Family-centric gaming site WhatTheyPlay recently interviewed the two men who hold key roles in the Pokemon franchise, designer Takechi Kawachimaru and game director Junichi Masuda. The main focus of the interview relates to what makes theupcoming Pokemon Platinum different from games before it, or more importantly, from Diamond and Pearl, which even the designers consider the "ultimate" Pokemon game. So what exactly warrants the purchase of a new, full-priced game?

Clarifying just what those differences are, Kawachimaru said that the new game focuses on two key elements; communication and connectivity. "For example, we've added Battle Video to this game. With this, you can record your battle and play it back, or watch even others' battles. There's also Battle Frontier, where you can go and play with your friends, family, and siblings and talk to each other." The Battle Frontier, a new area full of challenging Pokémon trainers that will test players' skills, originally appeared in Pokémon Emerald on the Game Boy Advance but was not a part of Diamond or Pearl. Masuda added that the new elements are there "so someone who's already played Diamond or Pearl still has a reason to want to play Platinum."

Head over to WhatTheyPlay to check out the full interview, and also be sure to check out Episode 16 of our Kombo Breaker podcast featuring John Davidson, from WhatTheyPlay.