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Interview with Gail Tilden

On April 20th 2001 Computer and Video Game magazine interviewed Gail Tilden, who is one of the people high up in Nintendo, who helped with Pokémon's release over here. So for your reading fun, here is the interview. Source: computerandvideogames.com

Pokemon on GBA and Gamecube, Pokemon Crystal, Pokemon Stadium 2, Pokemon GBA hardware and the Saudi Fatwa. Just a few of the topics that came up when CVG talked Pokemon with NoA’s Pokemon Brand Manager, Gail Tilden

Noboby s better qualified to talk about the world of Pokemon than Nintendo of America’s Pokemon Brand Manager Gail Tilden. CVG spoke to her, and uncovered some tantalising details about the next generation of Pokemon games, as well as Pokemon Crystal and Pokemon Stadium 2. If you’re a Pokemon fan, you can’t afford to miss this.

CVG: Were you expecting Pokemon Gold and Silver to be as well received as they were across Europe?

Gail Tilden: It went really well in the US. Each time a Pokemon game has gone from Japan, to the US, to Europe it’s pretty much had repeated success each time. We wouldn’t say we were expecting it to break sales records, but it certainly wasn’t unexpected.

CVG: Has the global appeal of Pokemon come as a surprise to Nintendo?

Gail Tilden: We were worried that there hadn’t been all that many RPGs that were successes, particularly in the States. And an RPG with a somewhat younger skew, on Gameboy? We really thought the Gameboy side would be the weakest side for the franchise. Thankfully we were wrong. We had no idea the kids would go so crazy for it. It’s really meant a resurgence for the Game Boy hardware: ten years on and its selling better than ever.

CVG: How does the Pokemon franchise fit into Nintendo’s plans for Gameboy Advance and Gamecube?

Gail Tilden: Pokemon, like Mario and Zelda, is going to be part of the Nintendo line-up forever. You can expect [Pokemon] to remain at a similar magnitude as it is now. We haven’t announced a lot of formal plans, but you will have seen the Meowth tech demo we showed at Space World last year. That was your first look at the first Pokemon game for Gamecube. It’s in the works right now. More had been said about Gameboy Advance, as we’ve already announced the Card-E system that will be an integral part of that game.

CVG: Will new Pokemon product be shown at E3 this year?

Gail Tilden: Mostly we’re focusing on things we’re going to introduce this year. Things like Pokemon Crystal and Pokemon Stadium 2 – which will be launched in Europe later this year. We’re also planning to release Pokemon Crystal in Europe at the end of 2001. The US gets Crystal at the end of the summer, and this will be the last true Pokemon game on the Gameboy Color.

CVG: Will Nintendo be introducing the Pokemon GBA hardware in the US or Europe?

Gail Tilden: I don’t know of any plans to. You can only get those in the Pokemon Centre in Tokyo, but we do have plans to open a Pokemon Centre in New York.

CVG: What did Nintendo make of the Fatwa issued in Saudi Arabia against Pokemon? Apparently they cited Jewish imagery and gambling aspects of the game.

Gail Tilden: We take it very seriously, and we respect any interpretations they have of Pokemon. We think that the concepts behind Pokemon, nurturing and friendship, and the fact that Pokemon is very nature nature-friendly, teach children good things. In terms of the specific parts of the game that conflict with their culture, we think that they are right to make those decisions themselves.

CVG: Moving into the next generation of Nintendo hardware, do you still see the handheld unit as the prime carrier of Pokemon product?

Gail Tilden: We expect to see the next true Pokemon games after Gold, Silver and Crystal appearing on Gameboy Advance. But similar to how Pokemon Stadium drew data from the Game Boy games, the Gamecube games will take that to the next level. The connectivity between GBA and Gamecube gives the game creators a whole new dimension to explore. It’s going to be lightyears ahead of what’s been done already in Pokemon. People can’t possible imagine how it’s going to work. I guarantee you will be amazed.