Pokémon mainline RPG have always been a handheld affaire, thanks to Nintendo 3DS and previous portable consoles from the Japanese platform owner.
Pokémon mainline RPG has always been a handheld affaire, thanks to Nintendo 3DS and previous portable consoles from the Japanese platform owner.
Anyway, for the first time, a game from the main saga – Pokémon Sword & Shield – is dropping on a home console, which is Nintendo Switch, and that could be a bit scary for longtime fans of the franchise.
President Shuntaro Furukawa has discussed that topic during the reveal of financial results with investors and reassured that Sword & Shield would be taking into account the heritage of the previous titles.
The games “have generated a huge response from consumers,” he said, before defining how they will be different from Let’s Go, Pikachu! And Eevee!.
These “are designed to highlight the fun of Nintendo Switch in TV mode, for example by waving the controller at the TV screen to capture Pokémon.”
Instead, “Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield are being developed to emphasize the fun of playing Nintendo Switch in handheld mode,” just any other games from the regular series.
“We want these games to be played not only by longtime Pokémon fans but also by consumers whose first encounter with the series was on a dedicated video game platform with Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee!.”
It’s an interesting piece of information for fans of the IP, since portable gaming has always been at the core of it, and that element won’t be disappearing just because of Nintendo Switch.
Sword & Shield are expected to release in late 2019.
