Why Pokkén Isn’t On 3DS

Bandai Namco developers Katsuhiro Harada and Masaaki Hoshino have explained in an interview why Pokkén Tournament is not being made for 3DS.

As they put it, bringing Pokkén Tournament to 3DS is not entirely impossible, but it would be very very difficult. In fact, they already face an incredible challenge in porting Pokkén Tournament from the arcades to Wii U. Ultimately, it is not a matter of the technology, but the budget required to make the port.

Bandai Namco has famously made a special version of Tekken for 3DS with incredible technological prowess, even before the New 3DS was released. Tekken 3D Prime Edition runs at full 60FPS, even with 3D turned on. So, when they say they could have ported Pokkén Tournament to the 3DS, they mean it.

Perhaps it’s possible that if Pokkén Tournament becomes successful like Hyrule Warriors, it could give them incentive to make a port in the future. Hyrule Warriors is one of the bestselling games in the Musou series, with the most successful launch Tecmo Koei ever saw for the franchise. This gave them the impetus to keep the new series going with Hyrule Warriors Legends.

Would you play Pokkén Tournament on 3DS? Would it be incentive for you to buy a New 3DS if you don’t have one? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.

Pokkén Tournament will be releasing on March 18 worldwide exclusively on the Wii U. Pokkén Tournament will have no DLC, and will support all available amiibo out in the market.