Pokemon Game for iPhone & Android Not a Nintendo Release

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We earlier reported that Pokemon will be coming to iOS and Android devices. But as a clarification, it seems Nintendo won’t be the one publishing the game, as it doesn’t usually develop software for other platforms.

Nintendo clarified that it sticks by its policy not to produce games for other platforms, as it prefers to keep things simple by creating games only for hardware it has control over. With the news of Pokemon games coming to the iPhone, iPad and Android devices, though, confusion arose on whether Nintendo was loosening up a bit on this policy. Nintendo clarified that the Pokemon Say Tap? game is to be published by the Pokemon Company, a separate entity that acts as the marketing and promotions manager for the Pokemon brand. The Pokemon Company manages Pokemon merchandise and non-video game products, such as the trading card game.

While Nintendo owns 32% of the Pokemon Company, it does not have full control over it. Nintendo says the Pokemon Company often produces “non-game products” that are used as “promotional tools.” As such, Nintendo says these are not video games, per se, but rather material used for promoting merchandise or products, which in this case is the Pokemon Black and White TV series.

Beyond Pokemon, this means that we’re not likely to see any official Mario or Zelda games on iOS and Android.