| Hey you, Pikachu! | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Game Information | |||||
| Publisher | Nintendo | ||||
| Developer | Ambrella | ||||
| Category | Virtual pet | ||||
| Players | 1 Player | ||||
| ESRB | E for Everyone | ||||
| Release Dates | |||||
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December 12, 1998 | ||||
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November 6, 2000 | ||||
|
Unknown | ||||
|
{{{release-date-korea}}} | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Platform | Nintendo 64 | ||||
| Region | Kanto | ||||
Hey You, Pikachu! (Known in Japan as "Pikachu Genki dechū" (ピカチュウげんきでちゅう, lit. a pun on "Pikachu genki desu" (Pikachu is fine)) is a Nintendo 64 game that features voice recognition technology used to talk with a Pikachu.
The game begins when the main character is asked to try out a new device of Professor Oak's that is used to talk to Pokémon. The player soon meets a wild Pikachu and befriends it. The Pikachu's trust must be earned by the player and eventually it will come and live in the player's house. There are three different activity days: Pikachu's Daring Days, Discovery Days, and Play Days. Each day has a different objective (e.g. collecting food, going fishing) and the player can earn Pika Points, which is the currency used at Abra's Shop to unlock new items.
Eventually, if the player reaches day 365, Professor Oak appears and says that Pikachu has to be released, as it is a wild Pokémon. The player has to go to the woods where Pikachu was found and say "goodbye" several times, upon which Pikachu realizes he can't live with the player anymore, and, sadly, leaves. After the credits, while the player is looking around the front yard and reminiscing about Pikachu, it returns, and the game continues as if Pikachu was never released.
In reference to Nintendo's rivalry with Sony, an Easter egg was placed in the game: speaking "PlayStation" into the microphone causes Pikachu to become angry.
Video game review aggregators like Metacritic and Game Rankings gave the game mixed reviews. Some complaints included the simplistic music and graphics, the controls, and the limits of the voice-recognition technology, which only understood about 200 words. Because of this, it was never released outside of Japan and North America.
A spiritual sequel to Hey You, Pikachu!, Pokémon Channel was also developed by Ambrella. It was released on the Nintendo Game Cube.