Pokémon UNITE has just been released. But is the game also suitable as an esport title? Here are our first impressions.
Since the initial announcement, gamers around the world have been looking forward to the Pokémon MOBA as a potential breath of fresh air for the genre. Now that the game has been out for a while, we took a closer look. Could Pokémon UNITE be the next big Esport?
Trainers, it’s time. #PokemonUNITE is now available on Nintendo Switch! 🎮
Download and start playing now ➡️ https://t.co/S2k3xaHXRT pic.twitter.com/ZzPI6GWVoG
— Pokémon UNITE (@PokemonUnite) July 21, 2021
Gameplay
The foundation for any game to succeed is competitive and enjoyable gameplay. After a few games, the game mechanics in UNITE quickly become more enjoyable and offer plenty of room for clever outsmarting of opponents.
Dodging abilities and using them yourself at the right time along with items are the biggest part of UNITE and are similar to other MOBAs in this respect. LoL and Dota 2 players will feel right at home in UNITE.
Season 1 of #PokemonUNITE introduces all kinds of Holowear, Trainer outfits and other content to make your journeys here even better! pic.twitter.com/v5SJ8inRbA
— Pokémon UNITE (@PokemonUnite) July 21, 2021
The lack of creeps (or in this case, neutral Pokémon) and item choices that must be made before a round even starts, however, means that some strategic aspects are missing from the game. The varied Pokémon and objects on the map do, however, offer plenty of room for different “approaches” to solving problems, which may be comparable to the strategic depth in the established titles.
If the developers can continue to balance game mechanics while introducing new Pokémon and items, UNITE can definitely stand on its own two feet and keep the player base engaged for the long haul.
Stats, Fair Play Rating and more
UNITE has learned from the current MOBAs on the market and adopted a number of features that we might not have expected from a game that will also be released for mobile devices in September. Not only is there a built-in “Fair Play” rating to reward good player behaviour and punish unfair players. Detailed statistics are also displayed after the game.
UNITE also offers a practice lobby where all deaths are displayed after half a round to help players learn what exactly killed them. These are all important tools to improve. However, other essentials such as accessible replays and an observation mode are still missing from the game and could become a hindrance in its development into an Esport title.
Free-to-Start vs. Free-to-Play
But there are two other key factors in classifying a video game as a potential Esport title: potential player base and developer support.
First, let’s look at the player base. As a Pokémon title, UNITE is known all over the world and will have no trouble generating interest. UNITE’s “free-to-start” model could be a barrier to new players. Although it is relatively easy to collect a substantial list of Pokémon that can be used immediately, the model, which offers limited options at the start, could put off new players. The potential shortcuts of investing money in the in-game shop to level up items faster or unlock more characters also threaten the competitiveness of the title. Another potential hurdle is the game’s current restriction to the Nintendo Switch, but that should be mostly gone as a platform by September, when the mobile version of UNITE launches.
The lack of “free-to-play” doesn’t have to be such a huge hurdle, as League of Legends demonstrated quite well. But that also leads us to the second factor: developer support.
Developer and Publisher Support
Nintendo is notoriously often hesitant to embrace the more competitive sides in their own games. Be it Smash Bros. or other titles like Splatoon or the Pokken fighting game, a promising Tekken and Pokémon title that unfortunately hasn’t seen much growth in esports. In an earlier interview, UNITE producer Masaki Hoshino said that esports, while interesting to the company, will not be a focus for now.
From an interview on Pokémon Unite with JP Media:
– Expanding the Pokémon IP to different genres is difficult and Unite was realised in large part due to Tencent's expertise.
– It is a 'strategic team battle game' and not just another 'MOBA'.https://t.co/sw2xmpvSEG— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) July 12, 2020
A counterbalance to the lack of efforts in esports and the absence of esports records is the development studio behind UNITE: TiMi Studios. The Tencent subsidiary has plenty of experience in the esports sector, with previous games such as Honor of Kings, Arena of Valor and most recently Call of Duty: Mobile all launching esports competitions. If they are willing to invest in UNITE’s Esports, there is certainly no shortage of expertise.
Conclusion.
It’s still very early to tell, but Pokémon UNITE certainly has the possibility of becoming the next big title. Perhaps it can even become the first mobile esports title to achieve major success worldwide. The foundations for this are all there in the game. With small tweaks, improvements and further updates, UNITE can conquer a place in esports.
The ball is now in Nintendo’s court and they have the chance to catch up with all the Esport records of the last few years and prove that they can indeed raise an Esport title and keep it alive.
