The Pokémon Company is looking to enter the Web3 space

A recent job listing has revealed that The Pokémon Company is on the hunt for an executive with prior experience in Web3, hinting that the company aims to make its move into the metaverse or NFTs.

The details:

• A new job posting for the position of Corporate Development Principal has appeared on the company's careers site, with the position based in the company's Bellevue headquarters. The Pokémon Company is a joint venture between the Pokémon game developers, Game Freak and Creatures Inc., and franchise publisher Nintendo. To the dismay of some fans, it appears that the company is now looking to use Web3 technology in some capacity.
• The job description states that candidates must have "deep knowledge and understanding of Web 3, including blockchain technologies and NFT, and/or metaverse," which doesn't say much about how the company plans to bring Pokémon to the blockchain. However, Pokémon's main gameplay loop is collecting various species of monsters, which could fit right into the NFT market. An unofficial NFT project titled "Pixelmon" inspired by the franchise sold a total of $70 million of the tokens early last year before being mocked for its hilariously poor quality artwork, indicating that those in the space are likely interested in something more official (and less ugly).
• The Pokémon Company or any of its parent companies have not yet used Web3 technology in any of its publicly released projects, despite Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa saying in February 2022 that the company sees "great potential" in the metaverse but is not in a hurry to develop a title for it. However, Niantic, the developer behind the mobile game Pokémon GO, has stated that it is aiming to create a "real-world metaverse," with Pokémon GO already being included. Its Lightship platform has also been developed for Web3 applications, with Pixelynx’s metaverse music game Elynxir using the toolset.

More recent Nintendo news:

• A successor to the Nintendo Switch could be on the way. According to an alleged leaker, the company is planning to release a new console shortly, along with a "graphics enhancement patch" for the latest Pokémon. The exact date of its apparent launch is unknown, but it is expected to occur between late 2023 and early 2024.
• Pokémon and Netflix are collaborating on a new series with the stop-motion animation studio, Dwarf Studios. The show, titled "Pokémon Concierge," will follow a concierge at a holiday resort who assists Pokémon guests with day-to-day tasks.