It is that time again when everyone who is anyone will be descending on Paris in anticipation of celebrating Fashion Week. However, this year will be somewhat different than in years past, as the developers over at Pokemon GO plan to join the celebration in their own unique way.
Pokemon GO will be taking a few of their Pokemon characters and will set them loose for players to encounter from October 2nd to October 8th. The new Pokemon characters will feature them dressed up in special clothing, and can either be hatched from eggs or encountered out in the wild.
This newest announcement is part of an ever-growing trend with high fashion working on crossing over into several Nintendo games. Just earlier this month, Carolina Sarria, a fashion designer, took the experience to a whole new level. She offered a fashion show within the Nintendo game Animal Crossing: New Horizons—that came complete with a virtual runway and “onsite” makeup stylists.
Over the years, the social elements of the game have leaned less toward that of innovation and more towards the emulation by other developers. Even with this considered, the game itself is still going strong. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which is forcing many players to remain sheltered in place in their homes, the game has seen its best year ever—with no real signs of slowing down anytime soon. This is due to the game constantly offering new content and participating in new community events, which in turn allows everyone that wants to participate can, and have fun in the process.
The details of an upcoming update, found on the website for Pokemon GO, indicate the plan of mingling the iconic pocket monsters of the Nintendo world with that of the fashion world. With the recent partnership between Pokemon GO and Longchamp, a luxury brand, the game developer plans to commemorate the event by releasing an in-game version of a backpack printed with Pikachu.
Then, as we already have been told, special Pokemon characters will be appearing in the game as well, in special recognition of Fashion Week in Paris. These special events will run from October 2nd to October 8th. During that time, the in-game version of the commemorative Longchamp backpack will be offered to gamers for free, as well as gamers having access to field research missions that are exclusive.
Now, we admit, this type of partnership—between a mobile video game and a fashion brand—may come off at first glance as a little strange. We are the first to admit that the two brands have no common ground. However, the idea of Pokemon characters wearing some cute little outfits—well, it is a somewhat harmless way to cross-promote.
No matter how you break it down, Pokemon GO is one of the few mobile gaming juggernaut’s left in the genre, and it doesn’t appear to be losing any momentum anytime soon. And, even though its users are unable to go back outside and enjoy the elements of the game as they were designed, at least they will be nicely dressed when they are able to again.