Rumours about a Pokemon game on Nintendo Switch haven’t evolved beyond being just industry chatter, but The Pokemon Company is still thinking about how it can bring the famed franchise to the console.
The house that made Pikachu confirmed as early as September that it had plans to support Switch, and now CEO, Tsunekazu Ishihara, has spoke about how it will approach the highly anticipated console.
In an interview with Toyokeizai Online, Ishihara said it wouldn’t be as simple as porting their games to the console.
Rumours surfaced late last year that a third iteration of Pokemon Sun and Moon would come to Switch.
However Ishihara explains that a different approach is needed, and that development on games such as Sun and Moon would change, despite Switch’s handheld portability.
“Pokemon has been about being portable, but now there is the Switch, which is a portable home console, so it has a bigger screen and higher specs than we’re used to,” Ishihara said, (via NeoGAF). “Apart from main games, we make stuff likePokkén [Tournament] and [Pokémon Mystery] Dungeon, so I am thinking we should make games that suit the Switch, but at this time I cannot confirm any projects.”
Unfortunately, he didn’t explain why the approach would need to change. While Switch is a home console first and foremost according to Nintendo, it’s hard to ignore its appeal as a portable, on-the-go gaming device.
Pokemon fans were excited at murmurs of a fully fledged game coming to Switch, the first that would act as a direct sequel and/or iteration of a handheld entry to come to a Nintendo home console.
Pokémon Stars was leaked through numerous sources, and was said to be the third iteration of Sun and Moon.
The rumours suggested a mid-2017 release, but nothing has been revealed or leaked since the initial report.
It’ll certainly be interesting to see how The Pokemon Company makes use of Switch.
