Why Pokemon would make a killer MMORPG

On Friday I purchased a new Onyx Nintendo DS Lite and Pokemon Diamond. I have not played Pokemon since the sixth grade, in the days of Blue and Red. Since then I've thought that Pokemon was stupid and obnoxious, and I still feel that way. Nevertheless I've become completely addicted to Pokemon Diamond. Now I'm even more excited because Pokemon Diamond and Pearl have built-in online features (accessible via wi-fi connection) to trade or battle people worldwide.

Pokemon has been around for ten years, and it's still wildly successful. I think Diamond and Pearl had around 500,000 preorders in the months prior to its US release. It begs the question: why hasn't an online Pokemon RPG been made yet? I mean, seriously. They've got MMORPGs for everything now, ranging from the Sims to the Lord of the Rings to a Pirates of the Caribbean in the works. Why not Pokemon? It would be genius. The Pokemon series already has features that most RPGs have been trying to perfect for years.

Let's break it down, scientifically:

• A large world map with multiple towns and cities connected by roads and other terrain
• Each city has its own unique shtick; the mining city, the flower city, the "Pokemon Contest" city, and the other ones I haven't been to yet
• Each town/city has a shop, a PokeCenter, and other places
• Little NPCs all over the map will talk to you; some will give you items or places to go to complete quests for plot advancement
• Money and basic economy are present
• Items can be bought, sold, and otherwise obtained
• Rare items and Pokemon can be obtained through various side-quests and other plot events
• The player himself doesn't level or gain skills; everything is done through his Pokemon
  

Let's not forget the entire fucking premise of the game: to collect, raise, and customize Pokemon, gather items, and win badges. Think about it. In the Pokemon MMORPG, each player will start in a little starter town where they can choose one Pokemon to start with. Then you're given some money, a Pokedex, a map, and set free into the wild where you can meet people, gain money, perform quests, explore, and most importantly, catch Pokemon and raise their skills and experience. Badges would be another highlight of the online game, as they could enhance your ability to obtain more items or different tiers of Pokemon. Whatever, I don't know the details, but they could easily be sorted out and an addictive and enthralling game could easily be made. And you know the best part? There's already a massive built-in audience! Thousands of Americans and millions of Japanese still play this stupid game, and I'm sure a large percentage of them would love to play an online version.

My extensive research (quick Google search) shows that there may have been some sort of Pokemon Online in the works, but it was never finished. I say good because according to the website it looks like it sucked. Come on, Nintendo, step up yo' game and make a World of Warcraft-killer. And give me a beta pass.