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Looking for a Pokémon TCG Pocket vs Live breakdown? Now that the announcement of Pokémon TCG Pocket has hit, let’s go over the key differences between Pokémon TCG Live.
With two different developers, though a shared brand, it’s understandable that the reveal of the release of Pokémon TCG Pocket has been met with slight confusion. Aside from the actual (physical) trading card game, there’s been countless digital iterations of the game on multiple different platforms. There’s mobile games, a Game Boy Color game, and PC and Mac variants too.
Pokémon TCG Pocket vs Live
While the Pokémon TCG Live was developed and maintained by The Pokémon Company International, the latest TCG Pocket title his being developed by another company: “Experience the fun of collecting Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) cards with Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket, an upcoming game for iOS and Android devices from Creatures Inc., the original developers of the Pokémon TCG, and DeNA Co., Ltd.”
You might be familiar with this developer responsible for Star Wars: Galactic Defense, Pokémon Masters EX, and assisting on Fire Emblem Heroes and Super Mario Run. It’s important to note that DeNA Co are not a competitor to Nintendo, but a subsidiary company. Don’t expect the titles to be competing for a similar market. TCG Live looks to offer an enhanced, but true-to-mechanics, experience, while TCG Pocket looks as though it’s going to be more focused on Gacha style gameplay.
What are the main differences between Pocket and Live?
Where you could play Pokémon TCG Live on mobile devices, PC, and Mac, Pocket is going to be limited to mobile devices only. Similar to Marvel Snap, the game will reward you for playing the game daily with free packs, and you’ll be incentivised to purchase additional bundles in order to keep up the competitive nature of the game. On the other hand, Pokémon TCG Live is entirely free-to-play like Magic: The Gathering Arena and Online.
This likely means that there’s going to be more of an emphasis on collecting (as is the real nature of Pokemon games) compared to the battle-emphasis of TCG Live.
The battle mechanics of the two games seem like they’re going to be slightly different too. In Pocket, it looks as though new gameplay features are being introduced. Energy Zone seems to be one of them – a place where you can attach Energy to your cards.
Microtransactions seem like they’re going to play a huge part in the game too. It’s announcement brought along a whole swathe of new card art with it, and these will likely be locked behind paywalls or unfavourable RNG.
Key similarities of Pokémon TCG Pocket and Live
There doesn’t seem to be too many similarities between Pocket and Live, which is a good thing really. Since the game is labelled a ‘new TCG experience,’ you can’t help but feel excited about a move in an entirely new direction for the digital TCG. While the original Pokémon TCG is a nostalgic experience, players now can’t help but critique the complex battles and long-and-drawn-out mechanics.
Expect varying gameplay mechanics
Pokémon TCG Pocket is expected to overwrite the rules and mechanics of Pokémon TCG by emphasising the collector’s nature of the game over battles.
Should you play Pokémon TCG Pocket or TCG Live?
Ultimately, the difference between the two games will be defined by your own experience. If you’re an experienced Pokémon TCG player and want to focus on bringing the physical experience to a digital environment, then TCG Live will suit you best. On the other hand, if you’re new to Pokémon TCG entirely (or you’re fed up with battle-focused TCGs) then the collector-friendly Pokémon TCG Pocket should be your first option.
Does Pokémon TCG Pocket carry over to TCG Live?
Since the games have been developed by two difference companies, don’t expect there to be any compatibility between the two. Seeing as the game mechanics differ entirely, it’s unlikely that there’s going to be any crossover.
That’s as much as we have on Pokémon TCG Pocket vs TCG Live. As we await further details on the game, you might instead be interested in reading about the Pokémon Legends Z-A release date, coming sooner than you might think.
