Championship and also Evo 2016 is a great way to build hype for the game. This is also coming off the success of Pokemon’s Super Bowl Commercial for their 20th anniversary. I would like to think that Pokken Tournament can be a system-seller for the Wii U, and perhaps a possible launch title for the NX?