Longtime Pokemon RPG director Junichi Masuda plans to step away from directing games after Pokemon Lets Go! releases. Masuda has worked at Pokemon developer Game Freak since 1989, and will continue to serve as a producer and designer on the series.<\/b>
\nGame Freak \u2018s Junichi Masuda has said he will step away from directing mainline Pokemon games following Let\u2019s Go \u2018s release. Masuda announced the move in an interview blog from The Pokemon Company. He will remain with the company, and continue serving on Game Freak\u2019s board of directors.
Masuda revealed his reasons to direct Pokemon Let\u2019s Go, and his decision to move away from directing future titles during the interview .
\u201cI was the one who worked on the base game concept document for Pokemon Go, and even in that original concept, I had the idea of introducing new Pokemon through the mobile game. [\u2026] Given my involvement in Pokemon Go \u2018s development I felt that I was probably the best person to direct these games. [\u2026] But at the same time, it\u2019s important to have the younger generation at Game Freak take over the development of Pokemon as a series. I do believe this will probably be, in terms of the main Pokemon RPGs, the last time that I work as the director.\u201d
Masuda\u2019s intention to let the younger generation take over direction on Pokemon titles has already started. The last mainline Pokemon titles directed by Masuda were X and Y, which released in 2013. Pokemon Sun and Moon were directed by Shigeru Ohmori, who also directed Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. Most \u201csecond version\u201d games, like Pokemon Platinum and Emerald, have been directed by other Game Freak employees.
Junichi Masuda has worked at Game Freak since the company formed in 1989. Originally serving a composer, Masuda helped program Red and Blue. Following that game\u2019s success, he co-directed Gold and Silver, while also serving as a composer and designer. He would go on to serve as director, composer, and designer on Ruby and Sapphire, and FireRed and LeafGreen. He served as director, composer, and producer for Diamond and Pearl, Black and White, and X and Y. Masuda has been an integral part of the Pokemon development team from the very beginning, and he will continue to be important for its future direction.
Pokemon Let\u2019s Go will be the first Pokemon RPG for the Nintendo Switch, and it is being designed to draw Pokemon Go players to the franchise. The game refocuses on the original 151 Pokemon and the Kanto region from Red and Blue.<\/p>\n

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